Kansas Physical Therapist Assistant license renewal and CE requirements
Kansas physical therapist assistants must complete 20 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts.
Kansas certifies physical therapist assistants rather than licensing them. The certificate of each physical therapist assistant expires on December 31 of each year and is renewed annually (K.A.R. 100-29-8). Continuing education is submitted only with the renewal in odd-numbered years and covers the preceding two-year period; no continuing education evidence is required with an even-year renewal (K.A.R. 100-29-9).
Summary
Kansas physical therapist assistants must complete 20 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts. Kansas certifies physical therapist assistants rather than licensing them. The certificate of each physical therapist assistant expires on December 31 of each year and is renewed annually (K.A.R. 100-29-8). Continuing education is submitted only with the renewal in odd-numbered years and covers the preceding two-year period; no continuing education evidence is required with an even-year renewal (K.A.R. 100-29-9). The first renewal is exempt.
Kansas Physical Therapist Assistant 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 | Annual (12 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Same date for every licensee, 12/31 each cycleFirst renewal is prorated. |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 20 contact hoursCounted over a two-year window, separate from the renewal cycle. |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Not stated |
| First renewal exempt | Yes |
| Other accepted activities | College or university courses directly related to physical therapy (10 contact hours per semester credit hour with a grade of C or pass); Reading professional literature (maximum 2 contact hours); Home study, correspondence, audio, video, or internet courses with printed verification (maximum 10 contact hours per course); Passing a board-approved specialty certification examination (40 contact hours); Professional publications (original paper 20, 15, or 8 hours by authorship role; review paper or case report 15 or 8; abstract or book review 8; book 20); Completing a physical therapy residency or fellowship program of at least 1,000 hours (40 contact hours); Serving one term as an elected delegate in a national policy assembly (10 contact hours); Supervising a PT or PTA student (1 contact hour per 40 hours of supervision, maximum 3 per two-year period); Presenting a continuing education program (3 contact hours per hour presented) |
K.A.R. 100-29-9(a)(1)(A) sets two different totals in one sentence: at least 40 contact hours of continuing education for a licensed physical therapist or a physical therapist holding a compact privilege, and at least 20 contact hours for a certified physical therapist assistant or a physical therapist assistant holding a compact privilege, submitted with the annual renewal application as a condition of renewal for each odd-numbered year and completed within the preceding two-year period. A contact hour is 60 minutes of activity pertaining to the practice of physical therapy, excluding meals and breaks. The renewal itself is annual (cycle_months 12) while the continuing education cycle is two years (cycle_months 24). Proration under 100-29-9(c): a physical therapist assistant initially certified within one year of an odd-year renewal date need not submit continuing education for that first period, and one certified more than one year but less than two years before an odd-year renewal must submit at least half the hours, which is 10 for a PTA. No contact hours are awarded for a repeated activity on the same topic within the two-year period. The regulation caps self-instruction reading at 2 hours and home study or internet courses at 10 hours per course but states no overall online cap, so max_self_study_or_online is null. Carryover is not addressed. The board may grant an extension of up to six months for a medical condition, natural disaster, family death, or other compelling reason.
Required CE topics for Kansas physical therapist assistants
The Kansas State Board of Healing Arts pages and rules we read do not mandate specific subject areas for this license type. Hours may be in any approved subject.
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | Yes |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | Not stated |
| Board audits compliance | Not stated |
| Approved providers | Kansas does not name approved providers. K.A.R. 100-29-9(d) and (e) require that all activities relate to the practice of physical therapy and pertain to clinical skills, administration and management, patient or professional education, peer-reviewed research, legislative issues, health care delivery, documentation and reimbursement and regulatory compliance, or problem solving, critical thinking, and ethics. To evidence completion, the certificate holder submits documented evidence of attendance or successful completion, personal verification of any self-instruction reading, and one copy of any peer-reviewed publication (100-29-9(h)). The regulation as read states no retention period and no audit process. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Kansas PTA need to renew?
