What your state’s dietetics law reserves, which titles it protects, and the exemptions that matter for wellness practitioners.
The information on this page is educational and general in nature. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for consultation with a licensed attorney in your state. State laws vary and change frequently — verify the current law in your jurisdiction before acting on anything you read here.
These tables report what each state’s statutes and rules say, as read on the date shown in each row. They are not complete. They do not capture every regulation, court decision, attorney general opinion or enforcement practice that may apply, and a law may have changed since a row was last checked. Where the law is unsettled, the table says so; it does not resolve the question.
Using these tables does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and any author, editor, reviewer, or affiliated organization, including KCNH, AANWP, AANWC and GEHA. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made that the information is complete, accurate or up to date, and the authors and affiliated organizations disclaim any liability arising directly or indirectly from its use.
Every row shows the date it was last checked. The full tables are reviewed twice a year, after most state legislative sessions end in summer and again in January, and individual rows are updated sooner when a pending bill, court case or scheduled change named in the table is resolved.
| State | Type of regulation | What is reserved | Main exemptions | Unsettled or changing | Citation | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | License — practice and titles | Only a licensee may practice dietetics/nutrition or provide nutrition care services, or use “dietitian,” “nutritionist,” “L.D.” or “L.N.” | Nine exceptions, including supervised students and technicians, federal service, and weight-control programs reviewed by a dietitian/nutritionist. No general wellness or coaching exemption located. | — | Ala. Code §§ 34-34A-5, 34-34A-10 | 2026-09-28 |
| Alaska | Title protection only | Titles only: “dietitian,” “licensed dietitian,” “nutritionist,” “licensed nutritionist,” or an occupational title using those words. Penalty: a fine of up to $1,000 by citation. | Practice is not reserved. | — | Alaska Stat. §§ 08.38.010, 08.38.080 | 2026-09-28 |
| Arizona | None located | No dietetics or nutrition licensing chapter located. | — | Absence found by search, not by a provision: “none located,” not “none exists.” | — | 2026-09-28 |
| Arkansas | License — titles | Licenses dietitians; protects “dietitian,” “licensed dietitian” and “provisional dietitian.” Violation is a Class A misdemeanor. | Nothing prevents furnishing general nutritional information on food, food materials or dietary supplements, or explaining foods to customers when selling them. | — | Ark. Code Ann. §§ 17-83-101 to 17-83-106 | 2026-09-28 |
| California | Title protection only | Restricts “registered dietitian” and related titles and abbreviations to qualified persons. No license to practice nutrition. | Practice is not reserved. The general safe harbor (Table 1) also applies. | — | Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 2585, 2586 | 2026-09-28 |
| Colorado | None | No dietetics licensing law. | The safe harbor (Table 1) carves out selling supplements and structure-and-function counseling. | A 2025 bill to license medical nutrition therapy passed both chambers and was vetoed. | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 6-1-724 | 2026-09-28 |
| Connecticut | Certification — titles only | Reserves “Connecticut Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist,” “Certified Dietitian,” “Certified Nutritionist,” “C.D.-N.,” “C.D.,” “C.N.” and anything implying certification. | The chapter does not prohibit a person who does not hold out as certified from practicing dietetics or nutrition. Marketing food and supplements and weight-control services are also covered. | The penalty for title misuse differs between the copies read; confirmation on the official site pending. | Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 20-206m, 20-206p, 20-206t (ch. 384b) | 2026-09-30 |
| Delaware | License — titles and practice under the title | No one may practice as, or use the titles, Licensed Dietitian, Licensed Nutritionist, Nutritionist, Dietitian or L.D.N. unless licensed. | An herbalist, retailer or other person who does not use a restricted title may make lifestyle recommendations and give nonfraudulent information about herbs, vitamins, minerals, foods and supplements. Legitimate disagreement about those products is not fraud. | UNSETTLED: whether the chapter reserves the practice itself or only practice under the title. A 2026 rewrite passed the House but not the Senate. | 24 Del. C. §§ 3802, 3810, 3811 | 2026-10-02 |
| District of Columbia | License — dietetics and nutrition | Both are licensed occupations. | Narrow conventional exemptions only. | — | D.C. Code § 3-1201.01 et seq. | 2026-09-28 |
