{ "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema", "title": "US lactation consultant licensure by jurisdiction", "description": "Which US states require a licence to practise lactation consulting for compensation, what each law does, and what it means for a parent choosing a practitioner.", "licence": "CC BY 4.0. Reuse freely with attribution to https://lactationconsultantsnearme.com. Compiled by hand from state health departments, legislatures and the national professional body; every record carries its own source URL and capture date. Verify against the linked source before relying on it.", "attribution": "https://lactationconsultantsnearme.com", "asOf": "2026-09-11", "counts": { "total": 51, "licensed": 5, "voluntaryCertification": 2, "medicaidResearched": 27, "medicaidDirect": 11, "medicaidRestricted": 16, "struckDown": 1, "noneIdentified": 43, "researched": 37 }, "caveats": [ "A status of \"none_identified\" means no licence was found: for records with researched=true we checked the state itself; otherwise it rests on the national professional body's tracker. It is a checked negative, not a guarantee.", "researched=true means the state was checked directly; primarySourceVerified=true means a document the state itself publishes was read. Records with licensureChecked=false carry a sourced Medicaid position while licensing is unread.", "medicaid=null means NOT RESEARCHED, never \"no\".", "Georgia enacted a licensing law in 2016 which was declared unconstitutional in 2022 and is not enforced. Several published lists still show Georgia as a licensure state.", "Connecticut's programme became operational 2026-07-01 and is missing from most published lists.", "This is a summary of public sources, not legal advice." ], "states": [ { "state": "AL", "name": "Alabama", "slug": "alabama", "status": "none_identified", "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's", "own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Stated as what we checked, not as a guarantee. A state law we did not", "find is not the same as a state law that does not exist, and this", "distinction is why the wording says 'none identified'." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Alabama. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "researched": false, "primarySourceVerified": false, "medicaid": null }, { "state": "AK", "name": "Alaska", "slug": "alaska", "status": "none_identified", "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's", "own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Stated as what we checked, not as a guarantee. A state law we did not", "find is not the same as a state law that does not exist, and this", "distinction is why the wording says 'none identified'." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Alaska. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "researched": false, "primarySourceVerified": false, "medicaid": null }, { "state": "AZ", "name": "Arizona", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence or certification in Arizona. A 2026 bill to create an optional state certification (HB 2072) passed the House, but its text was later replaced by an unrelated measure — and that is what became law.", "detail": [ "HB 2072 (2026), \"lactation care providers; certification\", would have created an optional certification under the Department of Health Services. The House passed it; its content was then replaced, and the enacted version (Chapter 9, signed 1 April 2026) repeals a state holiday instead (Legislature bill record, read 2026-09-11).", "HB 2051 (2026), requiring AHCCCS to reimburse lactation care, passed the House on 17 February 2026; the bill record shows no action by the Governor." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence or certification means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Arizona. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "Arizona Legislature — HB 2072 (2026) bill status", "url": "https://apps.azleg.gov/api/Bill/?billNumber=HB2072&sessionId=130&legislativeBody=H&verbosity=true", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "Arizona Legislature — HB 2072 House Engrossed text", "url": "https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/57leg/2R/bills/hb2072h.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "not_possible", "summary": "AHCCCS, Arizona's Medicaid programme, does not cover lactation support visits with an IBCLC or another lactation care provider, according to 2026 reporting on the Legislature's attempt to change that. HB 2051, which would have required AHCCCS to reimburse lactation care, passed the House in February 2026, but the bill record shows no action by the Governor.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Arizona's Family — lawmakers consider expanding lactation care coverage for AHCCCS families (2026-03-26)", "url": "https://www.azfamily.com/2026/03/26/arizona-lawmakers-consider-expanding-lactation-care-coverage-ahcccs-families/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "Arizona Legislature — HB 2051 (2026) bill status", "url": "https://apps.azleg.gov/api/Bill/?billNumber=HB2051&sessionId=130&legislativeBody=H&verbosity=true", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ] }, "slug": "arizona", "researched": true }, { "state": "AR", "name": "Arkansas", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in Arkansas. What it does have is a Medicaid position worth knowing about — see below.", "detail": [ "Arkansas does not license or certify lactation consultants, so the title is unrestricted there.", "The practical question in an unregulated state is whether a lactation consultant can bill your insurance, and for Medicaid that is a separate policy question with a real answer." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "The title tells you nothing in Arkansas — check the IBCLC credential yourself. But the Medicaid position below may matter more to what you can actually access.", "sources": [ { "label": "Health Management Associates — Medicaid coverage of breastfeeding support", "url": "https://www.healthmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/Meals4Families-Report-DRAFT_8.28.25_FINAL.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "pending", "summary": "⚠ Effective 1 January 2026 under Act 627 (HB 1333, April 2025), which mandates Medicaid and commercial coverage of lactation consultation and requires the state to create a new provider type. Our most recent source is from summer 2025 — before that date, when the benefit was still in implementation planning — so whether it is operational today is not verified. The Act covers services from an IBCLC \"or a certified lactation counselor under supervision of a contracted and in-network healthcare provider\"; whether an IBCLC will bill independently is not yet established. Arkansas Medicaid had not previously covered lactation services at all.", "since": "2026-01-01", "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Health Management Associates — Medicaid Coverage of Breastfeeding Support (Aug 2025), a six-state study with footnotes to state Medicaid policy", "url": "https://www.healthmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/Meals4Families-Report-DRAFT_8.28.25_FINAL.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "LegiScan — Arkansas HB 1333 (Act 627, 2025)", "url": "https://legiscan.com/AR/text/HB1333/2025", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ] }, "slug": "arkansas", "researched": true }, { "state": "CA", "name": "California", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in California. What it does have is a researched Medicaid position — see below.", "detail": [ "California does not license or certify lactation consultants, so the title is unrestricted there.", "In an unregulated state the practical question is not the title but whether anyone can bill for the service, and for Medicaid that has a real per-state answer." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "The title tells you nothing in California — check the IBCLC credential yourself. The Medicaid position below is likely to matter more to what you can actually access.", "sources": [ { "label": "Health Net California — Medi-Cal provider manual, Lactation Education and Support Services", "url": "https://providerlibrary.healthnetcalifornia.com/medi-cal/provider-manual/benefits/maternity/lactation-education-and-support-services.html", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "California DHCS — Doula services as a Medi-Cal benefit (lactation support included in doula scope)", "url": "https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/providers-partners/doula-services-as-a-medi-cal-benefit/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "supervised_only", "summary": "Medi-Cal does not recognise a lactation educator-counselor or IBCLC certification as a designated profession that can be assigned a provider number or bill directly. Lactation support IS payable, but only when rendered by a community perinatal health worker, medical assistant, RN, NP or PA who holds one of those certifications, billed under that provider's Medi-Cal number. A non-RN IBCLC in independent practice has no route.