Minnesota Occupational Therapist license renewal and CE requirements
Minnesota occupational therapists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Minnesota Board of Occupational Therapy Practice.
Licenses are renewed every two years on or before the first day of the month after the licensee's birth month (Minn. Stat. 148.6423, subd. 2). Following the initial license period, a license period begins on the first day of the month after the birth month and runs biennially. The board sends a renewal notice at least 60 days before the expiration date, but not receiving it does not excuse a late renewal, and a late application carries a late fee.
Summary
Minnesota occupational therapists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Minnesota Board of Occupational Therapy Practice. Licenses are renewed every two years on or before the first day of the month after the licensee's birth month (Minn. Stat. 148.6423, subd. 2). Following the initial license period, a license period begins on the first day of the month after the birth month and runs biennially. The board sends a renewal notice at least 60 days before the expiration date, but not receiving it does not excuse a late renewal, and a late application carries a late fee. Hours do not carry over between cycles.
Minnesota 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 | Tied to the licensee's birth monthFirst 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 | No |
| First renewal exempt | No |
| Other accepted activities | College or university courses passed with a C or better, or a pass in a pass/fail course, at 6 contact hours per college credit (no limit); Teaching continuing education or occupational therapy related courses, with up to 2 contact hours of preparation time per contact hour presented, counted once per course per two year period (subject to the one half cap); Supervising occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant students from an ACOTE accredited program, at 1 contact hour per 8 hours of student supervision (subject to the one half cap); Research activities or outcome studies related to occupational therapy practice and associated with grants, postgraduate studies, or publications in professional journals or books (subject to the one half cap); Personal skill topics such as career burnout, communication skills and human relations, basic life support and CPR training, and at least one year of service on a professional committee or board (maximum 2 contact hours combined per two year period) |
Minn. Stat. 148.6443, subd. 1(a) requires a licensed occupational therapist to obtain a minimum of 24 contact hours of continuing education in the two year licensure period. The occupational therapy assistant figure is 18 hours and is set in the next sentence of the same paragraph, so the two credentials differ. All coursework must be obtained between the effective and expiration dates of the license, which is why carryover is recorded as not allowed. Licensees issued a license for less than two years obtain a prorated number of hours based on the months licensed. A minimum of one half of the required contact hours, 12 for an occupational therapist, must be directly related to occupational therapy practice; the rest may relate to practice, the delivery of occupational therapy services, or the practitioner's current professional role. Teaching, student supervision and research together may supply no more than one half of the required hours. Personal skill topics, basic life support and CPR, and professional committee or board service are capped at 2 contact hours combined. No credit is granted for hospital patient rounds, entertainment or recreation, volunteering, noneducational association meetings, or employment orientation and routine employer required training. The board may defer all or part of the requirement for illness, injury, financial or family hardship, or similar circumstances if the written request reaches the board within 60 calendar days of the expiration date. No cap on self study or online formats appears in the statute.
Required CE topics for Minnesota occupational therapists
The Minnesota Board of Occupational Therapy Practice 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 | No, attestation only |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | 2 years |
| Board audits compliance | Yes |
| Approved providers | The licensee uses the board's continuing education reporting form to verify compliance and submits proof only if audited (Minn. Stat. 148.6423, subd. 1(3)). To qualify, an activity must be an organized program of learning that can reasonably be expected to advance the practitioner's knowledge and skills, be conducted by a sponsor approved by the American Occupational Therapy Association or by individuals who should be considered experts on the subject matter, and be presented by a sponsor with a mechanism to verify participation who keeps attendance records for at least three years. Documentation must show the activity title, a description by the presenter or sponsor, the sponsor, presenter or author, location and attendance dates, contact hours, and the licensee's name, and is kept for two years after the last day of the biennial licensure period in which the hours were earned. The board audits a randomly selected percentage of reports, may audit any renewal received after the expiration date, and may audit any licensee against whom a complaint is filed. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Minnesota OT need to renew?
