Oklahoma Physical Therapist license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Oklahoma physical therapists must complete 40 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision, Physical Therapy Advisory Committee. Licenses renew every two years on a cycle that ends January 31 of even-numbered years (for example February 1, 2022 through January 31, 2024). To renew, a licensee completes the renewal application, pays the fee, completes the Board's jurisprudence examination on the Oklahoma Physical Therapy Practice Act and related rules, and meets the professional development requirement. Oklahoma also mandates specific subjects. Ethics education that includes the APTA Guide for Professional Conduct and the APTA Code of Ethics: 3 contact hours every renewal cycle. Jurisprudence examination on the Oklahoma Physical Therapy Practice Act and related Oklahoma Administrative Code: required every renewal cycle. Hours do not carry over between cycles.

Oklahoma 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.

OAC 435:20-9-2(b): effective February 1, 2022 and every two years thereafter, physical therapists must show proof of forty approved contact hours and/or PDU equivalent (physical therapist assistants thirty). A professional development unit (PDU) is one 60-minute contact hour of coursework or an approved PDU activity. At least half of the required hours must be professional development coursework, three hours must be ethics education, and no hours may be carried over between compliance periods. Asynchronous courses (video, webcast, etc.) earn one PDU per hour but must include a post-test; the rule states no cap on them. A licensee who cannot meet the requirement may not renew until the deficiency is made up and must complete double the required units in the next period. Licensees initially licensed during the second year of a compliance period are exempt for that first renewal; the rule states no exemption for those licensed in the first year. Licensees working fewer than 250 hours per year may request a reduced requirement.

Required CE topics for Oklahoma physical therapists

State-specific subject mandates. Where a mandate applies only to some licensees, the scope is listed.

Documentation and audit

Common questions

How many CE hours does a Oklahoma PT need to renew?

Oklahoma physical therapists must complete 40 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision, Physical Therapy Advisory Committee. OAC 435:20-9-2(b): effective February 1, 2022 and every two years thereafter, physical therapists must show proof of forty approved contact hours and/or PDU equivalent (physical therapist assistants thirty). A professional development unit (PDU) is one 60-minute contact hour of coursework or an approved PDU activity. At least half of the required hours must be professional development coursework, three hours must be ethics education, and no hours may be carried over between compliance periods. Asynchronous courses (video, webcast, etc.) earn one PDU per hour but must include a post-test; the rule states no cap on them. A licensee who cannot meet the requirement may not renew until the deficiency is made up and must complete double the required units in the next period. Licensees initially licensed during the second year of a compliance period are exempt for that first renewal; the rule states no exemption for those licensed in the first year. Licensees working fewer than 250 hours per year may request a reduced requirement.

How often does a Oklahoma PT license need to be renewed?

Physical Therapist licenses in Oklahoma renew every two years. Licenses renew every two years on a cycle that ends January 31 of even-numbered years (for example February 1, 2022 through January 31, 2024). To renew, a licensee completes the renewal application, pays the fee, completes the Board's jurisprudence examination on the Oklahoma Physical Therapy Practice Act and related rules, and meets the professional development requirement.

What specific CE topics are required for Oklahoma physical therapists?

Ethics education that includes the APTA Guide for Professional Conduct and the APTA Code of Ethics: 3 contact hours every renewal cycle. Jurisprudence examination on the Oklahoma Physical Therapy Practice Act and related Oklahoma Administrative Code: required every renewal cycle. Citations: ethics education that includes the APTA Guide for Professional Conduct and the APTA Code of Ethics (OAC 435:20-9-2(b)(2)) and jurisprudence examination on the Oklahoma Physical Therapy Practice Act and related Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC 435:20-3-6(3)).

Do Oklahoma physical 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 4 years. Activities must be approved by the Board; pre-approval is required for guaranteed credit (OAC 435:20-9-3). At renewal the licensee signs a statement of compliance; records (dates, titles, presenters, hours, certificates) are kept for a minimum of four years (two compliance periods) and copies are submitted to the Board on request. The Physical Therapy Committee conducts random audits of professional development records. The board's page directs CE providers to CE Broker for provider accounts.

Sources

Last verified September 7, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.

• Oklahoma Physical Therapists and Assistants (Continuing Education Requirements section), Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and SupervisionState board page, accessed September 7, 2026
• Oklahoma Administrative Code Title 435 Chapter 20, Physical Therapists and Assistants, effective September 14, 2023Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 7, 2026
• Okla. Admin. Code 435:20-9-2, Professional development requirements for renewal (LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 7, 2026
• Okla. Admin. Code 435:20-3-6, Requirements for renewal and re-entry (LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 7, 2026

Forty hours per two-year compliance period, three ethics hours, half-coursework minimum, no carryover, four-year retention, random audit, second-year first-renewal exemption, and activity credit values read from OAC 435:20-9-1 through 9-3 in the board's September 2023 rules PDF and confirmed on the board's CE Requirements section, which also states the cycle ends January 31 of every even year. The jurisprudence examination at renewal comes from OAC 435:20-3-6. Cornell mirrors matched the board PDF. The board's website returned 403 to the WebFetch tool and was read with curl using a browser user agent. Whether the first-year-licensed PT owes the full forty hours is not stated explicitly (only the second-year exemption is), so exempt_first_renewal is null.