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Health Net California — Medi-Cal provider manual, Lactation Education and Support Services", "url": "https://providerlibrary.healthnetcalifornia.com/medi-cal/provider-manual/benefits/maternity/lactation-education-and-support-services.html", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "California DHCS — Doula services as a Medi-Cal benefit (lactation support included in doula scope)", "url": "https://www.dhcs.ca.gov/providers-partners/doula-services-as-a-medi-cal-benefit/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ] }, "slug": "california", "researched": true }, { "state": "CO", "name": "Colorado", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in Colorado. What it does have is a Medicaid position worth knowing about — see below.", "detail": [ "Colorado does not license or certify lactation consultants, so the title is unrestricted there.", "The practical question in an unregulated state is whether a lactation consultant can bill your insurance, and for Medicaid that is a separate policy question with a real answer." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "The title tells you nothing in Colorado — check the IBCLC credential yourself. But the Medicaid position below may matter more to what you can actually access.", "sources": [ { "label": "Health First Colorado — Lactation FAQs (not read directly)", "url": "https://hcpf.colorado.gov/sites/hcpf/files/Lactation%20FAQs.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "direct", "summary": "From 1 December 2024, IBCLCs, CLCs and Certified Lactation Educators may enrol as Colorado Medicaid providers. IBCLCs may practise without supervision and bill directly; CLCs and CLEs must be supervised by an enrolled MD/DO, PA, APN, CNM or IBCLC and may not bill directly. No visit limit; visits billable up to two hours.", "since": "2024-12-01", "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Health Management Associates — Medicaid Coverage of Breastfeeding Support (Aug 2025), a six-state study with footnotes to state Medicaid policy", "url": "https://www.healthmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/Meals4Families-Report-DRAFT_8.28.25_FINAL.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "Colorado HCPF — Lactation Support Services Billing Manual", "url": "https://hcpf.colorado.gov/sites/hcpf/files/Lactation%20FAQs.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ] }, "slug": "colorado", "researched": true }, { "state": "CT", "name": "Connecticut", "status": "licensed", "since": "2026-07-01", "requiresIBCLC": true, "summary": "Connecticut licenses lactation consultants through the Department of Public Health. The programme became operational on 1 July 2026 — the newest in the country. Only IBCLC-certified practitioners are eligible.", "detail": [ "Established by SB 1373, 'An Act Requiring the Licensure of Lactation Consultants'.", "Eligibility requires certification as an IBCLC by IBLCE.", "A licence is needed to practise lactation consulting for compensation: $200 initial application fee, renewable every two years for $100, contingent on maintaining IBCLC certification and completing continuing education.", "The title 'lactation consultant' is restricted to licensees, with exceptions for nurses, midwives, doulas and public-health workers providing related services under their own titles.", "The Commissioner of Public Health may deny or discipline a licence for professional misconduct, fraud, negligence or failure to maintain certification." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "In Connecticut, someone advertising as a 'lactation consultant' for pay should hold a state licence, and holding one means they are an IBCLC. You can ask for their licence.", "sources": [ { "label": "Connecticut DPH — Lactation Consultant Practice Act", "url": "https://portal.ct.gov/dph/knowledge-base/articles/licensing/lactation-consultant/lactation-consultant-practice-act", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" }, { "label": "Connecticut DPH — licensing requirements", "url": "https://portal.ct.gov/dph/knowledge-base/articles/licensing/lactation-consultant/lactation-consultant-licensing-requirements", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" }, { "label": "SB 1373 bill analysis, Connecticut General Assembly", "url": "https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/ba/pdf/2025SB-01373-R000290-BA.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "primarySourceVerified": true, "missingFromStandardLists": true, "missingNote": "Its licensing programme became operational on 1 July 2026 — the newest in the country. USLCA's own licensure page, dated 2023, does not list it.", "slug": "connecticut", "researched": true }, { "state": "DE", "name": "Delaware", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence in Delaware. The Division of Professional Regulation's boards cover nursing, midwifery and other health professions, but none covers lactation.", "detail": [ "The Delaware Division of Professional Regulation's list of regulated boards and professions includes no lactation board (read 2026-09-11)." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Delaware. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "Delaware Division of Professional Regulation — boards and professions", "url": "https://dpr.delaware.gov/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "supervised_only", "summary": "Delaware Medicaid has paid for lactation counselling as a separate pregnancy-related service since 2 June 2017 — but only when it is given by a physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, midwife or registered nurse who also holds CLC or IBCLC certification. A lactation consultant without one of those licences does not qualify. ⚠ The state's document refused our request; this rests on its text as indexed.", "since": "2017-06-02", "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Delaware Division of Medicaid & Medical Assistance — Lactation Counseling Services", "url": "https://dhss.delaware.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/dmma/pdf/lactation_counseling_services.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ] }, "slug": "delaware", "researched": true }, { "state": "DC", "name": "District of Columbia", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence in the District of Columbia. Lactation consulting is not among the health occupations the Health Occupations Revision Act regulates — but DC Medicaid enrols board-certified lactation consultants directly.", "detail": [ "DC Code §3-1201.02 defines the regulated health occupations, from medicine and nursing to psychology; lactation consulting is not among them (read 2026-09-11).", "The District funds a Lactation Certification Preparatory Program (DC Code §4-651.08), which prepares people for certification; it does not license anyone." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in the District. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something — and in DC, a board-certified consultant can bill Medicaid directly.", "sources": [ { "label": "DC Code §3-1201.02 — regulated health occupations", "url": "https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/3-1201.02", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "DC Code §4-651.08 — Lactation Certification Preparatory Program", "url": "https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/4-651.08", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "direct", "summary": "DC Medicaid enrols board-certified lactation consultants as providers who bill lactation consultation themselves, under HCPCS code S9443 at $15.63 per 15-minute unit — up to four units a visit and four visits within 120 days of delivery — effective 1 January 2019 (DHCF Transmittal 19-20, issued 26 September 2019).", "since": "2019-01-01", "primarySourceVerified": true, "sources": [ { "label": "DC Department of Health Care Finance — Transmittal 19-20, Enrollment & Code and Rate for Lactation Consultation Services", "url": "https://dhcf.dc.gov/publication/transmittal-19-20-enrollment-code-and-rate-lactation-consultation-services", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ] }, "slug": "district-of-columbia", "researched": true }, { "state": "FL", "name": "Florida", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in Florida. What it does have is a researched Medicaid position — see below.", "detail": [ "Florida does not license or certify lactation consultants, so the title is unrestricted there.", "In an unregulated state the practical question is not the title but whether anyone can bill for the service, and for Medicaid that has a real per-state answer." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "The title tells you nothing in Florida — check the IBCLC credential yourself. The Medicaid position below is likely to matter more to what you can actually access.", "sources": [ { "label": "Florida Lactation Consultant Association — policy and advocacy", "url": "https://flca.info/policy--advocacy.html", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "Florida Administrative Code 59G-1.060 — provider enrollment policy", "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/florida/Fla-Admin-Code-Ann-R-59G-1-060", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "not_possible", "summary": "IBCLCs are not on the Florida Medicaid provider list, so they cannot bill directly. Lactation education is reimbursed only under doula services or where the provider is enrolled as a Medicaid physician or nurse practitioner — which excludes the majority of IBCLCs, who are neither. Florida also has no state regulation of lactation practitioners at all, so there is no licence to fall back on.