Chiropractic Schools in Tennessee, and How a Chiropractor Trains
There's no accredited chiropractic college in Tennessee today, so anyone studying to become a chiropractor does it out of state and then earns a Tennessee license to practice here. Our chiropractors at Source Chiropractic in Clarksville all graduated from Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. We examine and treat the spine and the muscles and joints around it, for adults, children and pregnant patients. A first visit starts with a detailed history and an exam, and you hear what we found before we recommend anything.
This page covers where chiropractors train, how long the schooling takes, what it takes to be licensed in Tennessee, and how to check a license yourself, whether you're choosing a chiropractor or thinking about becoming one. If you're choosing one and would rather see how we work in person, book online or contact us.
Is there a chiropractic school in Tennessee?
No. The Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) accredits Doctor of Chiropractic programs, and its directory of accredited programs, checked in October 2026, lists 19 of them: 17 in U.S. states, one in Puerto Rico and one in Canada. None is in Tennessee, and no Tennessee program appears on the CCE's list of programs whose applications for accreditation have been accepted.
That matters for a Tennessee license. To be licensed here by examination, a chiropractor has to have graduated from a chiropractic college holding status with the CCE's Commission on Accreditation, or from an international chiropractic college the Tennessee Board has approved, under the Board's rule 0260-02-.04.
Which chiropractic schools are closest to Clarksville?
Measured as the crow flies from Clarksville, the four nearest CCE-accredited programs are:
- Campbellsville University, Campbellsville, Kentucky, about 125 miles. Its School of Chiropractic received initial CCE accreditation in January 2025, according to the CCE's accreditation record for the program.
- Logan University, Chesterfield, Missouri, outside St. Louis, about 230 miles.
- Life University, Marietta, Georgia, outside Atlanta, about 240 miles.
- Sherman College of Chiropractic, Spartanburg, South Carolina, about 320 miles.
The other 15 accredited programs on the same CCE list, by main campus, are:
- Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Cleveland University, Kansas City, Overland Park, Kansas
- D'Youville University, Buffalo, New York
- Keiser University, West Palm Beach, Florida
- Life Chiropractic College West, Hayward, California, with an additional site in Bellevue, Nebraska
- National University, Lombard, Illinois, with an additional site in Pinellas Park, Florida
- Northeast College of Health Sciences, Seneca Falls, New York, with an additional site in Levittown, New York
- Northwestern Health Sciences University, Bloomington, Minnesota
- Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport, Iowa, where our chiropractors trained, with a branch campus in Port Orange, Florida
- Parker University, Dallas, Texas
- Southern California University of Health Sciences, Whittier, California
- Texas Chiropractic College, Pasadena, Texas
- Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón, Puerto Rico
- University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, Connecticut
- University of Western States, Portland, Oregon
Each program's admission requirements, cost and start dates are set by the school, so the school's own admissions office is the place to check them.
How many years of school does a chiropractor need?
A chiropractor earns a Doctor of Chiropractic, or D.C., degree. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, admission to a D.C. program requires at least three years of undergraduate education, many applicants already hold a bachelor's degree, and the D.C. itself usually takes four years. Some programs offer a dual degree, so a student can finish a bachelor's or master's degree alongside the D.C.
Tennessee sets its own floor on top of that. Under rule 0260-02-.04(1)(b), a license by examination needs four school years at a chiropractic college, of at least nine months each. Anyone who started chiropractic college in 2000 or later also needs a bachelor's-level education, or its equivalent, from an accredited college or university, and the rule counts it whether it was earned before or after starting chiropractic college. For someone starting from high school, that usually adds up to around seven or eight years of college in all, depending on the path.
What do chiropractors study?
The BLS describes D.C. coursework in anatomy, physiology, biology and similar subjects, and says students gain supervised clinical experience in areas such as diagnosis and spinal assessment. Science prerequisites such as physics, chemistry and biology usually come first, at the undergraduate level.
Tennessee's preceptor program (rule 0260-02-.21) lets an intern who is serving an internship with a CCE-accredited college see patients in a Tennessee office, once the Board or its designee has approved the application. The preceptor has to be a chiropractic physician in good standing who has been licensed in Tennessee for at least four years, has to be on the premises while the intern sees patients, and has to approve the intern's findings, diagnosis and case management plan for each patient before treatment starts. Our guide to what Tennessee requires covers the education, exam and continuing-education rules.
Are chiropractors real doctors?
A chiropractor is a doctor of chiropractic. The degree is the Doctor of Chiropractic, or D.C., and in Tennessee anyone holding a valid license from the Board of Chiropractic Examiners has the right to the title licensed chiropractic physician (rule 0260-02-.02(1)). The same rule sets what that license covers, starting with the history, the exam and the diagnosis.
