Tennessee Physical Therapist Assistant license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Tennessee physical therapist assistants must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Tennessee Board of Physical Therapy. The due date for license renewal is the expiration date printed on the licensee's renewal certificate (Rule 1150-01-.09), so the deadline depends on the individual license rather than a common statewide date. Continuing competence hours must be completed in the 24 months that precede the licensure renewal month. Renewal requires a signed application, the renewal and regulatory fees, and a statement attesting to completion of the continuing competence requirements. Tennessee also mandates specific subjects. Ethics and jurisprudence courses: 4 contact hours every renewal cycle. No more than 10 contact hours may be self-study or online.

Tennessee 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.

The Tennessee Board of Physical Therapy states that all licensed physical therapist assistants are now required to obtain 30 hours of credits for the 24 months that precede their licensure renewal month. At least twenty of those hours must be Category 1 activities, no more than 10 hours may be acquired online, and up to ten of the thirty may be from Category 2 activities. The board page does not state whether hours may be carried over or whether a newly licensed PTA is exempt for the initial period, so those fields are null. The board page does not itemize Category 1 and Category 2 activities, so alternatives_accepted is empty.

Required CE topics for Tennessee physical therapist assistants

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 Tennessee PTA need to renew?

Tennessee physical therapist assistants must complete 30 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Tennessee Board of Physical Therapy. The Tennessee Board of Physical Therapy states that all licensed physical therapist assistants are now required to obtain 30 hours of credits for the 24 months that precede their licensure renewal month. At least twenty of those hours must be Category 1 activities, no more than 10 hours may be acquired online, and up to ten of the thirty may be from Category 2 activities. The board page does not state whether hours may be carried over or whether a newly licensed PTA is exempt for the initial period, so those fields are null. The board page does not itemize Category 1 and Category 2 activities, so alternatives_accepted is empty.

How often does a Tennessee PTA license need to be renewed?

Physical Therapist Assistant licenses in Tennessee renew every two years. The due date for license renewal is the expiration date printed on the licensee's renewal certificate (Rule 1150-01-.09), so the deadline depends on the individual license rather than a common statewide date. Continuing competence hours must be completed in the 24 months that precede the licensure renewal month. Renewal requires a signed application, the renewal and regulatory fees, and a statement attesting to completion of the continuing competence requirements.

What specific CE topics are required for Tennessee physical therapist assistants?

Ethics and jurisprudence courses: 4 contact hours every renewal cycle.

Do Tennessee physical therapist assistants 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 5 years. Beginning July 1, 2020 it became mandatory for licensees to report proof of completion of their continuing education to CE Broker, including at the time of license renewal. Licensees must retain their hours up to five years after completion and submit proof to the Board only upon request.

Sources

Last verified September 8, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.

• Board of Physical Therapy (physical therapist assistant continuing competence and renewal), Tennessee Department of HealthState board page, accessed September 8, 2026
• Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1150-01-.09 Renewal of License (Cornell LII mirror)Third-party summary, accessed September 8, 2026

The PTA hour total, the Category 1 minimum, the ten hour online cap, the Category 2 maximum, the four hours of ethics and jurisprudence every renewal cycle, CE Broker reporting, and the five year retention were all read on the Tennessee Department of Health Board of Physical Therapy page, which states the PTA requirement in its own sentence. The Cornell LII mirror of Rule 1150-01-.12 is out of date: it reflects a 2009 amendment, still says twenty hours for physical therapist assistants with a ten hour Class I minimum, and says the four ethics and jurisprudence hours are required every other twenty four month period. That stale text was not used and is not cited, because the board's own current page states thirty hours and every renewal cycle. The current official rule compilation is a PDF at https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1150/1150-01.20251229.pdf and was not fetched under the no-download rule, which is why the ethics topic carries no rule citation. Rule 1150-01-.09 ties the due date to the expiration date on the renewal certificate rather than a fixed statewide date, so renewal.basis is other and the cycle is recorded as 24 months to match the 24 month continuing competence window the board states.