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Florida Lactation Consultant Association — policy and advocacy", "url": "https://flca.info/policy--advocacy.html", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "Florida Administrative Code 59G-1.060 — provider enrollment policy", "url": "https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/florida/Fla-Admin-Code-Ann-R-59G-1-060", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ] }, "slug": "florida", "researched": true }, { "state": "GA", "name": "Georgia", "status": "struck_down", "since": "2016", "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "Georgia passed a lactation consultant licensing law in 2016, but a court declared it unconstitutional in 2022 and the state agreed not to enforce it. There is no licence requirement in Georgia today.", "detail": [ "The Georgia Lactation Consultant Practice Act (HB 649, 2016) went further than other states: it barred anyone from offering any level of lactation support for compensation without IBCLC certification.", "On 3 March 2022 the Fulton County Superior Court declared the Act unconstitutional. The state had already agreed not to enforce the IBCLC requirement during the litigation.", "The challenge rested on the Georgia Constitution's protection of the right to work in one's chosen profession free from unreasonable government interference.", "⚠ USLCA's own licensure page still listed Georgia as a licensure state when read on 2026-09-09." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "In Georgia, nobody is required to hold a licence to offer lactation support, so the title tells you less than it does in Connecticut or Rhode Island. Checking a practitioner's IBCLC credential directly matters more here, not less.", "sources": [ { "label": "Institute for Justice — Georgia lactation consultants prevail", "url": "https://ij.org/press-release/georgia-lactation-consultants-victorious-over-unconstitutional-licensing-law/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" }, { "label": "Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia — HB 649", "url": "https://www.hmhbga.org/hb-649", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "primarySourceVerified": true, "missingFromStandardLists": false, "medicaid": { "status": "direct", "summary": "In August 2022 Georgia's Department of Community Health began enrolling lactation consultants as a new Medicaid provider type — a route for a lactation consultant who is not a nurse to enrol in their own right. Applicants must meet the qualifications set out in the Georgia Lactation Consultant Practice Act, which requires IBCLC certification, as well as Georgia Medicaid's own requirements.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": true, "sources": [ { "label": "Georgia Department of Community Health — Enrolling Lactation Consultants as a New Provider Type (2022-08-05)", "url": "https://dch.georgia.gov/announcement/2022-08-05/dch-enrolling-lactation-consultants", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ] }, "slug": "georgia", "researched": true }, { "state": "HI", "name": "Hawaii", "licensureChecked": false, "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Only Hawaii's Medicaid position has been researched so far. Its licensing laws have not yet been checked at the source." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Hawaii. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "supervised_only", "summary": "Med-QUEST, Hawaii's Medicaid programme, reimbursed lactation care only when a physician or nurse practitioner billed it, and did not pay IBCLCs unless the IBCLC completed the visit with, or was also licensed as, a physician or nurse practitioner — as described in an October 2021 article in the Hawaiʻi Journal of Health & Social Welfare. We have not found a newer Med-QUEST policy.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Hawaiʻi Journal of Health & Social Welfare — Exploring Challenges and Opportunities for Breastfeeding in Hawaiʻi (October 2021)", "url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8538114/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ] }, "slug": "hawaii", "researched": false }, { "state": "ID", "name": "Idaho", "slug": "idaho", "status": "none_identified", "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's", "own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Stated as what we checked, not as a guarantee. A state law we did not", "find is not the same as a state law that does not exist, and this", "distinction is why the wording says 'none identified'." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Idaho. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "researched": false, "primarySourceVerified": false, "medicaid": null }, { "state": "IL", "name": "Illinois", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in Illinois. What it does have is a Medicaid position worth knowing about — see below.", "detail": [ "Illinois does not license or certify lactation consultants, so the title is unrestricted there.", "The practical question in an unregulated state is whether a lactation consultant can bill your insurance, and for Medicaid that is a separate policy question with a real answer." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "The title tells you nothing in Illinois — check the IBCLC credential yourself. But the Medicaid position below may matter more to what you can actually access.", "sources": [ { "label": "Illinois HFS — provider notice, lactation consultant enrolment and billing", "url": "https://hfs.illinois.gov/medicalproviders/notices/notice.prn241219c.html", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "medicaid": { "summary": "IBCLCs enrol with Illinois Medicaid as a \"Health Support Professional\" with the Lactation Consultant specialty, and may enrol as a Regular Individual Sole Proprietor — which means billing directly rather than only through a supervising provider. Per Public Act 102-0665.", "since": "2024-01-01", "primarySourceVerified": true, "sources": [ { "label": "Illinois HFS — provider notice, lactation consultant enrolment and billing", "url": "https://hfs.illinois.gov/medicalproviders/notices/notice.prn241219c.html", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "status": "direct" }, "slug": "illinois", "researched": true }, { "state": "IN", "name": "Indiana", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence in Indiana. The Professional Licensing Agency governs more than 40 professions, including dietitians, midwives and nurses, but not lactation consultants.", "detail": [ "The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency's list of the professions it governs includes no lactation credential (read 2026-09-11)." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Indiana. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "Indiana Professional Licensing Agency — professions", "url": "https://www.in.gov/pla/professions/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "slug": "indiana", "researched": true }, { "state": "IA", "name": "Iowa", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence in Iowa. The health-profession chapters of the Iowa Code — medicine, nursing, dietetics, midwifery and the rest — include none for lactation consultants.", "detail": [ "Iowa Code Title IV, Public Health, holds the health-profession licensing chapters from 147 onward; none licenses lactation consultants (read 2026-09-11)." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Iowa. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "Iowa Legislature — Iowa Code Title IV chapters", "url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/law/iowaCode/chapters?title=IV", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "slug": "iowa", "researched": true }, { "state": "KS", "name": "Kansas", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in Kansas. What it does have is a researched Medicaid position — see below.", "detail": [ "Kansas does not license or certify lactation consultants, so the title is unrestricted there.", "In an unregulated state the practical question is not the title but whether a lactation consultant can bill, and for Medicaid that has a real per-state answer." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "The title tells you nothing in Kansas — check the IBCLC credential yourself. The Medicaid position below is likely to matter more to what you can actually access.", "sources": [ { "label": "Health Management Associates — Medicaid Coverage of Breastfeeding Support (Aug 2025), a six-state study with footnotes to state Medicaid policy", "url": "https://www.healthmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/Meals4Families-Report-DRAFT_8.28.25_FINAL.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "supervised_only", "summary": "Kansas Medicaid policy requires that IBCLCs be \"employed by the physician or physician group\". Unlike doulas, who may bill independently, IBCLCs must be affiliated with a hospital or clinical office eligible to bill. Practitioners who attempt to bill independently receive no reimbursement.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Health Management Associates — Medicaid Coverage of Breastfeeding Support (Aug 2025), a six-state study with footnotes to state Medicaid policy", "url": "https://www.healthmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/Meals4Families-Report-DRAFT_8.28.25_FINAL.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ] }, "slug": "kansas", "researched": true }, { "state": "KY", "name": "Kentucky", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in Kentucky. HB 487 (2026) would have created one under the Board of Nursing; it was referred to committee on 3 February 2026 with no recorded vote.", "detail": [ "HB 487 (2026 Regular Session), \"an act relating to the practice of lactation consultation\", would have created licensed lactation consultants under the Kentucky Board of Nursing with an advisory council. It was referred to the House Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations committee on 3 February 2026; no vote is recorded.", "⚠ The status comes from a bill-tracking service; the Legislature's own record page refused our request, and we have not yet read Kentucky's list of licensed professions." