SB169: SB169 Professions and Businesses; certain education and training requirements for the performance of dry needling; provide

Dry needling, a treatment that involves inserting thin needles into muscles to relieve pain, is currently performed in Georgia by professionals such as physical therapists, acupuncturists, and physicians without a single statewide training standard. This bill would create one. Starting January 1, 2026, most licensed healthcare professionals would have to complete 1,365 hours of coursework and clinical training, a clean needle technique course approved by the Georgia Composite Medical Board, and at least 500 supervised dry needling treatments on 100 different patients within a 12 month period. Licensed acupuncturists and physicians who already meet Georgia Composite Medical Board standards, and physical therapists who completed State Board of Physical Therapy requirements before January 1, 2026, would be exempt. Students in acupuncture programs and people still completing the new requirements could still perform dry needling under supervision. The bill also updates physical therapy discipline rules and revises the legal definitions of acupuncture to specifically name dry needling as a technique within that practice. It would take effect immediately upon the Governor's signature.

• Creates a new Georgia Code section (43-1-37) requiring most healthcare professionals to complete 1,365 hours of dry needling coursework and training before performing the treatment after January 1, 2026.
• Requires completion of an approved clean needle technique course and at least 500 supervised dry needling treatments on 100 patients within a year.
• Exempts licensed acupuncturists, physicians who meet Medical Board standards, and physical therapists who met prior state board requirements before 2026.
• Allows acupuncture students and people still completing training to perform dry needling under direct supervision.
• Amends physical therapy discipline rules (O.C.G.A. § 43-33-18) to penalize dry needling performed without proper consultation and compliance with the new training law.
• Revises the legal definitions of 'acupuncture' and 'practice of acupuncture' to explicitly identify dry needling as a technique within acupuncture.

Licensed physical therapists, acupuncturists, and physicians who perform dry needling in Georgia, along with the Georgia Composite Medical Board and the State Board of Physical Therapy, which oversee training approval and licensing discipline, and patients who receive dry needling treatments.

Patients seeking dry needling would be treated by providers who meet a uniform training and supervision standard rather than varying requirements across professions. Physical therapists and other practitioners who have not already met older state board rules would need substantial new hours of coursework and supervised practice to keep performing the treatment.

• Section 1 adds O.C.G.A. § 43-1-37, requiring 1,365 hours of coursework and training, including 705 hours on acupuncture theory and 660 hours of clinical training, before performing dry needling after January 1, 2026.
• Section 1 also requires a clean needle technique course and 500 supervised treatments on 100 patients within 12 months, under a supervisor with at least four years of dry needling practice.
• Section 1 exempts already-qualified acupuncturists, physicians, and physical therapists who met prior board requirements before January 1, 2026, and allows students and trainees to perform dry needling under supervision.
• Section 2 revises physical therapy discipline law (O.C.G.A. § 43-33-18) to penalize dry needling performed without required consultation or compliance with the new training section.
• Section 3 revises the definitions of 'acupuncture' and 'practice of acupuncture' (O.C.G.A. § 43-34-62) to state that dry needling is a technique within the practice of acupuncture.
• Section 4 makes the law effective immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without approval.

1. 2025-02-18Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-13Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)Primary sponsor

• dry needling
• physical therapy licensing
• acupuncture regulation
• healthcare professional training
• medical licensing