Physical Therapy Licensing

Licensing

All 50 states require physical therapists to be licensed in order to practice. All but 5 states also require licensure or registration for Physical Therapy Assistants.

National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE)

After graduating from a physical therapy program that is approved by the American Physical Therapy Association’s Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, you must then pass the National Physical Therapist Examination (NPTE) which is developed by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy.

All 50 states and 3 additional jurisdictions use the NPTE as one factor in the licensure or certification of physical therapist and physical therapist assistants.

The NPTE for both physical therapists and physical therapy assistants is computer-based. The PT examination is 5 hours and the PTA exam is 4 hours. You may sit for the examination at any of the approximately 300 testing centers in the United States, US territories and Canada.

Upon passing the exam you will need to meet any additional requirements your state licensing board may have before they will allow you to practice.

Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy
509 Wythe Street • Alexandria, VA 22314
phone: 703-299-3100
http://www.fsbpt.org

State Licensing Authorities

All state licensing authorities require applicants to be graduates of a program that is approved by the American Physical Therapy Association’s Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education in addition to receiving a passing score on the NPTE. Individual states may have additional requirements.

To view a list of state boards of physical therapy:
http://www.fsbpt.org/licensing/index.asp