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Kentucky. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "Kentucky General Assembly — HB 487 (2026) as introduced", "url": "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb487/orig_bill.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "FastDemocracy — Kentucky HB 487 (2026) status", "url": "https://fastdemocracy.com/bill-search/ky/2026RS/bills/KYB00019481/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "slug": "kentucky", "researched": true }, { "state": "LA", "name": "Louisiana", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in Louisiana. State law does create a registry: the Office of Public Health keeps a list of International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (R.S. 40:2213). A registry records a certification; it is not a licence.", "detail": [ "R.S. 40:2213 (Acts 1999, No. 627) directs the Louisiana Department of Health's Office of Public Health to keep a registry of people certified to provide lactation consultant services; to be listed, a person must hold and maintain IBCLC certification.", "⚠ The Legislature's site timed out on every request. The statute's wording here comes from its published page as indexed, not from a direct read." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "Louisiana has a state registry of IBCLCs but no licence, so the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted. Check the IBCLC credential itself.", "sources": [ { "label": "Louisiana State Legislature — R.S. 40:2213, Lactation consultant registry", "url": "https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=98171", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "direct", "summary": "Louisiana lets its Medicaid managed-care plans cover outpatient lactation support in place of other care. Under the Department of Health's manual for this service (8 December 2023), a lactation support provider — including an IBCLC who is not a nurse, enrolled under taxonomy 174N00000X — can enrol and bill individual visits (S9445) and classes (S9443), with up to six sessions allowed without prior authorisation. ⚠ Each plan chooses whether to offer the service, and none is required to contract with every qualified provider.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": true, "sources": [ { "label": "Louisiana Department of Health — MCO Manual, Outpatient Lactation Support (LDH-17, 2023-12-08)", "url": "https://www.ldh.la.gov/assets/medicaid/MCPP/LDH-17_MCO_Manual_Outpatient_Lactation_Support_2023-12-08.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ] }, "slug": "louisiana", "researched": true }, { "state": "ME", "name": "Maine", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence in Maine. The Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation's list of licensed professions has none for lactation — but a 2025 law requires MaineCare to pay certified lactation consultants.", "detail": [ "The Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation lists every profession it licenses, from accountants to veterinary technicians; lactation consulting is not among them (read 2026-09-11).", "22 MRSA §3174-PPP (Public Law 2025, chapter 468) makes lactation consultants certified by an approved national organisation eligible for MaineCare reimbursement without a state licence — see the Medicaid position below." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Maine. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation — licensed professions", "url": "https://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/professions", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "pending", "summary": "Maine law (22 MRSA §3174-PPP, enacted by Public Law 2025, chapter 468) requires MaineCare to reimburse lactation services given by a licensed health professional or by a consultant or counsellor certified by a national organisation the department approves — which includes a lactation consultant who is not a nurse. The department must adopt rules to carry it out, and we have not verified that enrolment and payment are operating.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": true, "sources": [ { "label": "Maine Revised Statutes — Title 22 §3174-PPP, Reimbursement for lactation services", "url": "https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/22/title22sec3174-PPP.html", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ] }, "slug": "maine", "researched": true }, { "state": "MD", "name": "Maryland", "slug": "maryland", "status": "none_identified", "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's", "own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Stated as what we checked, not as a guarantee. A state law we did not", "find is not the same as a state law that does not exist, and this", "distinction is why the wording says 'none identified'." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Maryland. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "researched": false, "primarySourceVerified": false, "medicaid": null }, { "state": "MA", "name": "Massachusetts", "status": "licensed", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": "2024-11-21", "requiresIBCLC": true, "summary": "Massachusetts enacted lactation consultant licensure in November 2024, administered by the Board of Allied Health Professions. ⚠ We have not yet read the statute itself — see the caveat below.", "detail": [ "⚠ PRIMARY SOURCE NOT YET READ. Every government source for this record — malegislature.gov and mass.gov — was unreachable from the machine this dataset is built on. What follows is from secondary sources that agree with each other, and it is published on that basis rather than presented as verified.", "Licensure requirements are reported as added by St. 2024, c. 186, § 34, effective 2024-11-21.", "Reported as codified in Massachusetts General Laws chapter 112. Sources differ on the exact section — § 23B and § 23J½ both appear — which is itself a reason to treat this record as unverified.", "An applicant must be at least 18 and meet the education and clinical standards established for International Board Certified Lactation Consultants by IBLCE or its successor.", "The Board of Allied Health Professions includes three members who are licensed lactation consultants.", "⚠ Whether applications are actually open, and whether a public licensee register exists, is unconfirmed." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "Massachusetts appears to have a lactation consultant licence, but we have not been able to confirm the details against the state's own published law, and we do not know whether licensing is operational yet. Treat this page as a pointer, and check with the Board of Allied Health Professions before relying on it.", "sources": [ { "label": "Massachusetts General Laws c.112 §23B (not reachable from this machine; listed as the reported codification)", "url": "https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVI/Chapter112/Section23B", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "Mass.gov — Board of Allied Health Professions", "url": "https://www.mass.gov/orgs/board-of-allied-health-professions", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "CLEAR — Massachusetts: licensure for midwives and lactation consultants", "url": "https://www.clearhq.org/news/massachusetts-licensure-for-midwives-and-lactation-consultants", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "missingFromStandardLists": true, "missingNote": "It enacted licensure in November 2024 and is absent from USLCA's tracker. We did not have it either until 2026-09-10.", "slug": "massachusetts", "researched": true }, { "state": "MI", "name": "Michigan", "licensureChecked": false, "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Only Michigan's Medicaid position has been researched so far. Its licensing laws have not yet been checked at the source." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Michigan. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "supervised_only", "summary": "Michigan Medicaid bulletin MSA 15-46 requires the rendering provider for lactation services to be a Medicaid-enrolled physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant or nurse midwife. When one of them delegates to and supervises an IBCLC within their scope of practice, that practitioner may bill — so a lactation consultant who is not a nurse can be paid only through them. ⚠ Michigan's site refused our request; this rests on the bulletin's text as indexed.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Michigan DHHS — Medicaid bulletin MSA 15-46, lactation services", "url": "https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/mdhhs/Folder1/Folder32/MSA_15-46.pdf?rev=16f67e1280294b5b8f3c5de3c605e5e0", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ] }, "slug": "michigan", "researched": false }, { "state": "MN", "name": "Minnesota", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence in Minnesota. None of the state's health-related licensing boards covers lactation, and bills to create a clinical lactation licence in 2015 and 2017 did not become law.", "detail": [ "Minnesota's health-related licensing boards — from Behavioral Health to Nursing — include no lactation board (read 2026-09-11).", "HF 2322 (2015) and HF 1413 (2017–2018) proposed licensing clinical lactation services. Neither created a licence." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Minnesota. