64B17-3.001. Licensure

(1) Application. Every person who applies for licensure as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant shall file DOH Form #DH-MQA 1142, Application for Physical Therapist or Physical Therapist Assistant Licensure, revised 12/2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference and is available through http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12672, or www.floridasphysicaltherapy.gov/resources.

(2) Qualifications for Licensure. All applicants for licensure as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant must demonstrate the following:

(a) Is eighteen years old;

(b) Possesses good moral character; and,

(c) Education:

1. For physical therapists, have received a degree as a physical therapist from a physical therapist educational program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), at the time of graduation, or

2. For physical therapist assistants,

a. Have received a degree as a physical therapist assistant from a physical therapist assistant educational program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy (CAPTE), at the time of graduation, or

b. Have been enrolled between July 1, 2014, and July 1, 2016, in a physical therapist assistant school in this state which was accredited at the time of enrollment and have been graduated or be eligible to graduate from such school no later than July 1, 2018,

3. For a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant to be approved to take the licensure examination, the Board must receive verification that the applicant has graduated. The applicant’s institution may send a final transcript, or the applicant’s program may send a Letter of Completion. For the Board to consider a Letter of Completion, the letter must:

a. Be sent to the Board directly from the educational institution,

b. Be presented on official school letterhead,

c. Confirm that the individual completed all clinical an didactic requirements of their specified degree,

d. State the date the individual earned their degree, and

e. Be signed and dated by the program director or the school registrar.

4. For physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who have received a diploma from a program in physical therapy in a foreign country, have received a determination that their credentials are equivalent to the education and preparation required for licensure as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant in the United States. Educational credentials equivalent to those required for the education and preparation of physical therapists or physical therapist assistants in this country shall be determined by an agency as provided in Rule 64B17-3.007, F.A.C.

(3) Additional provision for applications for licensure without examination (by endorsement).

(a) For purposes of compliance with Sections 486.031, 486.081, and 486.107, F.S., the standard for determining whether the standards of another jurisdiction are as high as the standards in Florida shall be whether the written examination taken for licensure in such other jurisdiction by applicants meeting Florida’s minimum educational qualifications was through the national physical therapy examination provider certified by the Department.

(b) Physical therapist applicants who meet the education and examination requirements for licensure without examination shall show proof of an active physical therapist license in another state, the District of Columbia, a territory, or a foreign country. Physical therapist assistant applicants who meet the education and examination requirements for licensure without examination shall show proof of an active physical therapist assistant license in another state, the District of Columbia, or a territory.

(c) An applicant for licensure without examination who has been educated in a foreign country shall demonstrate minimum educational qualifications, as used in paragraph (3)(a), by:

1. Obtaining a determination of educational credentials equivalency as provided by Rule 64B17-3.007, F.A.C., or

2. Providing the following:

a. A certified copy of the credential evaluation used by the physical therapy licensing board of another state. The evaluation must be on the appropriate coursework tool (CWT) adopted by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) and reflect the education criteria in place at the time of graduation; and,

b. Proof of 1,000 clinical practice hours each year in the United States for five (5) out of the last ten (10) years.

(I) Full-time teaching of physical therapy education may count toward 250 of the 1,000 required practice hours per year.

(II) Proof of clinical practice hours in the United States shall consist of submission of a written statement evidencing the number of clinical hours the applicant practiced in each of the five (5) years.

(4) An applicant for licensure as a physical therapist who has failed to pass the National Physical Therapy Examination for Physical Therapists or an applicant for licensure as a physical therapist assistant who has failed to pass the National Physical Therapy Examination for Physical Therapist Assistants by or on the fifth attempt, regardless of the jurisdiction through which the examination was taken, is precluded from licensure.

Rulemaking Authority 456.013, 486.025, 486.031(3), 486.104 FS. Law Implemented 456.013, 456.017, 456.0635, 456.38, 486.031, 486.041, 486.051, 486.061, 486.0715, 486.081, 486.102, 486.103, 486.104 FS. History–New 8-6-84, Amended 6-2-85, Formerly 21M-7.20, Amended 5-18-86, Formerly 21M-7.020, 21MM-3.001, Amended 3-1-94, Formerly 61F11-3.001, Amended 12-22-94, 4-10-96, Formerly 59Y-3.001, Amended 12-30-98, 1-23-03, 4-9-06, 9-19-06, 3-13-07, 5-11-08, 5-21-09, 8-10-09, 7-5-10, 12-17-12, 12-15-14, 2-14-17, 10-22-17, 5-14-20, 2-24-21.