NORTH CAROLINA HEARING AID
DEALERS AND FITTERS BOARD
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The Board’s posted responses to
these frequently asked questions should not be considered to be “law.” Chapter
93D of the North Carolina General Statutes and Title 21, Chapter 22 of the
North Carolina Administrative Code contain the laws regulating the fitting and
selling of hearing aids in North Carolina, and should be reviewed when
clarification is sought. The information in the Frequently Asked Questions below is provided by the Board as a
guide because many similar questions have been asked. You should always
consult with legal counsel of your choice if you do not understand the
licensing laws or have questions about how a law or rule would apply to your
particular circumstances. The Board office is unable to provide legal
advice to individual licensees.
It is the Board’s policy that
inquiries to the Board office be submitted in writing by e-mail (info@nchalb.org)
or by mail (P.O. Box 97833, Raleigh, NC 27624-7833).
For a printable PDF version of
the Frequently Asked Questions, please click here: FAQ.PDF
FAQ UPDATED: 7.20.2011
LICENSING QUESTIONS
Dear
Board,
Just
to clarify - I have my Au.D. so
I am exempt from your licensure requirements? If so do I need to provide
documentation of my doctoral degree?
ANSWER:
If you have an active license from the NC Board of Examiners for Speech and Language Pathologists and
Audiologists and you also have a doctoral degree in Audiology, you are exempt
from the licensure requirements of North Carolina General Statute 93-D.
The Board does not register or track the credentials
of individuals who are not licensed by this Board.
If you have been licensed by this Board and wish to
voluntarily relinquish your license under 93-D, please send a letter to the
Board explaining such.
Individuals who are exempt but currently hold a
license may elect to continue to hold their license as a hearing aid specialist
under 93-D if they so desire.
SUBMITTING
APPLICATIONS TO THE BOARD
Question: My license renewal application was postmarked
March 29th but the postal service didn’t deliver it until April 1st. It usually only takes one day to get mail to Raleigh
from my location. Can you count the
application as on-time and renew my license anyway?
Question: The business I work for is sending in the
renewal fee separately. I submitted all
my paperwork the first week of March and received a “Notice of Deficiency” on March 8th. It is now March 27th and the
business is finally sending payment, do I have to resubmit my application
because it is more than 10 business days since receiving the Notice of Deficiency?
Answer: Submit your
application only when you are sure you have all documentation and fees
necessary to meet the standard of a “duly made application.” The deadline for payment of license renewal
fees is established by North Carolina General Statute 93D-11, as “prior to the
first day of April each year.” The Board has established a new internal policy to handle any
application received which is not a “duly made application.” This includes your license renewal
application. Please read and understand
this policy BEFORE submitting your application to avoid having your application DENIED
FOR INSUFFICIENCY.
21 NCAC 22 Section .0300
DEFINITIONS
21 NCAC 22A .0309 DULY MADE
APPLICATION
"Duly made application" shall mean that the
completed application form, including all required
documents, photographs, and fees, and any supplemental information
requested by the Board pursuant to 21 NCAC 22F .0104(a), is physically received
in the office of the Board.
History Note: Authority G.S.
93D3(c);
Eff. May 1, 1988;
Amended Eff. February 1, 1996.
INTERNAL POLICY 2.5
Processing Incomplete Applications
Whenever any
application is received in the Board office which is not a “duly made
application” as defined in
21 NCAC 22A
.0309, the Board office will notify the applicant of the deficiency by electronic
mail, read receipt requested, or by certified mail, return receipt requested,
and provide the applicant ten (10) business
days from receipt of such
notice within
which to correct any deficiencies and provide a “duly made application” to the
Board office. If a “duly made
application” is not received within the ten (10) business days provided, the
application will be denied for insufficiency.
History Note: Adopted 02/02/2011 Board Minutes
How does this apply to
license renewals specifically?
·
The
application is not a “duly made application” if required information is left
blank on the application for license renewal.