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "Minnesota health-related licensing boards", "url": "https://mn.gov/boards/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "Minnesota Legislature — HF 1413 status (2017–2018)", "url": "https://revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=House&f=HF1413&ssn=0&y=2017", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "supervised_only", "summary": "Minnesota Health Care Programs do not enrol lactation consultants in their own right. The provider manual's only route is prenatal education: clinics and outpatient hospitals whose programme is directed by an enrolled provider may bill for registered nurses, or for health educators with a relevant degree or a certification such as IBCLC. A lactation consultant who is not a nurse can be paid only through such a clinic or hospital.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": true, "sources": [ { "label": "Minnesota DHS — MHCP Provider Manual, Obstetric Services (revised 2023-01-23)", "url": "https://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&dID=132735", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ] }, "slug": "minnesota", "researched": true }, { "state": "MS", "name": "Mississippi", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence in Mississippi. A 2026 bill to create one — the Mississippi Lactation Consultant Practice Act, which would have required a licence from 1 July 2029 — died without becoming law.", "detail": [ "House Bill 1093 (2026 Regular Session) would have made the State Board of Health license lactation consultants and barred unlicensed practice from 1 July 2029. The Legislature's bill record marks it dead (read 2026-09-11)." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Mississippi. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "Mississippi Legislature — HB 1093 (2026), as introduced", "url": "https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2026/html/HB/1000-1099/HB1093IN.htm", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "Mississippi Legislature — HB 1093 (2026) bill history", "url": "https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2026/pdf/history/HB/HB1093.xml", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "slug": "mississippi", "researched": true }, { "state": "MO", "name": "Missouri", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence in Missouri. Title XXII of the Revised Statutes, which holds the state's occupational licensing laws, has no chapter for lactation consultants.", "detail": [ "Missouri Revised Statutes Title XXII (Occupations and Professions) runs from chapter 324 to 346 — physicians, nurses, dietitians and others — with no chapter licensing lactation consultants (read 2026-09-11).", "The Department of Health and Senior Services instead lists lactation providers who choose to register, which is not a licence." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Missouri. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "Missouri Revisor of Statutes — Title XXII, Occupations and Professions", "url": "https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneTitle.aspx?title=XXII", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services — Lactation Providers", "url": "https://health.mo.gov/families/healthy-families/breastfeeding/lactation-providers", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "slug": "missouri", "researched": true }, { "state": "MT", "name": "Montana", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence in Montana. None of the licensing boards and programmes run by the state's Business Standards Division covers lactation.", "detail": [ "The Business Standards Division lists its licensing boards and programmes, from the Allied Health Board to Veterinary Medicine; none licenses lactation consultants (read 2026-09-11)." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Montana. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "Montana Department of Labor & Industry — Business Standards Division licensing boards", "url": "https://boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "slug": "montana", "researched": true }, { "state": "NE", "name": "Nebraska", "slug": "nebraska", "status": "none_identified", "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's", "own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Stated as what we checked, not as a guarantee. A state law we did not", "find is not the same as a state law that does not exist, and this", "distinction is why the wording says 'none identified'." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Nebraska. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "researched": false, "primarySourceVerified": false, "medicaid": null }, { "state": "NV", "name": "Nevada", "slug": "nevada", "status": "none_identified", "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's", "own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Stated as what we checked, not as a guarantee. A state law we did not", "find is not the same as a state law that does not exist, and this", "distinction is why the wording says 'none identified'." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Nevada. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "researched": false, "primarySourceVerified": false, "medicaid": null }, { "state": "NH", "name": "New Hampshire", "status": "voluntary_certification", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": "2026-01-16", "requiresIBCLC": false, "missingFromStandardLists": false, "summary": "New Hampshire does not license lactation consultants, but it has created a voluntary state certification for lactation service providers, run by the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification. Its rules took effect on 16 January 2026. Practising is not restricted.", "detail": [ "Created by SB 337 (2024), chapter 280 of the Laws of 2024, signed on 26 July 2024; now RSA 310-A:222. The certification rules are Plc 1900, effective 16 January 2026.", "⚠ It is VOLUNTARY: it does not restrict who may practise.", "Certification requires a credential from an organisation accredited by the American National Standards Institute, the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, or another recognised accreditation body.", "The certification is meant to make lactation service providers eligible for direct Medicaid reimbursement. We have not verified that New Hampshire Medicaid enrols or pays them.", "⚠ The Office's own pages refused our automated requests. These facts come from the bill record and from the Office's published pages and rule notices as indexed, not from a direct read." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "In New Hampshire a state certification for lactation service providers exists, but it is optional, so plenty of good practitioners will not hold it. Treat it as a bonus signal rather than a filter, and check the IBCLC credential either way.", "sources": [ { "label": "LegiScan — New Hampshire SB 337 (2024), doula and lactation service provider certification", "url": "https://legiscan.com/NH/text/SB337/id/2921190", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "NH Office of Professional Licensure and Certification — Doulas and LSP laws and rules", "url": "https://www.oplc.nh.gov/find-board/doulas-and-lactation-service-providers/doulas-and-lsp-laws-rules", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "NH Office of Professional Licensure and Certification — Voluntary Certification of Doulas and Lactation Service Providers", "url": "https://www.oplc.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt441/files/inline-documents/20250822_lactationserviceproviders.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "slug": "new-hampshire", "researched": true }, { "state": "NJ", "name": "New Jersey", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in New Jersey. A Lactation Consultants Licensing Act has been introduced repeatedly — in 2018, 2022 and again in the 2026 session as S2674 — and we have found no version enacted.", "detail": [ "A1829 (2018–2019) and S1126 (2022–2023), each titled the \"Lactation Consultants Licensing Act\", were introduced and referred to committee. S2674 was introduced in the 2026 session.", "⚠ We have not yet read New Jersey's list of licensed professions directly, so this record rests on the Legislature's bill records rather than a check that no licence exists." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in New Jersey. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "New Jersey Legislature — S1126 (2022), Lactation Consultants Licensing Act", "url": "https://pub.njleg.gov/bills/2022/S1500/1126_I1.HTM", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "New Jersey Legislature — S2674 (2026)", "url": "https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2026/S3000/2674_I1.HTM", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "direct", "summary": "New Jersey's Medicaid state plan covers lactation consultant services and names International Board Certified Lactation Consultants as the qualified providers, so a board-certified consultant who is not a nurse can be paid for them (SPA NJ-23-0006, approved by CMS on 4 May 2023, effective 1 March 2023). The service must be recommended by a physician or other licensed practitioner; each beneficiary may have up to five individual visits and four telephone contacts a year.", "since": "2023-03-01", "primarySourceVerified": true, "sources": [ { "label": "CMS — New Jersey State Plan Amendment NJ-23-0006, Lactation Consultant Services", "url": "https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/spa/downloads/NJ-23-0006.