State Policies & Licensing (Red vs. Green States)

We want to make sure everyone is fully aware of all established rules and regulations regarding state licensing laws and availability for Nourish dietitians and patients.

Telehealth is an ever-changing landscape, and rules and regulations often struggle to keep up. Our compliance & legal team is constantly monitoring all state regulations to protect our RD licenses, and will continue to do so going forward.

The depth of regulation of dietetics varies by state. 23 of 50 states do not have license requirements in their state (i.e., if you have a CDR, you are good to go in these “Green States”). All other states are “Red States” which typically treat the location of the patient as the location of practice. RDs can have licenses from multiple states because their specific location is not the main consideration in their ability to operate, and there’s actually an initiative underway to create an interstate compact. Many red states have rules allowing you to see patients for a limited time if you have a CDR and have applied for licensure in their state.

If the patient makes you aware they are located in a red state, you are not able to see them unless you are licensed in the state. If a patient is traveling or moving to a red state and you would like to continue seeing them, please review our licensure reimbursement policy for license requests and renewals (at the bottom of this article).

The location of the provider does not matter for telehealth licensing laws; only that of the patient. If you are permanently moving to a new state, however, the best practice is to get a new license to match your address.

Whenever you obtain a new license, please upload to your Nourish Provider Portal and CAQH so you can start seeing patients with that license. Until you upload to the Provider Portal, patients from that state will not be scheduled with you, so ensure all your licenses are listed within your Provider Portal. Below is a quick video on how to upload your licenses to the Provider Portal.

Please Note: Nourish dietitians cannot see patients located outside of the U.S. If your patient is traveling and makes you aware that they won't be located in the U.S during your session, please re-schedule your appointment for when they have returned to the U.S.

• We will fully reimburse initial licensure and renewals for states that the Nourish team specifically requested (or requests) you apply for licensure in (whether during onboarding or while at Nourish). Please submit your reimbursement requests through JustWorks.

• For all other license renewals or reimbursements (e.g., red states you want to pursue), please complete this licensure request form 30 to 90 days prior to renewal to get your license approved.

  • After approval, you will be notified via email, at which point you can reimburse for the license via JustWorks. Please include the screenshot of your approval email in the reimbursement request to ensure your reimbursement is approved.

  • Licensure requests will be evaluated based on patient needs in the state, taking into account any specific reasons the RD is looking for the license and the overall number of reimbursed licenses the RD holds.

  • If you have any questions on this, feel free to reach out to support@usenourish.com.