(1) Applicants for naturopathic physician licensure by examination shall:

(a) submit a completed application on a form furnished by the department together with the required fees;

(b) submit three letters of reference, at least one of which must be from a licensed naturopathic physician, attesting to the applicant's good moral character;

(c) cause the naturopathic medicine college which conferred an N.D. or N.M.D. degree on the applicant to submit an official transcript of the applicant's naturopathic medicine education directly to the board office;

(d) cause the interstate reporting service of the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE) to submit directly to the board office, evidence of the applicant's passing score on the Naturopathic Physician Licensing Examination (NPLEX) as provided in (2).

(2) Except as provided in (5), applicants for naturopathic physician licensure in Montana must either:

(a) have passed:

(i) all five individual basic science NPLEX examinations (Part I);

(ii) all eight individual clinical science NPLEX examinations (Part II) or passed the said Part II under the compensatory scoring model described in (3), prior to August 1, 2007;

(iii) the homeopathy NPLEX examination prior to February 1, 2008; and

(iv) the minor surgery NPLEX clinical examination; or

(b) have passed:

(i) all five individual basic science NPLEX examinations (Part I);

(ii) the single integrated NPLEX Part II - Core Clinical Science Examination; and

(iii) the minor surgery NPLEX clinical examination; or

(c) have passed:

(i) the single integrated NPLEX Part I - Biomedical Science Examination;

(ii) the single integrated NPLEX Part II - Core Clinical Science Examination; and

(iii) the minor surgery NPLEX clinical examination.

(3) A minimum converted score of 75 is required to pass the Part I -Biomedical Science Examination. A minimum converted score of 75 is required to pass the Part II - Core Clinical Science Examination. A minimum converted score of 75 is required to pass the minor surgery examination. A minimum converted score of 75 is required to pass the homeopathy examination. The converted score is a scaled score and not a percentage. The board will accept the compensatory scoring model for the eight individual clinical science NPLEX examinations under (2)(a)(ii) provided all eight examinations were taken prior to August 1, 2007.

(4) Applicants shall contact NABNE for NPLEX test dates and locations. NABNE may be contacted at 9220 SW Barbur Blvd., Suite 119, #321, Portland, OR 97219-5434, (503) 778-7990, or via the Internet at www.nabne.org.

(5) An applicant seeking licensure under this rule based upon a licensure examination other than the NPLEX shall submit proof satisfactory to the board of the applicant's score on the examination, the score deemed passing by the examination's developer, and the examination's acceptance by a licensing authority in any other state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or a foreign country. Upon receipt, the board will determine whether to prescribe or endorse the proffered examination pursuant to its authority under 37-26-201 and 37-26-402, MCA, based upon the examination's substantial equivalency to the NPLEX examination.