·
The
application is not a “duly made application” if additional documents, including
audiometer calibration certificates, or verification of continuing education
hours, are not received with the application.
·
The
application is not a “duly made application” if proper payment is not
submitted.
·
The
application is not a “duly made application” regardless of the postmark or
method of delivery, until all required information and fees are physically in
the Board office.
·
If you have an outstanding deficiency that has not been corrected, you do
not have a “duly made application.”
·
Any “duly made application” for
license renewal received after March 31, 2011 will be subject to a $25.00 late
fee before the license renewal is processed, regardless of when you receive a
Notice of Deficiency. It is your responsibility to be sure your
application is complete when it is submitted. Due to the high volume of applications
received near the deadline, it may not be possible to notify you of the
deficiency until after the renewal deadline.
Notice received after the deadline does not exempt you from the late
fee.
·
A supplement to your original application will only be accepted if it is
within ten (10) business days of when the Board office notified you of the
deficiency.
·
Your application will be “DENIED FOR INSUFFICIENCY” if you fail to correct deficiencies within
ten (10) business days of notification.
You will then need to submit a completely new application, including
payment of fee.
EXAMPLE 1: If you submit a license renewal application,
and a $250.00 check without the calibration certificate, your application is
not a “duly made application.” The Board
office will notify you by email or certified mail of the deficiency. You will then have ten (10) business days to
supplement the original application. If
you wait 12 days to send in the calibration certificate, it will not be
accepted to supplement the original application. The original application will be marked
“denied for insufficiency” by the Board office.
You will be required to submit a new “duly made application” – send in a
new original application, the audiometer calibration certificate, proof of
continuing education, and the proper application fee (a new $250 payment) – at
which time the Board will then consider your application for license renewal.
EXAMPLE 2: If you receive notification on March 25, 2011
that a deficiency needs to be corrected, technically you would have until April
8, 2011 to supplement your application (ten business days). If you correct the deficiency by March 31st,
there will be no late fee. If you
correct the deficiency between April 1st and April 8th, a
$25.00 late fee will need to be part of your submission. If you attempt to correct the deficiency
after April 8th, a new application, new $250 application fee, new
documents, and the late fee are required to process your application.
CONTINUING
EDUCATION
QUESTION:
I
want to use Audiology Online to complete my CEU requirements this year. How do I submit this information to the Board
without having it “denied for insufficiency” by the Board office?
ANSWER:
Many licensees do not take time to understand the Continuing
Education Policy and how to report their continuing education hours, and
therefore submit them incorrectly. For this reason, the Board office has added
a link to an example of a properly completed Report of Program Attendance for
online self-study coursework. If you
will print this PDF document and use it as your guide, you will probably avoid
the common mistakes of others.
Use this link: https://nchalb.org/education/FAQ.SampleReport.CEU.SelfStudy.pdf
Self-study hours are reported on a specific Report of Program Attendance: https://nchalb.org/education/ce/R11-0110.pdf
This form is available on the website, listed as the Self-Study
Report of Attendance in the Continuing Education section. You may also want to read the Continuing Education
Policy to better understand the reporting of credits.
Remember that the
Board requires an original Report of Program Attendance for ANY continuing education
event attended. You can always take a
generic form with you to an event, but often the Program Provider will have a
pre-printed form for you to have signed while attending the sessions. You should contact the program provider if
you need an original signed form to submit for license renewal. Each Report requires a $15.00 reporting fee
be submitted with it. The Board will
accept Reports for any courses taken between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011,
even if it is more than 45 days old. You
have until April 1, 2011 to submit verification of Continuing Education. This allows you to complete a course on March
31, 2011 and overnight mail the Report to the Board office. Any continuing education reports received
after April 1, 2011 shall be marked “late” and the $25.00 late fee for license
renewal will apply before a renewal card will be sent to the licensee, as long
as the hours reported were completed by March 31, 2011.
