New Mexico Occupational Therapist license renewal and CE requirements
New Mexico occupational therapists must complete 15 contact hours of continuing education every year to renew their license with the New Mexico Board of Examiners for Occupational Therapy (Regulation and Licensing Department).
Renewal is annual and the dates are the same for everyone: the annual renewal date is October 1 and every license the board issues expires on September 30. A license not renewed by the annual renewal date is expired, and the fee must be remitted when due or the license expires automatically. The board office sends electronic notices before the expiration date, but the licensee is responsible for filing the fee and the continuing education by expiration.
Summary
New Mexico occupational therapists must complete 15 contact hours of continuing education every year to renew their license with the New Mexico Board of Examiners for Occupational Therapy (Regulation and Licensing Department). Renewal is annual and the dates are the same for everyone: the annual renewal date is October 1 and every license the board issues expires on September 30. A license not renewed by the annual renewal date is expired, and the fee must be remitted when due or the license expires automatically. The board office sends electronic notices before the expiration date, but the licensee is responsible for filing the fee and the continuing education by expiration. Up to 15 excess contact hours carry over to the next cycle and the first renewal is exempt.
New Mexico 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 | Annual (12 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Same date for every licensee, 09/30 each cycle |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 15 contact hours |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Yes, up to 15 contact hours |
| First renewal exempt | Yes |
| Other accepted activities | Preparing and presenting a workshop or in-service (3 contact hours per hour of audience participation, credit once per workshop); Accredited university, college or community college courses (20 contact hours for a 3 credit course, 15 for a 2 credit course, 10 for a 1 credit course); Workplace in-service programs; Reading a book with a typewritten summary (up to 2 contact hours per book, at the board's discretion); Writing a book copyrighted in the year claimed (up to 40 contact hours at the board's discretion); Audio or visual media with a written summary; Presenting a paper; Publishing a paper or article in a recognized journal; Conducting research; Specialty or certification programs; Supervising level II fieldwork (maximum 12 contact hours per 12 week occupational therapist rotation, maximum 8 per 8 week occupational therapy assistant rotation); Mentoring a therapist entering a new practice area, for six months to one year; Competency or knowledge and skills assessment training (maximum 2 hours per renewal period) |
16.15.4.8(A) NMAC requires every licensed occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant to earn a minimum of 15 continuing education contact hours per year during each year of licensure. A continuing education contact hour is 60 minutes, and the rule states that one contact hour equals one continuing education unit. Hours are earned in the renewal year that runs October 1 through September 30 and must be earned before the following year's renewal. Up to 15 hours may be carried into the next licensing year. The first year in which hours must be earned is the year beginning October 1 after the license is issued, so a licensee renewing for the first time pays the fee but owes no hours. The rule sets no live or interactive minimum and no cap on webinars or online courses; seminars, webinars and online courses sit in the same category. NBCOT is not a substitute for hours in New Mexico and its units are not adopted: passing the NBCOT examination is an eligibility requirement for initial licensure under 16.15.2.8(A), and nothing in the rules makes maintaining NBCOT certification a renewal condition or a source of credit. Applicants must also pass the New Mexico jurisprudence examination with a score of at least 80 per cent, but that applies to applicants for licensure rather than at each renewal, so it is not recorded as a recurring mandated topic.
Required CE topics for New Mexico occupational therapists
The New Mexico Board of Examiners for Occupational Therapy (Regulation and Licensing Department) 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 | 3 years |
| Board audits compliance | Yes |
| Approved providers | New Mexico is unusually strict here. Under 16.15.4.9(A) no licensee may claim any continuing education contact hour without the board's approval of that hour, and the board or its designee must approve each request; prior approval can be requested by the licensee or the provider, and the board decides both the value and the approval. For seminars, workshops, webinars and online courses the licensee must show the program was sponsored by a component of the American Occupational Therapy Association or another sponsor the board approves, plus an agenda with contact hours, the subject matter and objectives, the instructor's background, and a signed certificate of completion. 16.15.2.13(B) makes proof of continuing education part of the renewal filing. The board audits a percentage of renewal applications each year, and a licensee who is not audited keeps attendance documentation and agendas for at least the three years immediately preceding the current renewal. Orientation and in-service programs on organizational structure, policy making meetings, annual association meetings, entertainment, committee meetings and offices, visiting exhibitors, and CPR education are all ineligible. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a New Mexico OT need to renew?