| Florida | License — practice and titles | Dietetics/nutrition practice and nutrition counseling, and the titles, are reserved. | A person who markets food or supplements, or explains their use, is exempt only if the person does not engage for a fee in dietetics, nutrition practice or nutrition counseling. Certified Nutrition Specialists (CNS) and DACBN holders have statutory title rights. | A 2026 bill to revise the exemptions died in committee. | Fla. Stat. §§ 468.503–468.518, esp. § 468.505 | 2026-09-28 |
| Georgia | License — medical nutrition therapy and titles | Practice is reserved only to the extent it is medical nutrition therapy. Protects “dietitian,” “licensed dietitian,” “dietitian nutritionist,” “licensed nutritionist,” LD, LDN and LN, and bars holding out as “a nutritionist” unless licensed or exempt. Misdemeanor. | For people not using protected titles: individualized wellness and chronic-disease-prevention recommendations, health coaching, holistic and wellness education, behavior change and nonmedical weight control, if not medical nutrition therapy; health food store information; religious practice. | Rewritten by a 2026 law effective 1 July 2026. UNSETTLED: whether an exempt person may still use the bare word “nutritionist.” | Ga. Code Ann. §§ 43-11A-3, 43-11A-16, 43-11A-18 (as reenacted by 2026 H.B. 185) | 2026-10-01 |
| Hawaii | License — title-based | No person may engage in dietetic practice or purport to be a licensed dietitian, or use “L.D.,” without a license. | Reported to cover other licensees, students, government employees, and reviewed weight-control programs. | Exemptions read in bill form only; official text pending. | Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 448B | 2026-09-29 |
| Idaho | Title protection only | Reserves “dietitian,” LD, RD and RDN. Using “nutrition” or “diet” to describe one’s occupation is expressly allowed. | Among the broadest located: nothing prevents anyone from giving advice, guidance or counsel on nutrition, nutrition therapy counseling or weight control, or nutrition information when marketing food, supplements or wellness programs. | — | Idaho Code §§ 54-3503, 54-3512 | 2026-10-02 |
| Illinois | License — practice and titles | A license is required to practice dietetics and nutrition services, including medical nutrition therapy, and to hold out as a licensed dietitian nutritionist, dietitian, nutritionist or nutrition counselor. Civil penalty for unlicensed practice. | The act does not limit the free dissemination of information, conducting a class or seminar, or giving a speech about nutrition, if the person does not hold out as licensed. | The act is scheduled for repeal on 1 January 2028 unless extended. | 225 ILCS 30 (Dietitian Nutritionist Practice Act), esp. §§ 15, 15.5, 20 | 2026-09-28 |
| Indiana | License — titles | Restricts holding out as a licensed (or certified) dietitian. | Nothing limits disseminating free information, conducting a class or seminar, or giving a speech about nutrition. | — | Ind. Code § 25-14.5-7-3 | 2026-09-28 |
| Iowa | License — practice and title | A license is required to practice dietetics; “dietitian” is reserved. | Exempt: people who do not call themselves dietitians and market weight-loss programs or sell nutritional products and explain their use for normal nutritional needs; and routine education and advice on normal nutritional requirements. | — | Iowa Code ch. 152A, esp. § 152A.3 | 2026-09-28 |
| Kansas | License — practice and titles | Only a licensee may practice dietetics or use “dietitian,” “licensed dietitian” or L.D. Class C misdemeanor. | For people who do not hold out as dietitians: nutrition information on food and supplements, including in health food stores; free dissemination of information; marketing supplements; classes on nonmedical nutrition; and care by prayer. | — | Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 65-5902, 65-5903, 65-5912 | 2026-10-01 |
| Kentucky | License (dietitians); certification (nutritionists) | Unlawful to practice dietetics or nutrition, or use “dietitian,” “nutritionist,” “licensed dietitian,” “certified nutritionist,” L.D. or C.N., without a license or certificate. | Unusually broad: the chapter does not apply to health food store owners or sellers of supplements and vitamins, and does not affect anyone who gives nutritional or dietary advice or sells supplements without using the titles dietitian, licensed dietitian or certified nutritionist. | UNSETTLED: how the broad exemption fits with the general practice restriction. | Ky. Rev. Stat. ch. 310, esp. § 310.070 | 2026-10-02 |
| Louisiana | License — practice and titles | No one may use “dietitian,” “dietician” or “nutritionist” or practice dietetics/nutrition, including nutrition counseling, unless licensed or exempt. | Marketing food or supplements and giving related general nutrition information, if not holding out. Reviewed weight-control programs. No exemption located for individualized advice unconnected to product sales. | The board treats telehealth practice as occurring where the client is. A 2025 bill was vetoed. | La. Rev. Stat. §§ 37:3083, 37:3091, 37:3093; La. Admin. Code tit. 46, pt. LXIX, § 105 | 2026-10-01 |