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ] }, "slug": "new-jersey", "researched": true }, { "state": "NM", "name": "New Mexico", "status": "licensed", "since": "2018-07-30", "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "New Mexico licenses 'Lactation Care Providers' through the Board of Nursing. Unlike the other licensure states, it accepts several national certifications — not IBCLC alone.", "detail": [ "Enacted as HB 138, with regulations effective 2018-07-30. Codified at NMAC 16.12.11 and administered by the New Mexico Board of Nursing.", "⚠ The credential is titled 'Lactation Care Provider', not 'lactation consultant'. Lists that describe New Mexico as licensing 'lactation consultants' are using the wrong name for it.", "An applicant must hold an approved national certification as a lactation provider. The Board names several accepting bodies — the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBCLC), the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice (CLC), LEAARC, IACET and NCCA.", "⚠ This makes New Mexico materially different from Connecticut, Oregon and Rhode Island, where eligibility runs through IBCLC certification. A New Mexico licence does NOT by itself imply the holder is an IBCLC.", "The Board of Nursing publishes no public lookup for this credential that we could find, unlike its nursing registers." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "In New Mexico a licensed Lactation Care Provider has met a state standard, but the licence alone does not tell you which certification they hold — it could be IBCLC, or CLC, or another. If the IBCLC credential specifically matters to you, ask, and check it against the IBLCE registry yourself.", "sources": [ { "label": "New Mexico Board of Nursing — Lactation Care Provider", "url": "https://www.bon.nm.gov/lcp/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" }, { "label": "NMAC 16.12.11 — Lactation Care Providers", "url": "https://www.srca.nm.gov/nmac/nmregister/xxxiii/16.12.11.html", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" }, { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (HB 138 and regulations)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "primarySourceVerified": true, "missingFromStandardLists": false, "medicaid": { "status": "direct", "summary": "New Mexico Medicaid enrols lactation providers who hold a valid IBCLC, CLC or equivalent certification, under its doula and lactation state plan amendment (SPA 24-0004), according to a 2025 managed-care reference guide. ⚠ The state's own SPA pages refused our request, so this is not yet confirmed against them.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Molina Healthcare of New Mexico — 2025 Doula and Lactation Provider Managed Care Reference Guide", "url": "https://www.molinahealthcare.com/providers/nm/medicaid/comm/-/media/24FE36EDB1A24CA48A0275F90219A5CA.ashx", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "New Mexico Health Care Authority — SPA 24-0004, Doula and Lactation", "url": "https://www.hca.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/SPA-24-0004-Doula-and-Lactation-spa-pages_-1.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ] }, "slug": "new-mexico", "researched": true }, { "state": "NY", "name": "New York", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in New York. What it does have is a researched Medicaid position — see below.", "detail": [ "New York does not license or certify lactation consultants, so the title is unrestricted there.", "In an unregulated state the practical question is not the title but whether anyone can bill for the service, and for Medicaid that has a real per-state answer." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "The title tells you nothing in New York — check the IBCLC credential yourself. The Medicaid position below is likely to matter more to what you can actually access.", "sources": [ { "label": "New York State DOH — Medicaid coverage of lactation counseling services (403 to automated fetch; read via search index)", "url": "https://www.health.ny.gov/community/pregnancy/breastfeeding/medicaid_coverage/lactation_counseling_services.htm", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "New York State Medicaid Update, June 2022 (Vol. 38 No. 7)", "url": "https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/program/update/2022/no07_2022-06.htm", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "supervised_only", "summary": "New York Medicaid has paid for lactation counselling since 2013, and from July 2022 (fee-for-service) and September 2022 (managed care) widened the accepted certifications to include IBCLC, CLC, CBS, CLS, CLE, CCL and CBE. ⚠ But the biller must be a LICENSED health professional — physician, PA, NP, midwife or RN — who also holds one of those certifications. The certification is an add-on to a licence, not a route of its own, so a non-RN IBCLC cannot enrol and bill independently. Codes S9445/S9446.", "since": "2013", "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "New York State DOH — Medicaid coverage of lactation counseling services (403 to automated fetch; read via search index)", "url": "https://www.health.ny.gov/community/pregnancy/breastfeeding/medicaid_coverage/lactation_counseling_services.htm", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "New York State Medicaid Update, June 2022 (Vol. 38 No. 7)", "url": "https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/program/update/2022/no07_2022-06.htm", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ] }, "slug": "new-york", "researched": true }, { "state": "NC", "name": "North Carolina", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in North Carolina. What it does have is a Medicaid position worth knowing about — see below.", "detail": [ "North Carolina does not license or certify lactation consultants, so the title is unrestricted there.", "The practical question in an unregulated state is whether a lactation consultant can bill your insurance, and for Medicaid that is a separate policy question with a real answer." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "The title tells you nothing in North Carolina — check the IBCLC credential yourself. But the Medicaid position below may matter more to what you can actually access.", "sources": [ { "label": "Health Management Associates — Medicaid coverage of breastfeeding support", "url": "https://www.healthmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/Meals4Families-Report-DRAFT_8.28.25_FINAL.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "not_possible", "summary": "North Carolina Medicaid's Provider Permission Matrix has no dedicated taxonomy code for non-RN IBCLCs, so a board-certified lactation consultant who is not a nurse can neither enrol in nor bill Medicaid directly. They must bill incident to a licensed practitioner. This is the worst position of any state researched.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Health Management Associates — Medicaid Coverage of Breastfeeding Support (Aug 2025), a six-state study with footnotes to state Medicaid policy", "url": "https://www.healthmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/Meals4Families-Report-DRAFT_8.28.25_FINAL.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ] }, "slug": "north-carolina", "researched": true }, { "state": "ND", "name": "North Dakota", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence in North Dakota. Title 43 of the Century Code, Occupations and Professions, has 66 chapters and none for lactation consultants.", "detail": [ "North Dakota Century Code Title 43 runs from abstracters (43-01) to community health workers (43-66); no chapter licenses or certifies lactation consultants (read 2026-09-11)." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in North Dakota. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "North Dakota Century Code — Title 43, Occupations and Professions", "url": "https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t43.html", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "slug": "north-dakota", "researched": true }, { "state": "OH", "name": "Ohio", "licensureChecked": false, "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Only Ohio's Medicaid position has been researched so far. Its licensing laws have not yet been checked at the source." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Ohio. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "supervised_only", "summary": "Ohio Medicaid pays for lactation consulting (OAC 5160-8-42, in effect since 1 January 2022) only when a licensed practitioner gives it. Since the October 2024 amendment, practitioners who also hold the IBCLC credential — registered nurses without supervision, licensed practical nurses, physical, occupational and speech therapists, dentists, dietitians and pharmacists — can receive a separate professional payment. An IBCLC without one of those licences is not on the list.", "since": "2022-01-01", "primarySourceVerified": true, "sources": [ { "label": "Ohio Department of Medicaid — MTL 3336-24-11, Amendment to OAC 5160-8-42 Lactation Consultation Services (2024-10-01)", "url": "https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/medicaid.ohio.gov/About%20Us/PoliciesGuidelines/MTL/MTL_Lactation_Consulting_V_1.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "Ohio Department of Medicaid — MTL 3336-21-13, Coverage and Payment of Lactation Consulting Services", "url": "https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/medicaid.ohio.gov/About%20Us/PoliciesGuidelines/MTL/MTL-3336-21-13.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ] }, "slug": "ohio", "researched": false }, { "state": "OK", "name": "Oklahoma", "licensureChecked": false, "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Only Oklahoma's Medicaid position has been researched so far. Its licensing laws have not yet been checked at the source." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Oklahoma. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "supervised_only", "summary": "SoonerCare contracts lactation consultants only when they are IBCLCs AND licensed as a registered nurse or a registered dietitian. A lactation consultant with neither licence cannot contract with the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, so cannot be paid in their own right.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": true, "sources": [ { "label": "Oklahoma Health Care Authority — Lactation Consultants (last modified 2024-10-10)", "url": "https://oklahoma.gov/ohca/providers/types/prenatal-and-perinatal-services/lactation-consultants.html", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ] }, "slug": "oklahoma", "researched": false }, { "state": "OR", "name": "Oregon", "status": "licensed", "since": "2017-12-01", "requiresIBCLC": true, "summary": "Oregon licenses lactation consultants. Implementing regulations took effect on 1 December 2017.", "detail": [ "Enacted as HB 2503, with administrative rules 475–495 effective 2017-12-01.", "Restricts presenting oneself to consumers as a lactation consultant to IBCLC-certified practitioners." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "In Oregon, the title is protected. Other lactation support professionals may still help you — they just cannot use that specific title.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (HB 2503 and rules)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "primarySourceVerified": true, "missingFromStandardLists": false, "medicaid": { "status": "direct", "summary": "Oregon Medicaid entitles enrollees to lactation support to six months postpartum with no visit cap. Registered nurses, nurse midwives and OHA-licensed lactation consultants including IBCLCs can bill independently; CLCs and peer counsellors must be supervised. ⚠ Medicaid reimburses only IBCLC-certified providers, and many Oregon counties have no IBCLC at all — so a right to the service is not the same as access to it.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Health Management Associates — Medicaid Coverage of Breastfeeding Support (Aug 2025), a six-state study with footnotes to state Medicaid policy", "url": "https://www.healthmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/Meals4Families-Report-DRAFT_8.28.25_FINAL.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ] }, "slug": "oregon", "researched": true }, { "state": "PA", "name": "Pennsylvania", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence in Pennsylvania. None of the state's 29 professional licensing boards covers lactation, and the licensure bills introduced between 2017 and 2020 did not create one.", "detail": [ "Pennsylvania's Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs lists 29 licensing boards and commissions; none licenses lactation consultants (read 2026-09-11).", "Bills to license lactation consultants under the Professional Nursing Law were introduced in the 2017–2018 and 2019–2020 sessions, including HB 513 of 2019, which was referred to the Professional Licensure committee. No licence resulted." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Pennsylvania. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "Pennsylvania Department of State — Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, licensing boards", "url": "https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dos/department-and-offices/bpoa", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "Pennsylvania General Assembly — HB 513 (2019–2020), lactation consultant licensure", "url": "https://www.palegis.us/legislation/bills/2019/hb513", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "slug": "pennsylvania", "researched": true }, { "state": "RI", "name": "Rhode Island", "status": "licensed", "since": "2014", "requiresIBCLC": true, "summary": "Rhode Island licenses lactation consultants under the Lactation Consultant Practice Act. Licensure is restricted to IBCLC-certified practitioners.", "detail": [ "Enacted as HB 7914; implementing regulations are published by the Department of State at 216-RICR-40-05-27.", "Restricts presenting oneself to the public as a lactation consultant to those holding the credential." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "In Rhode Island, the title is protected. Someone calling themselves a lactation consultant should be licensed, which means they are an IBCLC.", "sources": [ { "label": "RI Department of State — Licensing of Lactation Consultants (216-RICR-40-05-27)", "url": "https://rules.sos.ri.gov/Regulations/part/216-40-05-27?reg_id=9227", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" }, { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "primarySourceVerified": true, "missingFromStandardLists": false, "slug": "rhode-island", "researched": true }, { "state": "SC", "name": "South Carolina", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence in South Carolina. Title 40 of the state code, Professions and Occupations, has no chapter for lactation. Bills pending in 2025–2026 are about insurance and Medicaid coverage, not licensure.", "detail": [ "South Carolina Code Title 40 lists chapters from accountants to genetic counselors; none licenses lactation consultants (read 2026-09-11).", "Bill 42 (2025–2026) would require Medicaid health plans to cover lactation consulting by certified lactation consultants. It was introduced on 14 January 2025 and, when read, was still in the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in South Carolina. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "South Carolina Code of Laws — Title 40, Professions and Occupations", "url": "https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/title40.php", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" }, { "label": "South Carolina Legislature — Bill 42 (2025–2026)", "url": "https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/bills/42.htm", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "slug": "south-carolina", "researched": true }, { "state": "SD", "name": "South Dakota", "slug": "south-dakota", "status": "none_identified", "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's", "own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Stated as what we checked, not as a guarantee. A state law we did not", "find is not the same as a state law that does not exist, and this", "distinction is why the wording says 'none identified'." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in South Dakota. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "researched": false, "primarySourceVerified": false, "medicaid": null }, { "state": "TN", "name": "Tennessee", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in Tennessee. What it does have is a Medicaid position worth knowing about — see below.", "detail": [ "Tennessee does not license or certify lactation consultants, so the title is unrestricted there.", "The practical question in an unregulated state is whether a lactation consultant can bill your insurance, and for Medicaid that is a separate policy question with a real answer." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "The title tells you nothing in Tennessee — check the IBCLC credential yourself. But the Medicaid position below may matter more to what you can actually access.", "sources": [ { "label": "TennCare — Lactation Providers (not read directly)", "url": "https://www.tn.gov/tenncare/providers/programs-and-facilities/maternal-health/lactation-providers.html", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "supervised_only", "summary": "⚠ Corrected 2026-09-10. TennCare allows IBCLCs to contract with its managed care organisations as independent providers — but the qualifying language is \"IBCLCs WITH MEDICAL LICENSURE\". That is a licensed clinician who also holds the IBCLC credential, not a non-RN IBCLC. Recorded here as supervised-only until TennCare's own provider page can be read directly.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "TennCare — Lactation Providers", "url": "https://www.tn.gov/tenncare/providers/programs-and-facilities/maternal-health/lactation-providers.html", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "Health Management Associates — Medicaid Coverage of Breastfeeding Support (Aug 2025)", "url": "https://www.healthmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/Meals4Families-Report-DRAFT_8.28.25_FINAL.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ] }, "slug": "tennessee", "researched": true }, { "state": "TX", "name": "Texas", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in Texas. What it does have is a Medicaid position worth knowing about — see below.", "detail": [ "Texas does not license or certify lactation consultants, so the title is unrestricted there.", "The practical question in an unregulated state is whether a lactation consultant can bill your insurance, and for Medicaid that is a separate policy question with a real answer." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "The title tells you nothing in Texas — check the IBCLC credential yourself. But the Medicaid position below may matter more to what you can actually access.", "sources": [ { "label": "Texas Legislature — HB 136 bill analysis (89R)", "url": "https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/analysis/html/HB00136E.htm", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "medicaid": { "summary": "HB 136 requires Texas Medicaid to reimburse lactation consultants and to establish a SEPARATE PROVIDER TYPE so they can enrol and bill directly. Effective 1 September 2025; operational rollout continues through 2026.", "since": "2025-09-01", "primarySourceVerified": true, "sources": [ { "label": "Texas Legislature — HB 136 bill analysis (89R)", "url": "https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/analysis/html/HB00136E.htm", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "status": "direct" }, "slug": "texas", "researched": true }, { "state": "UT", "name": "Utah", "slug": "utah", "status": "none_identified", "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's", "own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Stated as what we checked, not as a guarantee. A state law we did not", "find is not the same as a state law that does not exist, and this", "distinction is why the wording says 'none identified'." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Utah. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "researched": false, "primarySourceVerified": false, "medicaid": null }, { "state": "VT", "name": "Vermont", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in Vermont. What it does have is a researched Medicaid position — see below.", "detail": [ "Vermont does not license or certify lactation consultants, so the title is unrestricted there.", "In an unregulated state the practical question is not the title but whether a lactation consultant can bill, and for Medicaid that has a real per-state answer." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "The title tells you nothing in Vermont — check the IBCLC credential yourself. The Medicaid position below is likely to matter more to what you can actually access.", "sources": [ { "label": "Health Management Associates — Medicaid Coverage of Breastfeeding Support (Aug 2025), a six-state study with footnotes to state Medicaid policy", "url": "https://www.healthmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/Meals4Families-Report-DRAFT_8.28.25_FINAL.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "supervised_only", "summary": "Vermont Medicaid enrollees may receive unlimited in-home lactation support from an IBCLC — but because Vermont has no lactation licensure, an IBCLC must hold an ADDITIONAL credential such as an RN or NP licence to meet the licensure criteria in the Medicaid lactation policy. A non-nurse IBCLC therefore cannot satisfy it alone.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Health Management Associates — Medicaid Coverage of Breastfeeding Support (Aug 2025), a six-state study with footnotes to state Medicaid policy", "url": "https://www.healthmanagement.com/wp-content/uploads/Meals4Families-Report-DRAFT_8.28.25_FINAL.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ] }, "slug": "vermont", "researched": true }, { "state": "VA", "name": "Virginia", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": false, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in Virginia. What it does have is a researched Medicaid position — see below.", "detail": [ "Virginia does not license or certify lactation consultants, so the title is unrestricted there.", "In an unregulated state the practical question is not the title but whether anyone can bill for the service, and for Medicaid that has a real per-state answer." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "The title tells you nothing in Virginia — check the IBCLC credential yourself. The Medicaid position below is likely to matter more to what you can actually access.", "sources": [ { "label": "Virginia DMAS — comprehensive taxonomy code listing", "url": "https://vamedicaid.dmas.virginia.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/Comprehensive%20Taxonomy%20Code%20listing23FEB22_0.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "Virginia DMAS — for providers / enrolment", "url": "https://www.dmas.virginia.gov/for-providers/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "medicaid": { "status": "direct", "summary": "Virginia DMAS lists \"Lactation Consultant, Non-RN\" (NUCC taxonomy 174N00000X) as an enrollable provider type, so a board-certified lactation consultant who is not a nurse can enrol with Virginia Medicaid and bill in their own right, without physician oversight. This is the position North Carolina lacks, and the two states share a border.", "since": null, "primarySourceVerified": false, "sources": [ { "label": "Virginia DMAS — comprehensive taxonomy code listing", "url": "https://vamedicaid.dmas.virginia.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/Comprehensive%20Taxonomy%20Code%20listing23FEB22_0.pdf", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "Virginia DMAS — for providers / enrolment", "url": "https://www.dmas.virginia.gov/for-providers/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ] }, "slug": "virginia", "researched": true }, { "state": "WA", "name": "Washington", "status": "voluntary_certification", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": "2024-01-01", "requiresIBCLC": false, "missingFromStandardLists": false, "summary": "Washington does not license lactation consultants, but since 1 January 2024 it operates a voluntary state certification. The title \"state-certified lactation consultant\" is protected; practising is not restricted.", "detail": [ "Created by SB 5470 (2023). Administered by the Department of Health.", "Certification requires board certification from an approved national or international certifying body, passage of a state-approved examination, and at least 300 hours of clinical practice.", "⚠ It is VOLUNTARY. The Act states the certification \"does not prohibit an individual who holds a credential issued by Washington State to engage in the practice of lactation consultation without obtaining a lactation consultant credential if it is within that profession's scope of practice.\"", "What is protected is the title: from 1 January 2024 nobody may call themselves a \"state-certified lactation consultant\" without holding it.", "The Health Care Authority was required to ensure services of DOH-certified lactation consultants are covered under state Medicaid from 1 January 2025." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "In Washington, \"state-certified lactation consultant\" is a real, checkable credential — but plenty of good practitioners will not hold it, because it is optional. Treat it as a bonus signal rather than a filter, and check the IBCLC credential either way.", "sources": [ { "label": "Washington State Legislature — SB 5470 Senate Bill Report", "url": "https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2023-24/Htm/Bill%20Reports/Senate/5470%20SBR%20HLTC%20OC%2023.htm", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" }, { "label": "Washington State Department of Health — Lactation Support", "url": "https://doh.wa.gov/you-and-your-family/lactation/lactation-support", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "medicaid": { "summary": "State Medicaid was required to cover DOH-certified lactation consultants from 1 January 2025.", "since": "2025-01-01", "primarySourceVerified": true, "sources": [ { "label": "Washington State Legislature — SB 5470 Senate Bill Report", "url": "https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2023-24/Htm/Bill%20Reports/Senate/5470%20SBR%20HLTC%20OC%2023.htm", "capturedOn": "2026-09-10" } ], "status": "direct" }, "slug": "washington", "researched": true }, { "state": "WV", "name": "West Virginia", "slug": "west-virginia", "status": "none_identified", "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's", "own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Stated as what we checked, not as a guarantee. A state law we did not", "find is not the same as a state law that does not exist, and this", "distinction is why the wording says 'none identified'." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in West Virginia. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "researched": false, "primarySourceVerified": false, "medicaid": null }, { "state": "WI", "name": "Wisconsin", "status": "none_identified", "primarySourceVerified": true, "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence in Wisconsin. The Department of Safety and Professional Services, which licenses the state's regulated professions, lists no lactation credential.", "detail": [ "The Department of Safety and Professional Services' list of the professions it licenses and certifies includes no lactation credential (read 2026-09-11)." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Wisconsin. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services — professions", "url": "https://dsps.wi.gov/Pages/Professions/Default.aspx", "capturedOn": "2026-09-11" } ], "slug": "wisconsin", "researched": true }, { "state": "WY", "name": "Wyoming", "slug": "wyoming", "status": "none_identified", "since": null, "requiresIBCLC": false, "summary": "No lactation-consultant licence identified in this state.", "detail": [ "Absent from USLCA's licensure tracker, the national professional body's", "own list, as read on 2026-09-09.", "⚠ Stated as what we checked, not as a guarantee. A state law we did not", "find is not the same as a state law that does not exist, and this", "distinction is why the wording says 'none identified'." ], "whatThisMeansForParents": "No state licence means the title \"lactation consultant\" is not restricted in Wyoming. Anyone may use it. That makes checking the IBCLC credential itself the thing that tells you something.", "sources": [ { "label": "USLCA — Licensing the IBCLC (national professional body's tracker)", "url": "https://uslca.org/licensing-ibclc/", "capturedOn": "2026-09-09" } ], "researched": false, "primarySourceVerified": false, "medicaid": null } ] }