Maryland Department of Health
Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners

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Scope of Practice


The advertising of podiatric services in Maryland must comply with The Code of Maryland Regulations 10.40.06. Electronic means of advertising such as television, radio, web sites, internet, and email as well as stationery, cards, signs, billboards, newspapers, magazines, flyers, directories, or any documents that may be circulated to the general public must comply with advertising regulations. Many of the advertising complaints reviewed by the Board may be avoided by thoroughly reviewing your advertising and correcting any of the following pitfalls:

  • All advertising must state that the practitioner is a podiatrist. The title “doctor” or any abbreviation cannot be used without the qualification “podiatrist”, “podiatric physician”, “Doctor of Podiatric Medicine”, or other appropriate designation.
  • Directory listings must be placed in sections that appropriately label and identify podiatry. Podiatrists may not place their listing under headings for physicians and surgeons where podiatry is not identified.
  • The Board has endorsed the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) guidelines for advertising and as such only recognizes certifications from the American Board of Podiatric Surgery (ABPS) and the American Board of Podiatric Orthopedics and Primary Podiatric Medicine (ABPOPPM).
  • When advertising Board certification status, the name of the certifying Board must be clearly stated. Words such as “Board Certified” or “Certified” may not be used alone unless an asterisk (*) directs the reader’s attention to the name of the certifying Board. The advertising of “Board Qualified” status may not be used in anyway.
  • If two or more podiatrists are included in a single advertisement, their certification statuses must be clearly designated.
  • Members of the American Board of Podiatric Surgery (ABPS) must comply with the ABPS advertising policies requiring that podiatrists designate their certification as follows; Diplomate, American Board of Podiatric Surgery, or Certified by the American Board of Podiatric Surgery. Acronyms such as ABPS, ABAFS, DABPS, or DABAFS, are not to be used in any advertisement.
  • Diplomates of the American Board of Podiatric Orthopedics and Primary Podiatric Medicine (ABPOPPM) must adhere to the following guidelines when advertising status (only the following statements of Diplomate status are acceptable): Diplomate, American Board of Podiatric Orthopedics and Primary Podiatric Medicine, Board Certified, American Board of Podiatric Orthopedics and Primary Medicine, Certified American Board of Podiatric Orthopedics and Primary Podiatric Medicine. Note: The organization initials (ABPOPPM) may be substituted for the full name.
  • Advertising may not infer superiority (e.g. Premier, Advanced, et cetera) or exclusivity (e.g. Only, First, et cetera).
  • Board approval is not required for Trade names and the names of Limited Liability Companies (LLC) however these names still need to comply with the Board’s advertising regulations.

If you are uncertain of the correct advertising criteria, please contact the Board.


The Board voted unanimously to adopt the following policy concerning podiatrists who advertise Board Certifications:

"A podiatric physician may advertise certification by a certifying specialty board only if the certifying board is approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association."

The Board's authority to implement this policy is derived from the Code of Maryland Regulations Title 10, Subtitle 40, Chapter 06-Advertising.



In accordance with §16-309 of the Annotated Code, "Each licensee shall notify the Board of any change of address".

It is the podiatrist's responsibility to notify the Board of an address change. Board policy dictates that all change of address requests be in writing and signed by the person of interest within 30 days of the address change. A $300.00 fine for non-compliance will be issued to podiatrists who fail to notify the Board of an address change.

Please fax your new address information to the Board's office at (410) 358 3083