| Maine | License — practice and titles | No one may practice dietetics or claim to be a dietitian or dietetic technician unless licensed. | General nutrition-related information; marketing food or supplements and explaining their use. Maine’s safe harbor (Table 1) is separate. | — | 32 M.R.S. §§ 9902, 9906, 9915 | 2026-09-30 |
| Maryland | License — titles and descriptions of services | Bars implying authorization to practice dietetics by title or by description of services, and reserves dietitian, nutritionist and their licensed forms and letters. | Board regulations exclude nonmedical nutrition services by health, fitness and weight-loss programs and stores selling health products, classes on nonmedical nutrition, and distributing literature. | Exemption provisions not yet read in full in the official text. | Md. Code Ann., Health Occ. §§ 5-101, 5-402; COMAR 10.56.01.01 | 2026-09-28 |
| Massachusetts | License — title | No one may hold out as a licensed dietitian/nutritionist unless licensed. | Does not restrict a person who does not hold out as licensed from furnishing information on food and supplements, or practicing a health profession with a nutritional component, naming holistic, naturopathic and homeopathic medicine, macrobiotics, ayurveda, polarity, shiatsu, massage and herbal therapy. | A 2025–26 restructuring bill was sent to study in August 2026; current law unchanged. | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 112, §§ 201–210, esp. § 206 | 2026-10-01 |
| Michigan | License — medical nutrition therapy and titles (from 2027) | Beginning 18 months after its initial rules take effect, no one may practice medical nutrition therapy unless licensed, and “dietitian,” “dietician,” “nutritionist,” “dietitian nutritionist” and l.d.n. are restricted. Federally trademarked titles and RD/RDN are preserved. | General nonmedical nutrition information, individualized recommendations for wellness or prevention, coaching, behavior change and weight management, if not medical nutrition therapy and no protected title is used. | TIMED: the state dietetics association reports the requirements begin 27 October 2027; department confirmation pending. | Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 333.18351–333.18367, esp. § 333.18353 (2024 PA 39) | 2026-10-02 |
| Minnesota | License — practice and titles | No one may practice dietetics or nutrition, or use “dietitian,” “nutritionist” or any occupational title using either word, unless licensed. | If not holding out: information on food and supplements when marketing them; a person recognized in the community as giving traditional nutritional advice, including a curandero or medicine man or woman; unpaid help to family. | — | Minn. Stat. §§ 148.621, 148.630, 148.632 | 2026-10-02 |
| Mississippi | License — titles; wellness exemption by rule | Unlawful to represent oneself as a dietitian or nutritionist, or use those titles or LD/LN, without a license or exemption. | A 2022 health department rule exempts individualized nutrition recommendations, health coaching, holistic and wellness education, behavior change and nonmedical weight control, if not medical nutrition therapy and not holding out as licensed. | UNSETTLED: whether an exempt person may use the bare title “nutritionist,” which the statute still restricts. | Miss. Code Ann. §§ 73-10-1 to 73-10-23, esp. §§ 73-10-7, 73-10-13; MSDH Regulations Governing Licensure of Dietitians, Rules 3.5.1, 3.9.1 | 2026-10-01 |
| Missouri | License — practice for compensation and titles | Only licensees may use “Dietitian,” L.D. or L.D.N., or practice dietetics for compensation. | If not holding out: marketing food and supplements; general nutrition information; and a nutrition-credentialed person advising within the credential’s scope (not medical nutrition therapy), who must first give a written disclosure, including that they are not a Missouri-licensed dietitian. | UNSETTLED: whether the disclosure applies to someone relying on the marketing or general-information exemptions without a credential. | Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 324.200, 324.205, 324.206 | 2026-10-02 |
| Montana | License — medical nutrition therapy and titles | Only licensees may provide medical nutrition therapy, or represent themselves as a dietitian or nutritionist. | Individualized wellness and prevention recommendations, health coaching, holistic and wellness education, behavior change and nonmedical weight control, if not medical nutrition therapy and not representing as a dietitian or nutritionist. | Rewritten in 2025. | Mont. Code Ann. §§ 37-25-304, 37-25-305 (as amended by 2025 Mont. Laws ch. 536) | 2026-10-02 |
