Rhode Island 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.

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Statute and Regulation Details

Background info and terminology

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

§ 5-64-14. Licensing without examination.

(a) The board shall recommend for licensure any person:

(1) Who meets the qualifications of § 5-64-6(a)(1) and who submits the required application and fee together with satisfactory evidence to the board that he or she has been practicing dietetics for at least one year since 1983; or

(2) Who provides evidence of current registration as a registered dietitian by the commission of dietetic registration.

(b) Licensure under the provisions of subsection (a)(1) cannot be granted after two (2) years following promulgation of rules and regulations.

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

N/A

Temporary/Provisional Licensure (or Certification)

N/A

Exceptions/Exemptions

§ 5-64-12. Exemptions.

This chapter shall not be construed as preventing or restricting the practice, services, or activities of:

(1) Any person who does not call himself or herself a dietitian/nutritionist from furnishing nutritional information to customers or any consumer as to the use of foods, food products, or dietary supplements in connection with the marketing and distribution of those products; or to the general public for educational purposes and any person who provides a weight-loss program and/or health-maintenance counseling, as long as the person does not engage in nutrition counseling for the management of disease, and does not hold himself or herself out to be a dietitian/nutritionist.

(2) A person licensed or certified in this state under any other law from engaging in the profession or occupation for which the person is licensed or certified and any person holding a doctoral degree from an accredited institution in nutrition or a related field as determined by the board; and any person with a bachelor's degree in home economics from furnishing nutrition information incidental to the practice of his or her profession.

(3) A person employed as a dietitian/nutritionist by the government of the United States or the state or by a participating local agency of the special supplemental food program for women, infants and children, if the person practices solely under direction or control of the organization by which the person is employed.

(4) A student enrolled in a board-approved academic program in dietetics/nutrition.

(5) Family members, friends, or acquaintances who provide gratuitous nutrition advice as long as the advisor does not hold himself or herself out to be a dietitian/nutritionist.

(6) Not-for-profit health-related agencies, as described in 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3), that provide nutrition information in the normal course of doing business.

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.