Licensure Renewal Information

By Dec. 31, 2024, all PT and PTA's must renew their Pennsylvania State License. The Pennsylvania State Board of Physical Therapy is the body that regulates the license laws and regulations to ensure consumer protection. The APTA Pennsylvania Chapter DOES NOT handle licensure renewal issues, that is the job of the Pennsylvania State Board of Physical Therapy. All questions should be sent directly to them and you can find their contact information at the end of this page. In accordance with our PA State practice act, the renewal process takes place online. If you have not updated your email with the State Board, it is possible the notice for renewal will not reach you. Please keep your information updated for the PA State Board of Physical Therapy using their web page. You will need 30 contact hours that are pre-approved by the PA State Board of Physical Therapy. The PA State Board of Physical Therapy informed the APTA Pennsylvania Chapter that they will not update the list of approved PA courses. Instead, those who need to check approval status for a course will need to email them with course information (Exact title of the course, Sponsor Name (if applicable) and Date of the Event).

  • A contact hour is one hour of education.
  • This can be either webinar or in-person format.
  • Pre-approval means the PA State Board has approved the course prior to the licensee taking the course.
  • All APTA and APTA Pennsylvania Chapter courses are pre-approved by the PA State Board of Physical Therapy and would therefore count toward the total 30 contact hours.

Courses must be clinically related. Practice management courses are not included in the mandatory 30 hours of education.

  • CPR is not required unless you have direct access certification and may count up to 4 hours each renewal cycle.
    • PTAs need 4 contact hours for emergency management - CPR can be included in this total time.
  • Child Abuse is required of all licensees and must be an approved course by the PA State Board of Physical Therapy.
    • 3 contact hours are required for the first issuance of license and then 2 contact hours for each following renewal period.
    • The 2 contact hours must be approved by the PA State Board for proper automatic recognition.
  • One free example is Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse: Mandated and Permissive Reporting in Pennsylvania from the University of Pittsburgh. - THE APTA Pennsylvania Chapter DOES NOT handle any questions regarding this course - you will need to contact the University of Pittsburgh directly.
  • Ethics and/or jurisprudence (2 hours) is required and must be a pre-approved course by the PA State Board of Physical Therapy. 

If you hold a direct access certificate, you must have 10 hours in evaluation. This is 10 hours from the total 30 hours required. 

PTA RENEWAL

  • 2 contact hours - Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting
  • 4 contact hours - Identifying and Responding to Emergency Health Conditions
  • 2 contact hours - Ethics

All of the above is included in the 30 contact hours necessary for renewal.

It is the expectation from the PA State Board of Physical Therapy, that all licensees must maintain accurate and honest information for renewal of their license. Audits by the state are random and may require documentation of the above mentioned courses. It is advisable to maintain these certificates in a safe location.

Since the PA State Board of Physical Therapy has an excess in their budget, the renewal cycle fees have been waived. APTA Pennsylvania has not been informed of specifics related to this process, but the PA State Board of Physical Therapy has announced waived fees, but not waived requirements for licensure.

PA State Board of Physical Therapy Contact Information:

P.O. Box 2649
Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649

Phone - (717) 783-7134 

Fax - (717) 787-7769

[email protected]

Please note: The licensure renewal information on this page pertains to the 2020 renewal year.