| Nebraska | License — medical nutrition therapy | No one may practice medical nutrition therapy unless licensed. | Seventeen activities, including individualized nutrition information, recommendations, health coaching, holistic and wellness education that are not medical nutrition therapy, by a person not claiming to be licensed; marketing supplements; classes; church care. | — | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 38-1812 | 2026-09-23 |
| Nevada | License — practice and titles | An unlicensed person may not practice dietetics or use L.D., “licensed dietitian” or the word “dietetics.” Misdemeanor; civil penalties. | A person furnishing nutrition information, recommendations or advice, or marketing food or supplements, who does not represent as a licensed or registered dietitian, is deemed not to be practicing dietetics. Nevada’s safe harbor (Table 1) is separate. | — | Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 640E.070, 640E.090, 640E.360, 640E.370; § 629.580 | 2026-09-30 |
| New Hampshire | License — titles | Protects “dietitian,” “licensed dietitian” and L.D. | Among the broadest located: nothing interferes with a person who does not hold out as a licensed dietitian giving advice, counseling or assessments about food, diet or nutrition, or marketing and explaining supplements. | — | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. ch. 326-H, esp. §§ 326-H:4, 326-H:5 | 2026-09-29 |
| New Jersey | None located | No dietetics or nutrition licensing statute located. | — | Absence found by search, not by a provision. | — | 2026-09-28 |
| New Mexico | License — practice and titles | No one may practice nutrition or dietetics, or use “dietitian,” “nutritionist” or “nutrition associate,” unless licensed. | If not using a protected title: nutritional information on food and supplements, or explaining foods to customers; reviewed weight-control programs; curanderos and medicine men. The exemption covers information, not individualized recommendations. | TIMED: the act is scheduled for repeal on 1 July 2028. Read in a reproduction; official text pending. | N.M. Stat. Ann. § 61-7A-4 | 2026-09-23 |
| New York | Certification — titles only | Only certified persons may use “certified dietitian,” “certified dietician” or “certified nutritionist.” Practice is not reserved. | — | TIMED: a licensure bill (S.607/A.8968) passed the Senate in 2026 and is in Assembly committee. If enacted, it would reserve medical nutrition therapy and the bare title “nutritionist,” with a wellness exemption. Session ends 31 December 2026. | N.Y. Educ. Law art. 157, esp. § 8002 | 2026-10-01 |
| North Carolina | License — practice and titles | Scope and titles both protected. | Unusually broad: nutrition information on food and supplements by a person not holding out; and an herbalist or other person furnishing nonfraudulent nutritional information and counseling about the reported or historical use of herbs, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and food. | How the herbalist exemption applies to a particular service is not addressed in the sources read. | N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 90-352, 90-365, 90-368 | 2026-09-28 |
| North Dakota | License — medical nutrition therapy and many titles | Unlicensed persons may not provide medical nutrition therapy, or use “nutritionist,” “dietitian,” “nutrition counselor,” “nutrition specialist,” “nutritional therapy practitioner,” “nutritional therapy consultant,” “certified nutrition therapy practitioner,” “master nutrition therapist,” or any designation indicating eligibility to provide medical nutrition therapy. Class B misdemeanor, each act a separate offense. | Health coaching, holistic and wellness education, individualized recommendations and nonmedical weight control that are not medical nutrition therapy, if not holding out as licensed; advising on food, herbs and supplements; unpaid help to family. An earned USPTO-trademarked title is not prohibited. | UNSETTLED: how the trademarked-title clause applies to a particular credential on the protected list. | N.D. Cent. Code ch. 43-44, esp. §§ 43-44-06, 43-44-10, 43-44-17 (as amended 2021) | 2026-10-02 |
| Ohio | License — exclusive practice | Nutritional counseling or education as part of preventive, curative and restorative health care is reserved. | Largely institutional exemptions; broader ones cover the free dissemination of literature and weight-control programs approved in writing by a licensee. No exemption located for individualized wellness services. | — | Ohio Rev. Code §§ 4759.01, 4759.02, 4759.10 | 2026-09-28 |
| Oklahoma | Title protection only | Reserves “licensed dietitian,” LD, and the RD titles. The bare word “dietitian” is not listed. Practice is not reserved. | — | — | Okla. Stat. tit. 59, §§ 1722, 1736, 1741 | 2026-10-02 |
| Oregon | License — title only | Only licensees may practice as a licensed dietitian using “L.D.” or “Licensed Dietitian.” Practice is not reserved. | — | A 2025 nutritionist licensure bill died in committee; it could return. | Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 691.405, 691.415 (2025 edition) | 2026-10-02 |
