North Carolina Physical Therapist Assistant license renewal and CE requirements
North Carolina physical therapist assistants must complete 20 contact hours of continuing education every 25 months to renew their license with the North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners.
Physical therapist assistant licenses are renewed every year by January 31 at close of business and carry a January 31 expiration date; a license not renewed by then lapses automatically on February 1. Continuing competence runs on a separate two-year schedule: each 25-month reporting period begins January 1 and closes with the second January 31 renewal.
Summary
North Carolina physical therapist assistants must complete 20 contact hours of continuing education every 25 months to renew their license with the North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners. Physical therapist assistant licenses are renewed every year by January 31 at close of business and carry a January 31 expiration date; a license not renewed by then lapses automatically on February 1. Continuing competence runs on a separate two-year schedule: each 25-month reporting period begins January 1 and closes with the second January 31 renewal. North Carolina also mandates specific subjects. Jurisprudence Exercise (online questions on the Physical Therapy Practice Act, Board rules, and Position Statements): 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. No more than 10 contact hours may be self-study or online and up to 10 excess contact hours carry over to the next cycle.
North Carolina 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, 01/31 each cycle |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 20 contact hoursCounted over a 25-month window, separate from the renewal cycle. |
| Self-study or online cap | At most 10 contact hours |
| Carryover to next cycle | Yes, up to 10 contact hours |
| First renewal exempt | Not stated |
| Other accepted activities | Post-baccalaureate academic coursework (15 points per semester hour, maximum 29); APTA credentialed residency or fellowship (10 points per year, maximum 20); ABPTS specialty certification or recertification (20 points); APTA Advanced Proficiency designation for the physical therapist assistant (19 points per reporting period); FSBPT Practice Review Tool (10 points passing, 5 points not passing); Credentialed Clinical Instructor courses (1 point per course hour, maximum 29); Serving as a clinical instructor (1 point per 40 hours of direct on-site supervision, maximum 8); Presenting or teaching (2 points per hour, maximum 6); Research grants, books, chapters, and articles (4 to 10 points each, maximum 15 in the category); Clinical practice (1 to 3 points per year based on hours worked); Professional self-assessment through an approved Reflective Practice Exercise (5 points); Workplace in-service education (maximum 5 points); Professional service as an officer or committee chair (2 to 10 points); NPTE or ABPTS item writing (5 points per year); Clinical research participation (1 point per hour, maximum 10) |
21 NCAC 48G .0106 sets different totals by credential: each physical therapist must accumulate 30 points and each physical therapist assistant must accumulate 20 points of continuing competence activities in each reporting period. A reporting period is 25 months beginning January 1 (48G .0105(12)), and for a licensee first licensed after January 1, 2009 the first reporting period starts on the January 1 following initial licensure. The board counts points; one contact hour, meaning at least 50 consecutive minutes, of live continuing education from an approved provider earns one point. Category caps apply instead of a single online limit: live courses maximum 29 points, interactive electronic courses maximum 15, non-interactive electronic media maximum 10, approved-provider home study maximum 10, self-designed home study 3 hours per point with a maximum of 5. Up to 10 extra points carry over to the next reporting period, except points from the jurisprudence exercise, clinical practice, and self-assessment. One activity is specific to assistants: the APTA Advanced Proficiency designation for the physical therapist assistant earns 19 points per reporting period.
Required CE topics for North Carolina physical therapist assistants
State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Applies to | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jurisprudence Exercise (online questions on the Physical Therapy Practice Act, Board rules, and Position Statements)During each reporting period every licensee, defined in 48G .0105(8) as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant licensed in North Carolina, must complete the board's online jurisprudence exercise. It earns one point per completion, with a maximum of three points per reporting period. Recorded as 1 point, which the board treats as one hour-equivalent. Points from this category cannot be carried over. | 1 contact hour | Every renewal | All licensees | 21 NCAC 48G .0109(k); 48G .0105(7) and (8) |
Documentation and audit
| Proof submitted at renewal | No, attestation only |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | 4 years |
| Board audits compliance | Yes |
| Approved providers | Approved providers include any agency or board licensing physical therapy in the United States or Canada, the APTA with its sections, credentialed residencies and fellowships and its accrediting subsidiary, state APTA chapters, the FSBPT and its accrediting subsidiary, IACET, any provider approved by those bodies, physical therapist and physical therapist assistant programs accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation, and named North Carolina public agencies (48G .0108). Other organizations, or a licensee, may apply to the board for approval of a specific activity. Each licensee submits a completed Continuing Competence Reporting Form with the renewal application rather than certificates, retains documentary evidence for four years following the end of the reporting period, and responds to a random audit notice within 30 days (48G .0110). |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a North Carolina PTA need to renew?
