Midwives Educated Abroad

The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) welcomes your interest in the profession of midwifery in the United States. We acknowledge the contributions that midwives educated abroad (MEAs) have made to the health of women and babies around the world. Today, as in the past, MEAs who become certified and join the ACNM enrich the profession of midwifery with their diversity.

In order to practice midwifery in the US, an individual must take a national certification exam. In order to take the exam that is offered by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB),
which leads to the credential CNM or CM, the individual must have a graduate degree from a US midwifery education program that is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Midwifery Education (ACME). This means that most midwives educated abroad will need to take at least one additional course from an ACME-accredited program.

Once the individual has successfully passed the AMCB exam, they must then obtain a license from the state in which they intend to practice. Each state has a different licensing procedure. Midwives are licensed by boards of nursing, boards of midwifery, boards of medicine, departments of health, etc., depending on the state licensing regulations. For information about the appropriate licensing agency, go to the state government website for each state.

For more detailed information, please see our document, Information for Midwives Educated Abroad.