Transfer Your Physical Therapy License to Ohio: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Ohio issues and accepts compact privileges as an active PT Compact member. If your home state is a member, you can practice in Ohio on a purchased privilege without a Ohio license; otherwise, or if you are moving to Ohio, the route is licensure by endorsement with the Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Athletic Trainers Board (OTPTAT Board) - Physical Therapy Section — $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.), no NPTE retake, the score transferred through the FSBPT.

No. NPTE is not retaken for a routine transfer; FSBPT's Score Transfer Service sends the existing passing score to the physical therapy section. Ohio has one exception: under OAC 4755:2-1-04(C) an endorsement applicant who has been out of practice five or more years - defined as fewer than 500 practice hours in the prior five years - must either retake and pass the NPTE or complete an action plan approved by the physical therapy section. Note that the Ohio laws-and-rules examination is imposed by rule on licensure by EXAMINATION (OAC 4755:2-1-03(A)(2)); the endorsement rule does not itself impose it, so confirm with the Board whether the Ohio Jurisprudence Assessment Module is required on your endorsement application.. No state requires a second NPTE.

$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.) (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.).

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 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..

Yes — Ohio is an active member as of 2026-09-01. A PT or PTA whose home state is also a member can buy a Ohio compact privilege instead of a full license; relocating to Ohio still requires licensure by endorsement.