- North Carolina physical therapist assistants must complete 20 contact hours of continuing education every 25 months to renew their license with the North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners. 21 NCAC 48G .0106 sets different totals by credential: each physical therapist must accumulate 30 points and each physical therapist assistant must accumulate 20 points of continuing competence activities in each reporting period. A reporting period is 25 months beginning January 1 (48G .0105(12)), and for a licensee first licensed after January 1, 2009 the first reporting period starts on the January 1 following initial licensure. The board counts points; one contact hour, meaning at least 50 consecutive minutes, of live continuing education from an approved provider earns one point. Category caps apply instead of a single online limit: live courses maximum 29 points, interactive electronic courses maximum 15, non-interactive electronic media maximum 10, approved-provider home study maximum 10, self-designed home study 3 hours per point with a maximum of 5. Up to 10 extra points carry over to the next reporting period, except points from the jurisprudence exercise, clinical practice, and self-assessment. One activity is specific to assistants: the APTA Advanced Proficiency designation for the physical therapist assistant earns 19 points per reporting period.
- How often does a North Carolina PTA license need to be renewed?
- Physical Therapist Assistant licenses in North Carolina renew every year. Physical therapist assistant licenses are renewed every year by January 31 at close of business and carry a January 31 expiration date; a license not renewed by then lapses automatically on February 1. Continuing competence runs on a separate two-year schedule: each 25-month reporting period begins January 1 and closes with the second January 31 renewal.
- What specific CE topics are required for North Carolina physical therapist assistants?
- Jurisprudence Exercise (online questions on the Physical Therapy Practice Act, Board rules, and Position Statements): 1 contact hour every renewal cycle. Citations: Jurisprudence Exercise (online questions on the Physical Therapy Practice Act, Board rules, and Position Statements) (21 NCAC 48G .0109(k); 48G .0105(7) and (8)).
- Do North Carolina physical therapist assistants 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 4 years. Approved providers include any agency or board licensing physical therapy in the United States or Canada, the APTA with its sections, credentialed residencies and fellowships and its accrediting subsidiary, state APTA chapters, the FSBPT and its accrediting subsidiary, IACET, any provider approved by those bodies, physical therapist and physical therapist assistant programs accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation, and named North Carolina public agencies (48G .0108). Other organizations, or a licensee, may apply to the board for approval of a specific activity. Each licensee submits a completed Continuing Competence Reporting Form with the renewal application rather than certificates, retains documentary evidence for four years following the end of the reporting period, and responds to a random audit notice within 30 days (48G .0110).
Sources
Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- 21 NCAC Chapter 48, Board of Physical Therapy Examiners rules (Subchapter 48G, Retention of License, rules .0104 through .0112 and .0202), NC Office of Administrative HearingsStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 8, 2026
This is a state where the number genuinely differs: 21 NCAC 48G .0106(a) and (b) require 30 points from a physical therapist and 20 points from a physical therapist assistant in each reporting period, so the assistant total is two thirds of the therapist total, and the same rule text was read for both. Annual January 31 renewal, the 25-month reporting period, the 10-point carryover with its exclusions, the jurisprudence exercise, the four-year retention, and the 30-day audit response were read in the same chapter. The board's own site does not publish a separate renewal page, so renewal_url is null and the rule text carries the deadline. hours_per_cycle records points because the board counts points and awards one point per contact hour of live approved continuing education; cycle_months records the 25-month reporting period, which is longer than the annual renewal cycle. max_self_study_or_online is recorded as the 10-point home study and non-interactive electronic cap; interactive electronic courses have a separate 15-point cap.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.