| Pennsylvania | License — title | Unlawful to hold oneself out as a licensed dietitian-nutritionist or use L.D.N. without a license. No provision located making it unlawful to practice dietetics without one. | — | Read in a reproduction; official text pending. | Professional Nursing Law, §§ 2(7), 3.1, 14 (63 P.S. §§ 212(7), 213.1, 225.4); 49 Pa. Code § 21.711 | 2026-09-30 |
| Rhode Island | License — practice and title | Only licensees may practice dietetics or use “dietitian/nutritionist” or L.D.N. | If not holding out: nutritional information on foods and supplements when marketing or for public education; weight-loss programs and health-maintenance counseling that are not counseling for disease management; gratuitous advice. | UNSETTLED: “dietetic services” is undefined, so the reach of the practice reservation is not settled. | R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 5-64-4, 5-64-12 | 2026-10-02 |
| South Carolina | License — title | Unlawful to hold out as a dietitian or licensed dietitian, or use LD, without a license. | Practice is not reserved. | Sections read in part; full text pending. | S.C. Code Ann. §§ 40-20-10 to 40-20-80, esp. § 40-20-30 | 2026-09-28 |
| South Dakota | License — practice and titles | No one may practice nutrition and dietetics or provide nutrition care services, or use “nutritionist,” “dietitian” or “licensed nutritionist,” unless licensed. Class 2 misdemeanor. | Eight exemptions, including furnishing information on food and supplements or explaining them when marketing, by a person not holding out as licensed. No general wellness or coaching exemption. | — | S.D. Codified Laws ch. 36-10B, esp. § 36-10B-15 | 2026-10-02 |
| Tennessee | License — medical nutrition therapy and titles | Only licensees may practice dietetics and nutrition to the extent the services are medical nutrition therapy; titles are restricted. | — | The exemptions section has not been read; this row is incomplete. | Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 63-25-101 to 63-25-105, esp. § 63-25-104 | 2026-09-28 |
| Texas | Title protection only | Without a license, a person may not use “licensed dietitian” or “LD.” Practice is not reserved. | The Medical Practice Act separately permits advice on the use and role of food and supplements (Table 1). | — | Tex. Occ. Code ch. 701 (Licensed Dietitian Act), esp. § 701.251; see also Tex. Occ. Code § 151.053 | 2026-09-28 |
| Utah | Certification — titles | Restricts the dietitian titles to certified persons. Misdemeanor. | The medical act separately exempts selling vitamins, herbs and supplements with good-faith information about them (Table 1). | Exemption sections not yet read in full. | Utah Code §§ 58-49-1 to 58-49-11, esp. §§ 58-49-9, 58-49-10 | 2026-09-28 |
| Vermont | Certification — title only | No one may imply being a certified dietitian unless certified. Practice is not reserved. | — | — | 26 V.S.A. §§ 3381, 3382 | 2026-10-02 |
| Virginia | Title protection only | No one may hold out as a dietitian or nutritionist (alone or with “licensed,” “registered” or “certified”) unless qualified as the statute provides. No license required to provide nutrition services. | — | Section not yet read in full. | Va. Code Ann. § 54.1-2731 | 2026-09-28 |
| Washington | Certification — titles only | No one may represent themselves as a certified dietitian or certified nutritionist, or use D., C.D. or C.N., unless certified. Practice is not reserved. | Health food store owners, operators and employees who do not represent themselves as certified. | — | Wash. Rev. Code §§ 18.138.010, 18.138.020, 18.138.110 | 2026-10-01 |
| West Virginia | License — title-based | A license is required to represent oneself as a dietician or licensed dietician. | People who furnish nutrition information on food and supplements, or explain them when marketing them, without using the dietician titles. | — | W. Va. Code §§ 30-35-1, 30-35-2a | 2026-09-29 |
| Wisconsin | Certification — title | The protected designation is “certified dietitian.” | Reported to cover people who market food, explain its use and furnish nutritional information without claiming to be a dietitian. | Exemptions taken from a legislative analysis; official section pending. | Wis. Stat. ch. 448, subch. V (§§ 448.70 et seq.) | 2026-09-28 |
| Wyoming | License — titles | Only licensees may represent themselves as a dietitian or licensed dietitian, or use “LD.” “Nutritionist” is not restricted in the text read. | Not practicing dietetics: retailers giving general nonmedical nutrition information; weight-control services; and anyone offering general nonmedical nutritional information, with product sales or independently, who does not claim to be a licensed dietitian. | UNSETTLED: whether practice itself is reserved; the board calls the act a practice act, but no express prohibition was located. | Wyo. Stat. §§ 33-47-102, 33-47-103, 33-47-106(g) | 2026-10-01 |