- New Mexico occupational therapists must complete 15 contact hours of continuing education every year to renew their license with the New Mexico Board of Examiners for Occupational Therapy (Regulation and Licensing Department). 16.15.4.8(A) NMAC requires every licensed occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistant to earn a minimum of 15 continuing education contact hours per year during each year of licensure. A continuing education contact hour is 60 minutes, and the rule states that one contact hour equals one continuing education unit. Hours are earned in the renewal year that runs October 1 through September 30 and must be earned before the following year's renewal. Up to 15 hours may be carried into the next licensing year. The first year in which hours must be earned is the year beginning October 1 after the license is issued, so a licensee renewing for the first time pays the fee but owes no hours. The rule sets no live or interactive minimum and no cap on webinars or online courses; seminars, webinars and online courses sit in the same category. NBCOT is not a substitute for hours in New Mexico and its units are not adopted: passing the NBCOT examination is an eligibility requirement for initial licensure under 16.15.2.8(A), and nothing in the rules makes maintaining NBCOT certification a renewal condition or a source of credit. Applicants must also pass the New Mexico jurisprudence examination with a score of at least 80 per cent, but that applies to applicants for licensure rather than at each renewal, so it is not recorded as a recurring mandated topic.
- How often does a New Mexico OT license need to be renewed?
- Occupational Therapist licenses in New Mexico renew every year. Renewal is annual and the dates are the same for everyone: the annual renewal date is October 1 and every license the board issues expires on September 30. A license not renewed by the annual renewal date is expired, and the fee must be remitted when due or the license expires automatically. The board office sends electronic notices before the expiration date, but the licensee is responsible for filing the fee and the continuing education by expiration.
- Does New Mexico require specific CE topics for occupational therapists?
- The New Mexico Board of Examiners for Occupational Therapy (Regulation and Licensing Department) does not list mandated subject areas for OT renewal on the pages we verified; the 15 contact hours may be in any approved subject.
- Do New Mexico 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. New Mexico is unusually strict here. Under 16.15.4.9(A) no licensee may claim any continuing education contact hour without the board's approval of that hour, and the board or its designee must approve each request; prior approval can be requested by the licensee or the provider, and the board decides both the value and the approval. For seminars, workshops, webinars and online courses the licensee must show the program was sponsored by a component of the American Occupational Therapy Association or another sponsor the board approves, plus an agenda with contact hours, the subject matter and objectives, the instructor's background, and a signed certificate of completion. 16.15.2.13(B) makes proof of continuing education part of the renewal filing. The board audits a percentage of renewal applications each year, and a licensee who is not audited keeps attendance documentation and agendas for at least the three years immediately preceding the current renewal. Orientation and in-service programs on organizational structure, policy making meetings, annual association meetings, entertainment, committee meetings and offices, visiting exhibitors, and CPR education are all ineligible.
- Is the first New Mexico OT renewal exempt from CE?
- Yes. New Mexico does not require continuing education for a OT's first renewal.
Sources
Last verified September 9, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- 16.15.4 NMAC, Occupational Therapists, Continuing Education Requirements (New Mexico State Records Center and Archives)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 9, 2026
- 16.15.2 NMAC, Occupational Therapists, Licensure Requirements, including 16.15.2.13 Annual RenewalStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 9, 2026
- Occupational Therapy: Instructors, Training Requirements, and Continuing Education, New Mexico Regulation and Licensing DepartmentState board page, accessed September 9, 2026
- Occupational Therapy, New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department Boards and CommissionsState board page, accessed September 9, 2026
New Mexico follows the standalone board pattern: occupational therapy has its own Board of Examiners for Occupational Therapy with its own rule chapter, 16.15 NMAC, administered by the Regulation and Licensing Department and separate from the New Mexico Physical Therapy Board and its 16.20 NMAC rules. The 15 hour annual figure, the 15 hour carryover, the three year retention, the mandatory board approval of every hour and the list of ineligible activities were read in 16.15.4 NMAC on the State Records Center and Archives site, and the department's own occupational therapy continuing education page reproduces the same rule text. The October 1 renewal date and the September 30 expiration come from 16.15.2.13(C) NMAC. The rules state no mandated subjects for renewal, no category one minimum, no live or interactive minimum and no self-study cap. The rules do not state the audit percentage, only that the board audits a percentage of renewal applications each year. One drafting oddity worth noting: 16.15.4.9(C)(5), the rule for reading a book, refers to physical therapy philosophical tenets, apparently a copying error in a chapter that is otherwise entirely about occupational therapy.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the New Mexico Board of Examiners for Occupational Therapy (Regulation and Licensing Department) before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.