South Carolina Occupational Therapy Assistant license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

South Carolina occupational therapy assistants must complete 16 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the South Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy. Licenses renew every other year on March 15, and it is the licensee's responsibility to renew whether or not a notice is received. The board's renewal page lists a March 15, 2027 deadline for both occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, with the next renewal March 15, 2029, and gives the biennial reporting period for the 2027 renewal as March 16, 2025 through March 15, 2027. An application not postmarked before March 16 may be renewed with a late penalty until April 16; a license not renewed by April 16 lapses automatically.

South Carolina Occupational Therapy 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.

South Carolina Code section 40-36-260 names both credentials in one sentence: a licensed occupational therapist and a licensed occupational therapy assistant must, before March sixteenth in every other year, apply for renewal, and as a condition of renewal must satisfactorily complete sixteen hours of continuing education per biennium as defined in regulation, submit proof of completion on a board-approved form, and be certified and in good standing with the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) or another board-approved certification program. The assistant total is the same sixteen hours, not a reduced figure. Current NBCOT certification is a renewal condition in its own right, not a source of hours; the board's renewal page repeats that NBCOT certification must remain active and in good standing at all times. The board does not pre-approve continuing education experiences. Acceptable criteria, category limits and any alternative activities are set out in Chapter 94, Articles 1 and 4 of the S.C. Code of Regulations, which the board publishes only as a PDF that was not read for this record. Supervision requirements for assistants are practice rules, not continuing education.

Required CE topics for South Carolina occupational therapy assistants

The South Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy 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

Common questions

How many CE hours does a South Carolina OTA need to renew?

South Carolina occupational therapy assistants must complete 16 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the South Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy. South Carolina Code section 40-36-260 names both credentials in one sentence: a licensed occupational therapist and a licensed occupational therapy assistant must, before March sixteenth in every other year, apply for renewal, and as a condition of renewal must satisfactorily complete sixteen hours of continuing education per biennium as defined in regulation, submit proof of completion on a board-approved form, and be certified and in good standing with the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) or another board-approved certification program. The assistant total is the same sixteen hours, not a reduced figure. Current NBCOT certification is a renewal condition in its own right, not a source of hours; the board's renewal page repeats that NBCOT certification must remain active and in good standing at all times. The board does not pre-approve continuing education experiences. Acceptable criteria, category limits and any alternative activities are set out in Chapter 94, Articles 1 and 4 of the S.C. Code of Regulations, which the board publishes only as a PDF that was not read for this record. Supervision requirements for assistants are practice rules, not continuing education.

How often does a South Carolina OTA license need to be renewed?

Occupational Therapy Assistant licenses in South Carolina renew every two years. Licenses renew every other year on March 15, and it is the licensee's responsibility to renew whether or not a notice is received. The board's renewal page lists a March 15, 2027 deadline for both occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, with the next renewal March 15, 2029, and gives the biennial reporting period for the 2027 renewal as March 16, 2025 through March 15, 2027. An application not postmarked before March 16 may be renewed with a late penalty until April 16; a license not renewed by April 16 lapses automatically.

Does South Carolina require specific CE topics for occupational therapy assistants?

The South Carolina Board of Occupational Therapy does not list mandated subject areas for OTA renewal on the pages we verified; the 16 contact hours may be in any approved subject.

Do South Carolina occupational therapy assistants have to submit CE certificates at renewal?

Proof of completion must be submitted with the renewal. The board will not pre-approve continuing education experiences and points licensees to the guidelines in Chapter 94 of the S.C. Code of Regulations to judge what meets the acceptable criteria and limits. CE Broker is the board's continuing education tracking system.

Sources

Last verified September 9, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.

• S.C. Code Title 40, Chapter 36, Occupational Therapists, section 40-36-260Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 9, 2026
• Continuing Education, South Carolina Board of Occupational TherapyState board page, accessed September 9, 2026
• License Renewal Resource, South Carolina Board of Occupational TherapyState board page, accessed September 9, 2026
• South Carolina Board of Occupational TherapyState board page, accessed September 9, 2026

The occupational therapy assistant figures were confirmed as assistant figures rather than copied from the therapist record: section 40-36-260 applies the sixteen hour biennial requirement and the March fifteenth renewal to a licensed occupational therapist and a licensed occupational therapy assistant in the same sentence, and the board's renewal table lists OT and OTA with identical open dates, a March 15, 2027 deadline and a March 15, 2029 next renewal. South Carolina has a standalone occupational therapy board under the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, separate from the South Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners. The implementing regulation, Chapter 94 of the S.C. Code of Regulations, is published only as a PDF (https://www.scstatehouse.gov/coderegs/Chapter%2094.pdf) and was not opened, so category limits, self-study caps, carryover, record retention, audit practice and any first renewal proration are left null, and mandatory_topics is empty because no mandated subject appears in the statute or on the board's pages rather than because Chapter 94 was checked and found silent.