Short answer
In the US you don’t need a license to be a health coach. Most people train in a health coach program, ideally one approved by the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching (NBHWC), then practice with real clients. Board certification is optional: it takes an approved program, 50 logged sessions and an exam. Then choose who you help, build a package and find your first clients.
The steps
- Decide who you want to help. Coaches who pick a group, such as women in menopause, people with gut symptoms orpeople who want to eat well without counting, find clients faster, and can choose a program that teaches what that group needs.
- Choose a training program. Under the NBHWC’s 2025 standards, an approved program teaches at least 75 hours, 40 of them live; watches you coach at least 3 full practice sessions of 30 minutes or more, with feedback on each; and ends with a practical skills assessment. Use that as the bar, even for programs that aren’t approved. How to choose a certification has the checklist.
- Practice and keep a log. Coach volunteers and pilot clients from the start. For board certification, 50 sessions count once you’ve passed your program’s skills assessment.
- Sit the board exam, if you want it. It makes you a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC). The requirements are below.
- Set up your practice. Register the business where you live, get professional liability insurance, write a short scope statement for clients, and decide how they pay you.
- Find your first clients. See the last section: one clear package, people who already know you, and a coach page.
Board certification (NBC-HWC) at a glance
| Training | An NBHWC-approved program, finished before you apply |
|---|---|
| Coaching | 50 logged sessions, after you pass the program’s skills assessment |
| Education | An associate degree or higher in any subject; or 60 college credits with an attestation; or 4,000 hours of work experience in any field |
| Fees | $400 exam, $100 application (not refunded) |
| When | Exam windows about 3 times a year |
| Keeping it | 36 hours of continuing education every 3 years, and $75 a year |
What a health coach does
- Helps clients choose their own goals and the next small step.
- Builds habits around food, movement, sleep and stress.
- Keeps clients going between appointments, week after week.
- Works alongside the client’s doctor, and refers when something is beyond coaching.
What a health coach doesn’t do
- Diagnose, treat or prescribe.
- Give medical nutrition therapy for a condition.
- Advise on medicines: that stays with the prescriber.
- Give individualized nutrition care where a state reserves it for licensed professionals.
What health coaches earn
The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t count health coaches separately. The nearest group it tracks, health education specialists, earned a median of $64,070 a year in May 2025, with 6% growth projected for 2025–35. Most of those are employed; in private practice, what you earn is what your packages bring in, less fees and the hours they take.
Price a package to see what it leaves you per hour, with every fee shown.
Frequently asked
Do you need a license to be a health coach?
No. In the US, "health coach" is not a licensed title, so no state license is needed to coach. Nutrition is different: some states reserve individualized nutrition care for licensed professionals, so check your state’s law before you give clients specific nutrition plans.
Can I become a health coach without a degree?
Yes. Training programs rarely ask for a degree. Board certification asks for an associate degree or higher in any subject, but 60 college credits or 4,000 hours of work experience in any field can stand in for it.
How long does it take to become a health coach?
It depends on the program’s pace. A program approved by the NBHWC teaches at least 75 hours, 40 of them live, usually over several months. Board certification then needs 50 logged coaching sessions and a place in one of the exam’s windows, about 3 a year.
What can a health coach not do?
A health coach doesn’t diagnose, treat or prescribe, and doesn’t give medical nutrition therapy. Questions about medicines go to the client’s prescriber. A coach helps clients set their own goals and keep the habits that get them there, alongside their doctor.
Is NBHWC certification worth it?
If you want to work in healthcare, with clinics, employers or health plans, it’s the credential they recognize. In private practice, clients rarely ask for it: they choose on whether you understand their problem. Its approved programs are also a good filter for training quality, whether or not you sit the exam.
How much does it cost to become a health coach?
Program fees vary widely, so compare the total: tuition, any mentor coaching, and the board exam ($400 plus a $100 application fee). For your practice, add insurance and software. Holicoach has no monthly price on its Free plan, so it costs nothing until clients pay you.
After you qualify: your first clients
- Choose who you help. A clear group (busy parents, women in perimenopause, people with gut symptoms their doctor has already checked) is easier to find and to talk to than "everyone".
- Make one package. A length, what happens each week and a price. How to price your coaching packages works out what a price leaves you per hour.
- Start with people who know you. Friends of friends, past colleagues and a few clinicians who can refer. Ask every early client what nearly stopped them signing up.
- Publish a coach page. On Holicoach, your page can appear in Find a coach, where people looking for help are matched by goal, language and time zone. The finder’s fee is 15% of that client's payments for their first 3 months, then nothing, and only on clients Holicoach introduces.
- Run the weeks between sessions. A weekly check-in, daily habits and messages are what clients pay a coach for. Holicoach’s Free plan has no monthly price: it takes 2% of what clients pay you.
More for new coaches
Health coach certificationHow to become a holistic nutritionistSoftware for health coachesSoftware for holistic nutritionists
Sources
- NBHWC, Get Board Certified, read 15 October 2026.
- NBHWC, Program Approval Standards (2025 updates), read 15 October 2026.
- NBHWC, NBC-HWC Recertification Handbook, Summer 2024.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Health Education Specialists and Community Health Workers, read 15 October 2026.
Holicoach is coaching software. This guide is general information, not legal or career advice.