- Minnesota occupational therapists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Minnesota Board of Occupational Therapy Practice. Minn. Stat. 148.6443, subd. 1(a) requires a licensed occupational therapist to obtain a minimum of 24 contact hours of continuing education in the two year licensure period. The occupational therapy assistant figure is 18 hours and is set in the next sentence of the same paragraph, so the two credentials differ. All coursework must be obtained between the effective and expiration dates of the license, which is why carryover is recorded as not allowed. Licensees issued a license for less than two years obtain a prorated number of hours based on the months licensed. A minimum of one half of the required contact hours, 12 for an occupational therapist, must be directly related to occupational therapy practice; the rest may relate to practice, the delivery of occupational therapy services, or the practitioner's current professional role. Teaching, student supervision and research together may supply no more than one half of the required hours. Personal skill topics, basic life support and CPR, and professional committee or board service are capped at 2 contact hours combined. No credit is granted for hospital patient rounds, entertainment or recreation, volunteering, noneducational association meetings, or employment orientation and routine employer required training. The board may defer all or part of the requirement for illness, injury, financial or family hardship, or similar circumstances if the written request reaches the board within 60 calendar days of the expiration date. No cap on self study or online formats appears in the statute.
- How often does a Minnesota OT license need to be renewed?
- Occupational Therapist licenses in Minnesota renew every two years. Licenses are renewed every two years on or before the first day of the month after the licensee's birth month (Minn. Stat. 148.6423, subd. 2). Following the initial license period, a license period begins on the first day of the month after the birth month and runs biennially. The board sends a renewal notice at least 60 days before the expiration date, but not receiving it does not excuse a late renewal, and a late application carries a late fee.
- Does Minnesota require specific CE topics for occupational therapists?
- The Minnesota Board of Occupational Therapy Practice does not list mandated subject areas for OT renewal on the pages we verified; the 24 contact hours may be in any approved subject.
- Do Minnesota occupational therapists have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates, the board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation, and records must be kept for 2 years. The licensee uses the board's continuing education reporting form to verify compliance and submits proof only if audited (Minn. Stat. 148.6423, subd. 1(3)). To qualify, an activity must be an organized program of learning that can reasonably be expected to advance the practitioner's knowledge and skills, be conducted by a sponsor approved by the American Occupational Therapy Association or by individuals who should be considered experts on the subject matter, and be presented by a sponsor with a mechanism to verify participation who keeps attendance records for at least three years. Documentation must show the activity title, a description by the presenter or sponsor, the sponsor, presenter or author, location and attendance dates, contact hours, and the licensee's name, and is kept for two years after the last day of the biennial licensure period in which the hours were earned. The board audits a randomly selected percentage of reports, may audit any renewal received after the expiration date, and may audit any licensee against whom a complaint is filed.
- Is the first Minnesota OT renewal exempt from CE?
- No. Minnesota applies the continuing education requirement to the first renewal as well.
Sources
Last verified September 10, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- Minn. Stat. 148.6443 Continuing Education Requirements (2025 Minnesota Statutes, Office of the Revisor of Statutes)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
- Minn. Stat. 148.6423 Licensure Renewal (license period, renewal deadline, audit of continuing education)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
- Minn. Stat. 148.6402 Definitions (Board of Occupational Therapy Practice established in section 148.6449)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
- Minn. Stat. 148.6420 Applications for initial licensure (NBCOT certification documentation for licensure by equivalency)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
Minnesota puts occupational therapy under its own Minnesota Board of Occupational Therapy Practice, separate from the Minnesota Board of Physical Therapy, and the requirements are set in statute rather than in administrative rules. Every figure here was read in the 2025 Minnesota Statutes on the Office of the Revisor of Statutes site, an official state host. The occupational therapist total of 24 contact hours, the 18 hour occupational therapy assistant total, the one half practice related minimum, the one half cap on teaching, supervision and research, and the 2 hour cap on personal skills, CPR and committee service are all in 148.6443. The biennial cycle keyed to the first day of the month after the licensee's birth month is in 148.6423, subd. 1a and subd. 2. NBCOT certification is not required at renewal: current NBCOT certification is documentation for licensure by equivalency under 148.6412 and NBCOT is defined at 148.6402, subd. 13a, but 148.6423 does not condition renewal on it. The statute mandates no subject areas for occupational therapists, so mandatory_topics is empty. Supervision of occupational therapy assistants under 148.6432 is a practice standard, not continuing education, and is not recorded as such; supervising students is a separate, creditable activity under 148.6443, subd. 3(d)(2). The board's own pages at mn.gov sit behind a Radware bot wall that redirects every automated client, so no board page was read and none is cited; board_url points at the board site for readers and renewal_url is null.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Minnesota Board of Occupational Therapy Practice before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.