Physical Therapy License from Ohio to Rhode Island: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-01 · source: Rhode Island Board of Physical Therapy (Rhode Island Department of Health) ↗
A physical therapy license transfers from Ohio to Rhode Island by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Rhode Island Board of Physical Therapy (Rhode Island Department of Health), verify your Ohio license, and meet Rhode Island's endorsement requirements. NPTE is not retaken; the FSBPT-approved national examination scores must be submitted directly to the Board (FSBPT Score Transfer Service, $90 per report). The Rhode Island PT regulation imposes no separate state jurisprudence exam..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Moving from Ohio into Rhode Island leaves the compact behind: Rhode Island has enacted the compact but is not yet issuing or accepting privileges, so no Ohio privilege reaches it. You transfer by licensure by endorsement with the Rhode Island Board of Physical Therapy (Rhode Island Department of Health) — your NPTE score moves through the FSBPT rather than being retaken, and Rhode Island adds its own jurisprudence exam and background check. Your Ohio license and any privileges you hold elsewhere stay valid as long as your residence remains in Ohio; file Rhode Island's application before you rely on income there.
What changes, Ohio → Rhode Island
| Ohio (current) | Rhode Island (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| PT Compact status | PT Compact member — multistate license honored | PT Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $100 (The Board's current PT/PTA endorsement application instructions - the packet linked from its PT-PTA Endorsement Application page - state a non-refundable application fee of $100.00, paid by card with the online eLicense application. That equals the one-hundred-dollar ceiling OAC 4755-4-01(B)(1) (effective August 21, 2025) sets for the initial licensing fee. Billed separately: the criminal records check ($22 to BCI plus $25.25 to the FBI, and whatever the fingerprinting vendor charges), the FSBPT NPTE score transfer, and the Ohio Jurisprudence Assessment Module ($48, paid to FSBPT). The application fee is waived for an applicant who is a current member of the armed forces - that waiver is imposed by OAC 4755-3-04(G) in the Board's LSC-authenticated laws-and-rules compilation cited in this row, NOT by the endorsement packet, which does not mention it. Biennial renewal is a separate fee, likewise capped at $100 by rule. This is not the PT Compact privilege fee.) | $155 (physical therapist initial application fee (examination or endorsement) per the RI DOH fee structure, 216-RICR-10-05-2; non-refundable. PTA is $50. BCI/background-check costs and the $90 FSBPT score-transfer fee are separate. NOT a PT Compact privilege fee - Rhode Island does not issue privileges.) |
| Processing time | Neither the Ohio Revised Code nor the Board's rules state a processing timeframe; OAC 4755:2-1-01(E) provides only that an application still incomplete one year after filing is abandoned. | neither the Board's regulation (216-RICR-40-05-13) nor the DOH fee structure states a processing timeframe for endorsement applications |
| Licensing authority | Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Athletic Trainers Board (OTPTAT Board) - Physical Therapy Section | Rhode Island Board of Physical Therapy (Rhode Island Department of Health) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Rhode Island sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Rhode Island's current requirements on the Rhode Island Board of Physical Therapy (Rhode Island Department of Health) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Rhode Island Board of Physical Therapy (Rhode Island Department of Health).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Submit a licensure-status statement from the physical therapy board of every state where you hold or have held a license.
- Have your FSBPT-approved national examination scores sent directly to the Board.
- Submit a full Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) report; out-of-state applicants obtain it from their state of residence.
- Do not practice physical therapy in Rhode Island until the endorsement license has actually been issued.
- Pay the fees ($155 (physical therapist initial application fee (examination or endorsement) per the RI DOH fee structure, 216-RICR-10-05-2; non-refundable. PTA is $50. BCI/background-check costs and the $90 FSBPT score-transfer fee are separate. NOT a PT Compact privilege fee - Rhode Island does not issue privileges.)) and allow neither the Board's regulation (216-RICR-40-05-13) nor the DOH fee structure states a processing timeframe for endorsement applications.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Rhode Island accept a Ohio physical therapy license?
A physical therapy license transfers from Ohio to Rhode Island by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Rhode Island Board of Physical Therapy (Rhode Island Department of Health), verify your Ohio license, and meet Rhode Island's endorsement requirements. NPTE is not retaken; the FSBPT-approved national examination scores must be submitted directly to the Board (FSBPT Score Transfer Service, $90 per report). The Rhode Island PT regulation imposes no separate state jurisprudence exam..
Do I retake the NPTE moving from Ohio to Rhode Island?
No — the NPTE is taken once and your score transfers through the FSBPT. NPTE is not retaken; the FSBPT-approved national examination scores must be submitted directly to the Board (FSBPT Score Transfer Service, $90 per report). The Rhode Island PT regulation imposes no separate state jurisprudence exam..
What does the move cost?
$155 (physical therapist initial application fee (examination or endorsement) per the RI DOH fee structure, 216-RICR-10-05-2; non-refundable. PTA is $50. BCI/background-check costs and the $90 FSBPT score-transfer fee are separate. NOT a PT Compact privilege fee - Rhode Island does not issue privileges.) (physical therapist initial application fee (examination or endorsement) per the RI DOH fee structure, 216-RICR-10-05-2; non-refundable. PTA is $50. BCI/background-check costs and the $90 FSBPT score-transfer fee are separate. NOT a PT Compact privilege fee - Rhode Island does not issue privileges.).
How long will it take?
neither the Board's regulation (216-RICR-40-05-13) nor the DOH fee structure states a processing timeframe for endorsement applications — neither the Board's regulation (216-RICR-40-05-13) nor the DOH fee structure states a processing timeframe for endorsement applications.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-01.
- 216-RICR-40-05-13 - Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants (RI Secretary of State, Rules & Regulations) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- 216-RICR-10-05-2 - RI Department of Health Fee Structure for Licensing ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PT Compact - state status list (Physical Therapy Compact Commission) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- FSBPT - Licensing Authorities Contact Information ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- FSBPT - NPTE Score Transfer Service ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Ohio OTPTAT Board - Physical Therapy Laws and Rules, effective April 3, 2026 (LSC-authenticated ORC and OAC text: OAC 4755:2-1-01, 4755:2-1-03, 4755:2-1-04, 4755-3-04, 4755-3-05, 4755-4-01, 4755-4-02; this is the source for the armed-forces application-fee waiver at 4755-3-04(G) and the prioritised military processing at 4755-3-04(H)(2)) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PT Compact - member state map ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Ohio OTPTAT Board - Physical Therapist/Physical Therapist Assistant Endorsement Application Instructions (the application packet linked from the Board's PT-PTA Endorsement Application page; source of the $100 application fee; otptat.ohio.gov blocks automated clients and returns HTTP 404 to every automated fetch - open in a browser) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-01)
- Ohio OTPTAT Board - PT-PTA Endorsement Application page (otptat.ohio.gov blocks automated clients and returns HTTP 404 to every automated fetch - open in a browser) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-01)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-01
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