LICENSE RENEWAL
QUESTION
1:
I recently became unemployed and
wondered what form I submit now since I have no place of employment or
audiometer calibration form, but want to keep my license current.
ANSWER:
In accordance with 21 NCAC 22I .0113, service
after sale is a consumer's right. Please furnish at least one business
address within the State of North Carolina where service and fulfillment of
guarantees can be obtained by consumers to whom you have sold hearing
aids. If this is no longer your principle place of business, please
include in a letter to the Board, the name of the business and/or licensee who
will provide service and fulfillment of guarantees. On your renewal
application you may note “NONE—see attached letter of explanation” for business
name/address. You will need to provide a current mailing address as well.
For audiometer calibration certificate
requirements, 21 NCAC 22I .0108(c) allows the Board to waive (for up to three
years) the requirement to provide proof of audiometer calibration IF you
provide an Affidavit attesting that you are not engaged in or being compensated
for any activity requiring a North Carolina license to fit and sell hearing
aids. Please note that when granted this waiver, the individual shall not
engage in or be compensated for any activity requiring a North Carolina license
to fit and sell hearing aids until the individual has furnished the Board with
proof of audiometer calibration occurring within the preceding 12 consecutive
months.
An
affidavit is a written sworn statement, given under oath and notarized by a
Notary Public, that states you will not engage in or
be compensated for any activity requiring a North Carolina license to fit and
sell hearing aids. You should also write that you understand that
pursuant to 21 NCAC 22I ..0108, you shall not engage
in or be compensated for any activity requiring a North Carolina license to fit
and sell hearing aids until you have furnished the Board with proof of
audiometer calibration occurring within the preceding 12 consecutive months.
QUESTION
2:
What
happens if I mail my renewal application and it is post marked by March 31, 2011
but arrives in the Board office after March 31, 2011?
ANSWER: Rules define a “duly-made application” as one
that is physically received in the office of the Board by the due date. Any application received after March 31, 2011
will be subject to a late fee regardless of the postmark on the envelope. You may want to submit your application by
certified mail or overnight delivery. If
you are requesting a return receipt (signature card) to confirm delivery, it is
best to use the physical address instead of the P.O. Box. That address is: 4030 Wake Forest Road, Suite 209, Raleigh,
NC 27609
MALPRACTICE INSURANCE
QUESTION:
Is there a statutory requirement in Chapter
93D that licensees carry malpractice insurance?
ANSWER:
No, there is no statutory
requirement that Chapter 93D licensees maintain malpractice insurance.
The decision as to whether to carry malpractice insurance is an individual
decision for each licensee that should be made after consultation with the
licensee’s lawyer, accountant, and other professional advisers.
OUT OF STATE CONSULTANT
QUESTION
Can
an out-of-state consultant or factory expert who is attending the workshop or
event of a licensee of the North Carolina Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters Board
assist the licensee with making earmold impressions?
ANSWER:
No, an
out-of-state consultant or factory expert who is not licensed under Chapter 93D
of the North Carolina General Statutes (N.C.G.S.) and is attending a workshop
or event sponsored by a licensee of the North Carolina Hearing Aid Dealers and
Fitters Board cannot assist the licensee with making an earmold
impression, nor can the out-of-state consultant or factory expert do anything
else to fit or sell a hearing aid to a consumer in North Carolina. N.C.G.S. §93D-1(2) states: “‘Fitting and selling hearing aids’ shall mean
the evaluation or measurement of the powers or range of human hearing by means
of an audiometer or by other means and the consequent selection or adaptation
or sale or rental of hearing aids intended to compensate for hearing loss including the making of an impression of the
ear.” [Emphasis added.] N.C.G.S. §93D-2 states that “it is illegal for any person to fit or sell
hearing aids unless he has first obtained a license from the North Carolina
State Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters Board or is an apprentice working under
the supervision of a board licensee.” Any person who violates these provisions
shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
N.C.G.S. §93D-15.