A chiropractor isn't an M.D. The two are different degrees that train for different scopes, and our guide to Tennessee's requirements sets a chiropractor's training beside other healthcare training.
What exams does a chiropractor pass to be licensed?
The state issues the license to practice. The National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) runs the national exams: computer-based Parts I, II and III and a physiotherapy exam, plus a practical exam, Part IV. The NBCE states plainly that it does not certify or license chiropractors. State boards use the results when they decide who gets a license. So the usual path runs from the D.C. degree to the national board exams to a state license, overseen here by Tennessee's Board of Chiropractic Examiners.
Tennessee sets its own passing score on those exams (rule 0260-02-.08), has a separate route for chiropractors already licensed in another state (rule 0260-02-.04(2)), and requires continuing education every calendar year after the year of licensure, with a separate course for new licensees (rule 0260-02-.12). The guide to what Tennessee requires covers the score and the continuing-education rules in detail.
Are chiropractors board certified?
"Board certified" only tells you something once you know which board, which credential, and that it's current. Passing the national boards is a step toward a license, not a specialty. Some chiropractors go on to postgraduate programs that lead to diplomate credentials, with extra training in areas such as orthopedics, acupuncture and pediatrics. Those sit apart from the basic degree and license, and a general chiropractic degree isn't a pediatric, prenatal, sports or other specialty certification.
As for our own team: none of our doctors currently holds a separate pediatric or prenatal chiropractic certification or specialty license. We do regularly see pregnant patients and children. During pregnancy we use pregnancy pillows, modify our adjusting techniques and generally use less force, and a child's care is based on the child's age, size, condition and individual needs.
When did chiropractic begin?
Palmer College dates D.D. Palmer's first chiropractic adjustment to September 18, 1895, in Davenport, Iowa, and its milestones timeline puts D.D.'s first chiropractic classes at the Palmer School and Cure in 1897, according to the college's history page.
How do you check a chiropractor's license in Tennessee?
The Tennessee Board of Chiropractic Examiners regulates chiropractic licensing in the state. The state's license verification service lets you search by name and compare the name, profession and license status with the person you plan to see.
For our own doctors, start with the team page, and you're welcome to bring questions about their training to your appointment. A lookup confirms the license. The plan is a separate conversation, and here it comes after the exam, once we've gone over what we found.
What happens at a first visit here?
Your first visit starts with a detailed history. You'll sit down with Dr. Jeff, Dr. Cindy or Dr. Ali and go over your health history, your symptoms, your concerns and your goals. Then comes a full evaluation, with full-spine X-rays when they're clinically appropriate. The exam looks for joints that aren't moving well, muscle tension, inflammation or swelling, and signs of an irritated nerve. After we've gone over what we found, we recommend a plan built around your condition and goals, which may include short-term care and longer-term options. Our first-visit page has more on what to expect, and our guides to back pain and neck pain cover two of the problems people bring to us.
The new-patient chiropractic offer has its own terms. Book online or contact us.
What matters more than classroom hours?
Whoever you see, five things say more than any transcript, and each one is good to know before you agree to a plan of care:
- what the exam suggests is causing your symptoms
- the likely benefits, limits and risks of the proposed care
- the alternatives, and what they offer
- how progress will be measured, and how you'll decide together if care should continue
- when you'd be sent to someone else
On that last one, we'll tell you when what we find isn't something we treat. If we are not able to help you with your problem or are unable to reduce your pain levels, we will make sure to give you a recommendation to another experienced provider.
Our guide to what chiropractic care involves covers treatment, and how to choose a chiropractor has more questions worth asking. If you'd rather size up our chiropractors' training across a desk than on a state website, book online or give us a call.
Follow the evidence
Research, with context.
Selected published sources behind what we've written, each with what it found and what it can't tell us. We give you both halves because no paper can diagnose you or predict how your own care will go.
Decision aids for people facing health treatment or screening decisions
209 studies of decision aids across a range of treatment and screening choices.
What it foundDecision aids improved knowledge and understanding of risks and helped people make choices that reflected their informed values.
What it can't tell usMost of the decisions studied had nothing to do with chiropractic care. It supports laying out the options and trade-offs plainly. It doesn't rank clinics, check credentials or show that any particular treatment works.
Publication details & citation
Stacey et al. Decision aids for people facing health treatment or screening decisions. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2024. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001431.pub6.
Read the publication record
Our editorial policy explains how to read these sources and what our clinical-review labels mean.