1. (a) A physician is authorized to use the term "board certified," or any similar words or phrase calculated to convey the same meaning in any advertising for his or her practice if the specialty board which conferred the certification and the certifying organization meets the requirements in paragraphs (1)-(2) of this subsection:

   1. (1) The certifying organization is a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties, or the Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists, or is the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; or
   2. (2) The certifying organization requires that its applicants be certified by a separate certifying organization that is a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties or the Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists, or appropriate Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the certifying organization meets the criteria set forth in subsection (b) of this section.

2. (b) Each certifying organization that is not a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties or the Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists must meet each of the requirements set forth in paragraphs (1)-(5) of this subsection:

   1. (1) the certifying organization requires all physicians who are seeking certification to successfully pass a written or an oral examination or both, which tests the applicant's knowledge and skills in the specialty or subspecialty area of medicine. All or part of the examination may be delegated to a testing organization. All examinations require a psychometric evaluation for validation;
   2. (2) the certifying organization has written proof of a determination by the Internal Revenue Service that the certifying board is tax exempt under the Internal Revenue Code pursuant to Section 501(c);
   3. (3) the certifying board has a permanent headquarters and staff;
   4. (4) the certifying board has at least 100 duly licensed certificants from at least one-third of the states; and
   5. (5) the certifying organization requires all physicians who are seeking certification to have satisfactorily completed identifiable and substantial training in the specialty or subspecialty area of medicine in which the physician is seeking certification, and the certifying organization utilizes appropriate peer review. This identifiable training shall be deemed acceptable unless determined by the Board of Medical Examiners to be inadequate in scope, content, and duration in that specialty or subspecialty area of medicine in order to protect the public health and safety.
3. (c) A physician may not authorize the use of or use the term "board certified" or any similar words or phrase calculated to convey the same meaning if the claimed board certification has expired and has not been renewed at the time the advertising in question was published or broadcast.
4. (d) The terms "board eligible," "board qualified," or any similar words or phrase calculated to convey the same meaning shall not be used in physician advertising.
5. (e) A physician's authorization of or use of the term "board certified", or any similar words or phrase calculated to convey the same meaning in any advertising for his or her practice shall constitute misleading or deceptive advertising unless the specialty board which conferred the certification and the certifying organization meet the requirements in subsections (a) and (b) of this section.
6. (f) A physician who is board certified by an organization that does not meet the requirements set out in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, or otherwise has a special interest in a particular field of medicine, may include in advertisements the physician's field of interest. For each area of interest advertised the physician must clearly state in the advertising "Not certified by an organization recognized by the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners." This statement must be separate and apart from other statements and shall be displayed conspicuously with no abbreviations, changes, or additions in the quoted language so as to be easily seen or understood by an ordinary consumer.

Source Note:The provisions of this §164.4 adopted to be effective March 8, 2001, 26 TexReg 1863; amended to be effective May 2, 2004, 29 TexReg 3962.