The Texas LD License and What It Protects

Texas is the clearest example of a state where a dietitian license and the right to practice are two different things. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) issues a Licensed Dietitian credential under Chapter 701 of the Occupations Code. But TDLR's own telehealth page states that "individuals are not required to hold a Texas dietitian license to practice dietetics in Texas in-person or via telehealth." What the license controls is the title: anyone who uses "licensed dietitian" or the initials "LD" with clients in Texas must hold it.

That makes the Texas decision different from most states. In Ohio or Florida the question is whether you may see clients at all. In Texas the question is whether you need the title, and whether an employer, a payer or a telehealth platform will ask for the license anyway.

Who actually needs a Texas LD license?

Anyone who wants to call themselves a licensed dietitian, or use LD after their name, while serving clients in Texas. TDLR repeats the point for telehealth: "If the clients receiving the services are located in Texas and you wish to represent yourself as a licensed dietitian or use the initials 'LD,' you must hold an appropriate Texas license." It also says there are "no separate or additional Dietitian program rules or requirements for providing telehealth."

In practice, three groups tend to get licensed anyway:

• RDNs employed by Texas hospitals and clinics, where job descriptions and medical staff rules often ask for the LD.
• Dietitians who bill payers. TDLR tells licensees it is "critical to check with your payor before initiating a new type of service or service delivery model, such as telehealth." Medicare's definition of a registered dietitian or nutrition professional looks to licensure or certification "by the State in which the services are performed" in states that provide for it (42 CFR 410.134), and Texas does.
• Telehealth RDNs whose platforms want a credential in every client state. Our post on what telehealth nutrition companies expect from your licenses covers why.

Which telehealth duties does TDLR spell out?

Even though Texas has no telehealth rules specific to dietitians, TDLR's dietitian telehealth page lists general requirements for health professionals providing telehealth, drawn from Occupations Code 111 and 51.501 and 16 TAC 100.61 to 100.66:

• Get informed consent by telehealth wherever it would be required in person, and let the client refuse telehealth at any time.
• Obtain the client's consent for treatment, data collection and data sharing. Audio-only consent works if it is documented before the visit or noted during the call with the audio recorded.
• Take reasonable steps to confirm that the person on the call is the scheduled client.
• Tell the client how to get follow-up care, if applicable.
• Protect communications, recordings and records under federal and state privacy law, have protocols against unauthorized access, and tell clients a breach is possible.
• Document a telehealth service to the same standard as an in-person one, and keep consent documentation for at least five years or longer if the program's rules require it.

What does TDLR require for a new license?

TDLR's application page lists the pieces:

• CDR registration. If you hold a current registration from the Commission on Dietetic Registration, TDLR treats you as having met the education, experience and examination requirements. You submit a copy of your CDR registration card, which "must be in active status."
• Supervised practice. The rules call for a preplanned professional experience program or internship of at least 900 hours, which the CDR card documents.
• Two exams. TDLR says you "must pass two examinations before applying": the CDR Registration Examination for Dietitians and the Texas Jurisprudence Examination.
• The application and fee. The new license fee is $108.
• A criminal history check. TDLR's Licensing Division runs a Department of Public Safety background check "on each original license application and each renewal application filed."

TDLR may also weigh "past ethical behavior" and can request references, evaluations and transcripts of official hearings when deciding fitness for licensure. Applicants with a criminal history can review TDLR's guidelines for applicants with convictions before applying.

Can internationally educated dietitians apply in Texas?

Yes, with a condition on coursework. TDLR says degrees and coursework from foreign colleges and universities are acceptable "only if such course work could be counted as transfer credit from accredited colleges or universities as reported by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers." The CDR registration route still applies to anyone who holds current CDR registration. TDLR points applicants to 16 TAC 116.51(d) for the full list of conditions for denying a license. See licensing for internationally educated dietitians.

How does the Texas jurisprudence exam work?

The jurisprudence exam covers the state and federal laws and rules that apply to Licensed Dietitians in Texas. You pay its fee yourself, and TDLR sets a clock: "your jurisprudence exam must be completed within 30 days after paying the jurisprudence exam registration fee. After 30 days, your fee and registration will expire and your exam will be invalidated." Registering, then waiting for a slow week, is the classic way to pay twice. You submit proof of passing with the license application.

Our post on jurisprudence exams and state-specific courses compares it with requirements elsewhere.

Is anything different right now?

Yes. On October 9, 2026, TDLR's dietitian pages carried a banner saying that "all online applications are currently unavailable," including the TULIP-based systems. The mail application route is still listed. If you plan to apply this fall, build in time for paper processing and check TDLR's site before you send anything.

What does renewal involve?

A Texas dietitian license "is valid for two years after the date of issuance," so your renewal date depends on when you were first licensed rather than on a statewide deadline. Renewal requires:

• the $90 renewal fee;
• 12 hours of continuing education during each two-year license period, from activities approved or offered by CDR or a regionally accredited college or university, among the categories TDLR lists;
• an HHSC-approved human trafficking prevention course; and
• another DPS criminal history check.

TDLR now audits continuing education after you renew, by email, and tells licensees to keep certificates for two years after completing a course. If you renew late, the fee rises: one and a half times the renewal fee within 90 days, twice the fee up to 18 months, and after that you must ask the executive director to approve renewal for just cause. While the license is expired you "may not use the title" licensed dietitian or LD.

Can a Texas resident use the Dietitian Compact?

No. Texas has not joined the compact, and the compact's home state is your state of residence, so a Texan cannot use it even with licenses in member states. No state issues compact privileges yet in any case; CDR expects the first ones sometime in 2027. Texas residents who serve clients in other states need a credential in each state that requires one. See who qualifies for the Dietitian Compact and how many state licenses a telehealth RDN needs.

Should an out-of-state RDN get the Texas license?

If you only coach Texas clients under your RDN credential, do not use the LD title, and bill no payer that requires a state license, Texas law does not require one. If you work for a Texas facility, bill Medicare or plan to use the LD title, it is worth the $108 and two exams. The Texas state page has the summary, and the state index compares Texas with states where practice itself is restricted.

When you decide to apply, our License by Endorsement (RDN) service is $599 per state: we confirm your CDR documentation, prepare the TDLR application for your review, set the timing for the jurisprudence exam, and track the file until the license issues. Jurisprudence & State Requirement Support, $249 per state, adds a study plan for the jurisprudence exam and tracking for the human trafficking course; you take both yourself. You sign, pay TDLR and submit. TDLR, CDR and exam fees are separate.