2024 Graduate Degree Requirement: Registration Examination Eligibility

Effective January 1, 2024, the minimum degree requirement to be approved for eligibility for the registration examination for dietitians was changed from a bachelor's degree to a graduate degree. This decision was made by the Commission on Dietetic Registration based on the recommendations of the Council on Future Practice Visioning Report (2012).

Elevating entry-level RD requirements to the graduate degree is consistent with the level of education required to gain the knowledge, skills, and research base required in the field of nutrition and dietetics for entry-level practice and is necessary to protect the public. ACEND^® accredited program directors may already be receiving inquiries from students and prospective students regarding this change.

Please refer to CDR's list of frequently asked questions, policy rationale, student scenarios and important deadlines.

Registration Eligibility Processing System Deadline

In order to be approved for registration examination eligibility with a bachelor's degree, an individual must meet all eligibility requirements and be submitted into CDR's REPS before midnight (Central time), December 31, 2023. CDR staff will process submissions received between December 23-31, 2023 from January 2-5, 2024.

Program directors need to make sure they have all required documentation of degree, didactic, and supervised practice completion available to upload in REPS. If a final transcript for a December 2023 graduate will not be available until 2024, program directors need to obtain a letter from their university's Registrar or Dean of the College/School (in which the program is housed) confirming the candidate's degree and December 2023 conferral date.

While graduates need to be submitted to CDR for eligibility by the deadline above to be approved for registration examination eligibility with a bachelor's degree, it is not necessary that they take or pass the examination by January 1, 2024. Once eligible, a candidate should refer to the Handbook for Candidates regarding exam scheduling policies and reauthorization. Individuals who are either currently registered or currently examination eligible and individuals who become eligible before January 1, 2024 will not be required by CDR to acquire a graduate degree.

Please refer to the FAQ or email CDR Exams if there are any questions.