Legal Recognition of CPMs

Legal Recognition of CPMs Updated August 1, 2023

CPMs have a path to licensure in 36 states and the District of Columbia:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

NACPM Support for State Licensure

NACPM is committed to securing licensure for Certified Professional Midwives in all 50 states and U.S. territories based on the standards set by the profession for certification, education, scope of practice and standard of care.  Licensure is key to making midwifery more widely accessible and enables CPMs to participate in an integrated system that includes opportunities for consultation, collaboration, referral, and multi-disciplinary peer review.   It is also a mechanism by which members of the mid­wifery profession are held accountable to the public for pro­viding safe care that is consistent with the scope of practice defined by the profession and upheld by state law and sub­sequent regulatory guidelines.

Understanding that midwifery regulation historically was often used as a tool to restrict or eliminate midwifery, NACPM is committed to strengthening the profession, addressing barriers to full participation in the profession, particularly by people of color, and supporting legislation that facilitates access to care and contributes to a robust, more representative midwifery workforce.

NACPM provides support to states developing licensing legislation and also to states who are improving or defending laws regulating CPMs.

• Technical Assistance with drafting and revising legislation

• Midwifery Landscape and Future Directions Briefing Papers:  Legislation and Regulation

• State Legislation and Advocacy Toolkit

• Legislation and Policy Webinar Series 

• Chapter Development

• State Chapter Collaboration Calls

• “Home Visits” to NACPM Chapters & state midwifery associations

Statement on the Licensure of Certified Professional Midwives

US MERA Principles for Model U.S. Midwifery Legislation and Regulation 

NACPM is a member association of the International Confederation of Midwives and embraces the ICM Global Vision for Strengthening Midwifery and the ICM Standards for Midwifery Regulation (2011).  These Global Standards serve as a guide to development of legislation, amendments to existing legislation, and promoting changes that strengthen regulatory frameworks to support autonomous midwifery practice.