- Kansas physical therapist assistants must complete 20 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts. K.A.R. 100-29-9(a)(1)(A) sets two different totals in one sentence: at least 40 contact hours of continuing education for a licensed physical therapist or a physical therapist holding a compact privilege, and at least 20 contact hours for a certified physical therapist assistant or a physical therapist assistant holding a compact privilege, submitted with the annual renewal application as a condition of renewal for each odd-numbered year and completed within the preceding two-year period. A contact hour is 60 minutes of activity pertaining to the practice of physical therapy, excluding meals and breaks. The renewal itself is annual (cycle_months 12) while the continuing education cycle is two years (cycle_months 24). Proration under 100-29-9(c): a physical therapist assistant initially certified within one year of an odd-year renewal date need not submit continuing education for that first period, and one certified more than one year but less than two years before an odd-year renewal must submit at least half the hours, which is 10 for a PTA. No contact hours are awarded for a repeated activity on the same topic within the two-year period. The regulation caps self-instruction reading at 2 hours and home study or internet courses at 10 hours per course but states no overall online cap, so max_self_study_or_online is null. Carryover is not addressed. The board may grant an extension of up to six months for a medical condition, natural disaster, family death, or other compelling reason.
- How often does a Kansas PTA license need to be renewed?
- Physical Therapist Assistant licenses in Kansas renew every year. Kansas certifies physical therapist assistants rather than licensing them. The certificate of each physical therapist assistant expires on December 31 of each year and is renewed annually (K.A.R. 100-29-8). Continuing education is submitted only with the renewal in odd-numbered years and covers the preceding two-year period; no continuing education evidence is required with an even-year renewal (K.A.R. 100-29-9).
- Does Kansas require specific CE topics for physical therapist assistants?
- The Kansas State Board of Healing Arts does not list mandated subject areas for PTA renewal on the pages we verified; the 20 contact hours may be in any approved subject.
- Do Kansas physical therapist assistants have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- Proof of completion must be submitted with the renewal. Kansas does not name approved providers. K.A.R. 100-29-9(d) and (e) require that all activities relate to the practice of physical therapy and pertain to clinical skills, administration and management, patient or professional education, peer-reviewed research, legislative issues, health care delivery, documentation and reimbursement and regulatory compliance, or problem solving, critical thinking, and ethics. To evidence completion, the certificate holder submits documented evidence of attendance or successful completion, personal verification of any self-instruction reading, and one copy of any peer-reviewed publication (100-29-9(h)). The regulation as read states no retention period and no audit process.
- Is the first Kansas PTA renewal exempt from CE?
- Yes. Kansas does not require continuing education for a PTA's first renewal.
Sources
Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- Kansas Register Vol. 41 No. 35 (September 1, 2022), Board of Healing Arts permanent administrative regulations including K.A.R. 100-29-9 as amendedStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
- Kan. Admin. Regs. 100-29-9 License and certificate renewal; continuing education, 20 contact hours for a certified physical therapist assistant (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
- Kan. Admin. Regs. 100-29-8 License and certificate renewal; expiration date, the certificate of each physical therapist assistant expires December 31 (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
- Kansas Register Vol. 35 No. 17 (April 28, 2016) reprint of K.A.R. 100-29-9 and 100-29-16, hosted by APTA KansasThird-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026
The 20 contact hour figure was read as a physical therapist assistant figure: K.A.R. 100-29-9(a)(1)(A) states 40 contact hours for a licensed physical therapist and 20 for a certified physical therapist assistant in the same sentence. It was read in the official Kansas Register publication of the 2022 amendment on the Secretary of State's site and confirmed on the Cornell LII mirror. Kansas certifies PTAs, so the credential is a certificate, and K.A.R. 100-29-8 gives the same December 31 annual expiration to the PTA certificate as to the PT license. The most important PT to PTA difference beyond the hour count is that the physical therapy jurisprudence assessment module is required only of licensed physical therapists: the 2022 amendment says each licensed physical therapist shall complete it, and nothing in the regulation extends it to certified physical therapist assistants, so mandatory_topics is an empty array. The Kansas State Board of Healing Arts website returns HTTP 403 to automated clients, so board_url and renewal_url are recorded but were not read and no ksbha.ks.gov page is cited as a source. Not stated in the regulation: record retention period, audit procedure, carryover, and any overall cap on online hours.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.