Puerto Rico Statutes

Medical nutrition therapy is a medical treatment. Like other non-physician practitioners providing medical treatments, registered dietitian nutritionists generally can practice MNT because of licensure and certification laws, which provide authority for RDNs to provide this medical service. It is with this understanding that the Academy strongly recommends — unless there is an applicable exception or exemption or a state does not provide for licensure or certification requirements — practitioners hold licensure or certification in all states where the practitioner's clients or patients are located when services are provided.

Links to State Boards, Statutes and Regulations

• Board/Agency Website
• Statute (Of note, dietitian/nutritionist are licensed under the Board of Nursing)
• Regulation: 1993 Regulations; 1994 Regulations

Statute and Regulation Details

Background info and terminology

Licensure (or Certification) by Endorsement of RDN Credential/Exemptions

Resolution No. 2016-53

In an ordinary meeting held on January 20, 2016, by the Board of Examiners of Nutritionists and Dietitians of Puerto Rico, hereinafter "JENDPR", it was unanimously agreed with a quorum as follows:

. . .

WHEREAS: The JENDPR, in an ordinary meeting held on January 20, 2016, agreed to validate the National Certification Exam (RD) administered by the JENDPR for the purposes of the license that allows practice in Puerto Rico, once the applicant presents official evidence of their approval and, additionally, of being a graduate of the Didactic Program in Dietetics of the University of Puerto Rico and one of the three dietetic internships in Puerto Rico accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND^®);

WHEREAS: The aforementioned determination is recognized and applied by other health professions, such as physicians, and has proven to be effective. Therefore, its adoption by the JENDPR represents a pioneering action that we understand will stimulate the formation of highly qualified Nutrition and Dietetics professionals to serve the needs of Puerto Rico;

WHEREAS: RD must possess and comply with all the requirements currently required by nutritionists/dietitians residing in Puerto Rico except for taking the local revalidation exam;

WHEREAS: This measure has the absolute endorsement of the Nutrition and Dietetics Program of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Rio Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico;

WHEREAS: Resolution Number 2016-01 is hereby repealed;

THEREFORE: The staff of the ORCPS in charge of the function of verification and evaluation of revalidation exam applications is delegated to inform and require candidates for the revalidation exam or permanent license, via RD validation, to comply with the observance and fulfillment of the requirements set forth in this JENDPR Resolution. This Resolution shall take effect immediately after the signatures of the members;

AGREED, by the Board of Examiners of Nutritionists and Dietitians of Puerto Rico and signed by its President and members of the Board, given today ...

Licensure (or Certification) by Reciprocity or Endorsement of Another License

20 L.P.R.A. § 2188 License—Reciprocity, license without examination and provisional license

The Board may grant licenses without examination to practice in Puerto Rico as nutritionists or dieticians to those persons who have pursued studies comparable to those required in Puerto Rico in a recognized college or university, and who may hold licenses to work as such granted by authorized organizations of the states of the United States of America with which the Board may have established reciprocity relations, and provided in said states a similar concession is granted to the persons licensed in Puerto Rico. The applications for licenses without examination under this section should meet the requirements of § 2186(a) of this title.

Temporary/Provisional Licensure (or Certification)

20 L.P.R.A. § 2188 License—Reciprocity, license without examination and provisional license

The Board is hereby authorized to issue a provisional license to nutritionists or dietitians invited or contracted by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, its agencies or departments, or to be used by federal agencies in Puerto Rico to practice as such in Puerto Rico. The Board shall establish in its regulations, the requirements and conditions for the application and issuance of said licenses, after a payment for such provisional licenses of fees amounting to twenty dollars ($20) payable to the Secretary of the Treasury through a postal or bank money order, or a certified check. These licenses shall be issued for a term not greater than one (1) year and may be extended for additional periods when it is so justified before the Board.

Exceptions/Exemptions

§ 2189a. License—Exceptions

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply nor shall it be detrimental in any way to:

(a) Officers and employees of the Government of the United States while they are employed in Puerto Rico as nutritionists and dietitians in federal agencies and who hold their provisional license.

(b) Any person who works in Puerto Rico in Commonwealth or federal agencies as subordinates or under the supervision of a nutritionist or dietitian duly licensed by the Board of Examiners, or a nutritionist or dietitian covered by subsection (a) of this section, and provided, that the works or tasks of the subaltern are not completely and exactly those corresponding to a nutritionist or dietitian, or require determinations and definite judgments, and are made subject to the responsibility and immediate supervision of the authorized professional.

Updated August 2023

Disclaimer: This page is not intended to constitute legal or career advice. All information, content and materials are for general informational purposes only and may not represent the most up-to-date legal or other information. This website contains links to other third-party websites, which are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and its members do not recommend or endorse the contents of the third-party sites, nor does such information necessarily constitute a legally binding interpretation of state policy. The ultimate authority to interpret each state's requirements is the licensing board or agency of that state.