Alaska Occupational Therapist license renewal and CE requirements
Alaska occupational therapists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Alaska State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing).
Occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant licenses run for a biennial licensing period and are renewed with a renewal application, the fee in 12 AAC 02.320, proof of continuing competency, and a completed board jurisprudence questionnaire. The department sends a renewal notice at least 30 days before the end of the licensing period, but failure to receive it does not excuse a late renewal. The calendar expiration date is set administratively and is published only on the division's own website, which blocks every client, so confirm your expiration date on your license or through the division. The division's License Expiration Dates page lists one expiration for the whole board, Physical and Occupational Therapy, currently 06/30/2028, so licenses expire June 30 of even-numbered years regardless of issue date.
Summary
Alaska occupational therapists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Alaska State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing). Occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant licenses run for a biennial licensing period and are renewed with a renewal application, the fee in 12 AAC 02.320, proof of continuing competency, and a completed board jurisprudence questionnaire. The department sends a renewal notice at least 30 days before the end of the licensing period, but failure to receive it does not excuse a late renewal. The calendar expiration date is set administratively and is published only on the division's own website, which blocks every client, so confirm your expiration date on your license or through the division. The division's License Expiration Dates page lists one expiration for the whole board, Physical and Occupational Therapy, currently 06/30/2028, so licenses expire June 30 of even-numbered years regardless of issue date. Alaska also mandates specific subjects. Board jurisprudence questionnaire on AS 08.84 and 12 AAC 54: required every renewal cycle.
Alaska Occupational Therapist renewal and continuing education rules
"Not stated" means the board's pages and rules we read do not address it. We do not fill in typical values.
| Renewal cycle | Two-year (24 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Same date for every licensee, 06/30 each cycleFirst renewal is prorated. |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 24 contact hours |
| Category 1 minimum | 12 contact hours |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Not stated |
| First renewal exempt | No |
| Other accepted activities | Evidence of current certification by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT), which the board recognizes as fulfilling the contact hour requirement outright (12 AAC 54.710(g)); Passing the national occupational therapy examination during the 12 months before the license is due to lapse, for a licensee licensed less than 12 months of the concluding period; Courses recognized by the Alaska Occupational Therapy Association, AOTA, the World Federation of Occupational Therapy, NBCOT, another state occupational therapy association or another state licensing board; Continuing education sponsored by a professional organization or university approved by the Alaska Occupational Therapy Association or AOTA; Academic credit, where one semester credit hour equals 15 contact hours and one quarter credit hour equals 10 contact hours; Military service waiver: half the hours waived for at least six consecutive months of active duty during the concluding period, all hours waived for 12 months or more (12 AAC 54.725) |
One contact hour is a minimum of 50 minutes of instruction, one continuing education unit awarded by a professional health care association equals 10 contact hours, one academic semester credit hour equals 15 contact hours and one quarter credit hour equals 10. A licensee who held the license for 12 months or more of the concluding licensing period needs 24 contact hours; a licensee licensed for less than 12 months of that period needs 12. At least half the hours must come from courses or programs offered by an accredited academic institution or a professional organization the board approves under 12 AAC 54.715(a). Current NBCOT certification is an outright substitute for the hours, in either case. Routine staff meetings, rounds, and courses required for employment such as CPR, first aid and OSHA training do not count. Separate from continuing education, 12 AAC 54.705 requires proof of continuing professional practice: at least 60 hours of occupational therapy services during the concluding licensing period, or one of four alternatives, the NBCOT certification examination for the licensee's own credential, an extra 40 contact hours of continuing education, an AOTA approved school review course, or a 150 hour board approved internship. Those 60 practice hours are not continuing education and are not counted in the total above.
Required CE topics for Alaska occupational therapists
State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Applies to | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board jurisprudence questionnaire on AS 08.84 and 12 AAC 54Every renewal application must include a completed jurisprudence questionnaire prepared by the board covering the occupational therapy statute and the board's regulations. The regulation states no hour value for it and does not say it counts toward the 24 contact hours. | Not stated | Every renewal | All licensees | 12 AAC 54.700(4) |
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | Yes |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | 3 years |
| Board audits compliance | Yes |
| Approved providers | Courses must contribute directly to professional competency and relate to the skills and knowledge needed to implement occupational therapy. Approved sources are courses recognized by the Alaska or American Occupational Therapy Associations, the World Federation of Occupational Therapy, NBCOT, other state associations or other state licensing boards, and activities sponsored by a professional organization or university approved by the Alaska association or AOTA. Documentation of continuing competency is submitted with the renewal application, records are kept three years from the date the hours were earned, and the board audits renewal applications after each renewal period, with 30 days to respond. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Alaska OT need to renew?
