Montana Physical Therapist license renewal and CE requirements
Montana physical therapists must complete 8 contact hours of continuing education every year to renew their license with the Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (Department of Labor and Industry; formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners).
Physical therapist licenses must be renewed annually by April 1. The renewal window opens 60 days before the renewal date; a license not renewed on time is considered lapsed for 45 days and late renewal requires an additional late fee for each missed year.
Summary
Montana physical therapists must complete 8 contact hours of continuing education every year to renew their license with the Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (Department of Labor and Industry; formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners). Physical therapist licenses must be renewed annually by April 1. The renewal window opens 60 days before the renewal date; a license not renewed on time is considered lapsed for 45 days and late renewal requires an additional late fee for each missed year. The first renewal is exempt.
Montana Physical 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 | Annual (12 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Same date for every licensee, 04/01 each cycle |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 8 contact hours |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Not stated |
| First renewal exempt | Yes |
ARM 24.119.2101 (effective July 25, 2026) requires physical therapists and physical therapist assistants to obtain 8 hours of continuing education annually. The rule counts hours; it does not define a contact-hour length or any category, live, or self-study limits. Acceptable activities must directly relate to the licensee's scope of practice, review existing concepts and techniques, convey information beyond basic professional education, update knowledge of practice advances, or reinforce professional conduct or ethical obligations. Continuing education requirements do not apply until after the licensee's first renewal, and a licensee may request a hardship exemption from the department. The predecessor rule, ARM 24.177.2105 as amended effective July 27, 2024 (repealed July 25, 2026), contained the same 8-hour annual requirement; before that amendment Montana required 30 hours per 24-month period with at least 15 in Category A, which some CE vendor sites still show.
Required CE topics for Montana physical therapists
The Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (Department of Labor and Industry; formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners) 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 | Not stated |
| Board audits compliance | Yes |
| Approved providers | No pre-approval of courses or providers is stated in ARM 24.119.2101; licensees select programs meeting the rule's criteria. Licensees must maintain continuing education documentation and produce it on request, and the department is authorized to audit at a percentage based on a statistically relevant sample and past compliance rates. The old rule (24.177.2105) required records to be kept for three years; the new rule states no retention period. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a Montana PT need to renew?
- Montana physical therapists must complete 8 contact hours of continuing education every year to renew their license with the Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (Department of Labor and Industry; formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners). ARM 24.119.2101 (effective July 25, 2026) requires physical therapists and physical therapist assistants to obtain 8 hours of continuing education annually. The rule counts hours; it does not define a contact-hour length or any category, live, or self-study limits. Acceptable activities must directly relate to the licensee's scope of practice, review existing concepts and techniques, convey information beyond basic professional education, update knowledge of practice advances, or reinforce professional conduct or ethical obligations. Continuing education requirements do not apply until after the licensee's first renewal, and a licensee may request a hardship exemption from the department. The predecessor rule, ARM 24.177.2105 as amended effective July 27, 2024 (repealed July 25, 2026), contained the same 8-hour annual requirement; before that amendment Montana required 30 hours per 24-month period with at least 15 in Category A, which some CE vendor sites still show.
- How often does a Montana PT license need to be renewed?
- Physical Therapist licenses in Montana renew every year. Physical therapist licenses must be renewed annually by April 1. The renewal window opens 60 days before the renewal date; a license not renewed on time is considered lapsed for 45 days and late renewal requires an additional late fee for each missed year.
- Does Montana require specific CE topics for physical therapists?
- The Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (Department of Labor and Industry; formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners) does not list mandated subject areas for PT renewal on the pages we verified; the 8 contact hours may be in any approved subject.
- Do Montana physical therapists have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates and the board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation. No pre-approval of courses or providers is stated in ARM 24.119.2101; licensees select programs meeting the rule's criteria. Licensees must maintain continuing education documentation and produce it on request, and the department is authorized to audit at a percentage based on a statistically relevant sample and past compliance rates. The old rule (24.177.2105) required records to be kept for three years; the new rule states no retention period.
- Is the first Montana PT renewal exempt from CE?
- Yes. Montana does not require continuing education for a PT's first renewal.
Sources
Last verified September 7, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- ARM 24.119.2101 Continuing Education, Administrative Rules of Montana (NEW, 2026 MAR Notice No. 2026-148, effective 7/25/26), Montana Secretary of State rules siteStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026
- ARM 24.177.2105 Continuing Education, version effective 7/27/2024 to 7/24/2026 (repealed), Montana Secretary of State rules siteStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026
- License Information (renewal dates and continuing education rule references), Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care ProfessionalsState board page, accessed September 7, 2026
- Administrative Rules page, Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care ProfessionalsState board page, accessed September 7, 2026
- MAR Notice No. 24-177-37, proposed amendment of ARM 24.177.2105 (June 7, 2024)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026
Superseded text noted: third-party CE sites still describe 30 hours per two-year cycle with 15 Category A hours; that was the rule before the July 27, 2024 amendment, and the rule history on the Secretary of State's site dates both the 2024 amendment and the 2026 repeal and replacement, so this is not treated as an open conflict. The current rule (ARM 24.119.2101) and its 2024 to 2026 predecessor both require 8 hours annually. In 2026 the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners was folded into the Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals and its rules moved from ARM chapter 24.177 to 24.119 (MAR Notice 2026-148); the board's License Information page still cites 24.177.2105 for CE, which the Secretary of State's site marks repealed effective 7/25/2026 with 24.119.2101 as the replacement. Rule text was pulled from the rules.mt.gov public document endpoint because the site is JavaScript-only; the same content is what the browse pages render. The renewal date (April 1, annual) comes from the board's License Information page; the renewal rule itself (ARM 24.101.413) was not fetched. The new rule states no retention period, carryover rule, category limits, or delivery-method limits, so those fields are null. No Montana-specific CE subject mandates for PTs were found.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (Department of Labor and Industry; formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners) before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.