Seven criteria.
Published in full.
Seven criteria decide who is verified and who becomes eligible for the annual honors. Two are acceptance criteria and come with membership. Five are the award path. No purchase influences them. This page is the whole methodology, published in full.
Active licensure in good standing
MembershipA current chiropractic license, in good standing with the state licensing board.
Checked against the state board record, re-verified annually.
Published feature in Chiro+
MembershipA feature article, written by the doctor in their own voice, that has passed human editorial review and is published in Chiro+.
Confirmed by the system — the publication record itself.
Continuing education
Award pathContinuing education beyond the minimums license renewal requires.
Member-uploaded CE certificates.
Community contribution: Chiro+ Gives
Award pathService to the community through Chiro+ Gives programs.
Member-logged service hours.
Peer standing
Award pathStanding among licensed peers.
Peer references and nominations.
Practice standards
Award pathDocumented practice standards and procedures.
Documentation review.
Patient reputation
Award pathReputation with patients, shown through submitted materials.
Review of submitted evidence.
How do I check a chiropractor’s license myself?
You don’t need Chiro+ to run the first check. Every US state publishes its chiropractic license records, and reading one takes about two minutes.
Find the state licensing board’s lookup page — search the state name plus “chiropractic license lookup.”
Search the doctor’s name or license number and open the record.
Read two things: the license status, and whether any board action is on file. “In good standing” means an active license with no unresolved discipline.
What should give you pause?
Promised cures, guaranteed outcomes, or “best in town” claims — state boards restrict superlative advertising, and careful doctors don’t make promises care can’t keep. Good questions to ask any chiropractor: their philosophy of care, the techniques they use, their training, and what a first visit involves.
Chiro+ runs the license check for every member and re-verifies it annually — but the record is the state’s, and it is yours to read any time.
Membership: the badge.
Criteria 1 and 2 define membership. A licensed doctor with a published feature is Chiro+ Verified — license checked, standing confirmed, feature published, verification page live. The badge claims verification. It never claims superiority.
The award path: the honor.
Criteria 3 through 7 define award eligibility. Each year one doctor is selected nationally against these published criteria, by editorial judgment. That honor is The Golden Spine.
Awards are never for sale. No fee influences selection. Ever.