- Alaska occupational therapists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Alaska State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing). One contact hour is a minimum of 50 minutes of instruction, one continuing education unit awarded by a professional health care association equals 10 contact hours, one academic semester credit hour equals 15 contact hours and one quarter credit hour equals 10. A licensee who held the license for 12 months or more of the concluding licensing period needs 24 contact hours; a licensee licensed for less than 12 months of that period needs 12. At least half the hours must come from courses or programs offered by an accredited academic institution or a professional organization the board approves under 12 AAC 54.715(a). Current NBCOT certification is an outright substitute for the hours, in either case. Routine staff meetings, rounds, and courses required for employment such as CPR, first aid and OSHA training do not count. Separate from continuing education, 12 AAC 54.705 requires proof of continuing professional practice: at least 60 hours of occupational therapy services during the concluding licensing period, or one of four alternatives, the NBCOT certification examination for the licensee's own credential, an extra 40 contact hours of continuing education, an AOTA approved school review course, or a 150 hour board approved internship. Those 60 practice hours are not continuing education and are not counted in the total above.
- How often does a Alaska OT license need to be renewed?
- Occupational Therapist licenses in Alaska renew every two years. Occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant licenses run for a biennial licensing period and are renewed with a renewal application, the fee in 12 AAC 02.320, proof of continuing competency, and a completed board jurisprudence questionnaire. The department sends a renewal notice at least 30 days before the end of the licensing period, but failure to receive it does not excuse a late renewal. The calendar expiration date is set administratively and is published only on the division's own website, which blocks every client, so confirm your expiration date on your license or through the division. The division's License Expiration Dates page lists one expiration for the whole board, Physical and Occupational Therapy, currently 06/30/2028, so licenses expire June 30 of even-numbered years regardless of issue date.
- What specific CE topics are required for Alaska occupational therapists?
- Board jurisprudence questionnaire on AS 08.84 and 12 AAC 54: required every renewal cycle. Citations: board jurisprudence questionnaire on AS 08.84 and 12 AAC 54 (12 AAC 54.700(4)).
- Do Alaska occupational therapists have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- Proof of completion must be submitted with the renewal, the board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation, and records must be kept for 3 years. Courses must contribute directly to professional competency and relate to the skills and knowledge needed to implement occupational therapy. Approved sources are courses recognized by the Alaska or American Occupational Therapy Associations, the World Federation of Occupational Therapy, NBCOT, other state associations or other state licensing boards, and activities sponsored by a professional organization or university approved by the Alaska association or AOTA. Documentation of continuing competency is submitted with the renewal application, records are kept three years from the date the hours were earned, and the board audits renewal applications after each renewal period, with 30 days to respond.
- Is the first Alaska OT renewal exempt from CE?
- No. Alaska applies the continuing education requirement to the first renewal as well.
Sources
Last verified September 9, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- 12 AAC 54.700 to 54.725, Occupational Therapy License Renewal and Continuing Competency Requirements, Alaska Administrative Code (Alaska State Legislature)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 9, 2026
- 12 AAC 54.900 to 54.990, General Provisions, Alaska Administrative CodeStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 9, 2026
- 12 AAC 54.710, Occupational therapy continuing education requirements (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 9, 2026
- 12 AAC 54.705, Required continuing occupational therapy professional practice and alternatives (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 9, 2026
- CBPL License Expiration Dates, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional LicensingState board page, accessed September 10, 2026
Alaska is one of the combined board states: the State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board, created by AS 08.84.010, licenses physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, and it has separate regulation articles for each profession. The occupational therapy figures here come from Article 6 of 12 AAC 54, sections 54.700 through 54.725, not from the physical therapy article, and none of the physical therapy numbers were carried over. The board's own pages on commerce.alaska.gov return 403 to every client, so no board web page is cited; the regulation text was read on the Alaska State Legislature's administrative code site, which is an official state host, and confirmed against the Cornell mirror. One gap: no readable source states the calendar expiration date. The regulations and 12 AAC 02.320 establish a biennial licensing period but not a date, and the division publishes renewal dates only on its blocked site. The already published Alaska physical therapy record reports June 30 of even numbered years for this same board, taken from a board application form in PDF that was not opened here, so that date is not asserted in this record. NBCOT matters more in Alaska than in most states: current NBCOT certification substitutes outright for the continuing education hours under 12 AAC 54.710(g), and the NBCOT certification examination is also one of the alternatives to the 60 hour practice requirement. The only mandated subject is the board's own jurisprudence questionnaire at each renewal. For an occupational therapist the practice alternative names the NBCOT Certification Examination for Occupational Therapist, Registered. Renewal basis corrected 2026-09-10 from unknown to a fixed June 30 date in even-numbered years. The division's License Expiration Dates page states one date for the board as a whole, Physical and Occupational Therapy Expiration 06/30/2028, which matches the date already recorded for the physical therapist license. That page 403s every automated client and was read in a browser.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Alaska State Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Board (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing) before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.