West Virginia Occupational Therapist license renewal and CE requirements
West Virginia occupational therapists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the West Virginia Board of Occupational Therapy.
Licenses are renewed biennially on documentation of the required continuing education and payment of the renewal fee (W. Va. Code 30-28-14(a)). The board does not publish a single statewide expiration date: each licensee has an individual due date shown on the open renewal application in Certemy, the board's licensing system, and email alerts start three months before it. The board asks licensees not to file more than six months early and recommends filing 30 days ahead; a renewal not submitted by the expiration date draws a $100 late fee. A lapsed license may be renewed within one year of expiration, after which the original licensure requirements apply.
Summary
West Virginia occupational therapists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the West Virginia Board of Occupational Therapy. Licenses are renewed biennially on documentation of the required continuing education and payment of the renewal fee (W. Va. Code 30-28-14(a)). The board does not publish a single statewide expiration date: each licensee has an individual due date shown on the open renewal application in Certemy, the board's licensing system, and email alerts start three months before it. The board asks licensees not to file more than six months early and recommends filing 30 days ahead; a renewal not submitted by the expiration date draws a $100 late fee. A lapsed license may be renewed within one year of expiration, after which the original licensure requirements apply. Up to 6 excess contact hours carry over to the next cycle.
West Virginia 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 | Two-year (24 months) |
|---|---|
| Renewal deadline | Board-specific scheduleFirst renewal is prorated. |
| Continuing education required | Yes |
| Hours per cycle | 24 contact hours |
| Self-study or online cap | No cap stated |
| Carryover to next cycle | Yes, up to 6 contact hours |
| First renewal exempt | Not stated |
The board states that renewals after the first require a minimum of 24 contact hours during the two year period preceding the license renewal date, and that a licensee who obtains a license during the first twelve months of a 24 month reporting period completes 12 contact hours before the end of that period. Hours must be earned in the two years before expiration, except for the six hour carryover from the previous renewal term. Core job specific requirements of the licensee's work setting do not count, and the board names CPR, first aid training, documentation courses, and training in coding, billing or payment systems as examples that do not count. Full detail on activity categories sits in Legislative Rule 13 CSR 4, Continuing Education and Competency Requirements, which the board publishes only as a PDF that was not read for this record.
Required CE topics for West Virginia occupational therapists
The West Virginia 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
| Proof submitted at renewal | No, attestation only |
|---|---|
| Keep records for | Not stated |
| Board audits compliance | Yes |
| Approved providers | The board does not require pre-approval of specific courses or providers, and says it is the licensee's responsibility to make sure the courses chosen meet the licensee's own needs to maintain knowledge of occupational therapy theory and practice. Courses and providers the board lists on its site as a resource are not necessarily endorsed by it. |
Common questions
- How many CE hours does a West Virginia OT need to renew?
- West Virginia occupational therapists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the West Virginia Board of Occupational Therapy. The board states that renewals after the first require a minimum of 24 contact hours during the two year period preceding the license renewal date, and that a licensee who obtains a license during the first twelve months of a 24 month reporting period completes 12 contact hours before the end of that period. Hours must be earned in the two years before expiration, except for the six hour carryover from the previous renewal term. Core job specific requirements of the licensee's work setting do not count, and the board names CPR, first aid training, documentation courses, and training in coding, billing or payment systems as examples that do not count. Full detail on activity categories sits in Legislative Rule 13 CSR 4, Continuing Education and Competency Requirements, which the board publishes only as a PDF that was not read for this record.
- How often does a West Virginia OT license need to be renewed?
- Occupational Therapist licenses in West Virginia renew every two years. Licenses are renewed biennially on documentation of the required continuing education and payment of the renewal fee (W. Va. Code 30-28-14(a)). The board does not publish a single statewide expiration date: each licensee has an individual due date shown on the open renewal application in Certemy, the board's licensing system, and email alerts start three months before it. The board asks licensees not to file more than six months early and recommends filing 30 days ahead; a renewal not submitted by the expiration date draws a $100 late fee. A lapsed license may be renewed within one year of expiration, after which the original licensure requirements apply.
- Does West Virginia require specific CE topics for occupational therapists?
- The West Virginia Board of Occupational Therapy does not list mandated subject areas for OT renewal on the pages we verified; the 24 contact hours may be in any approved subject.
- Do West Virginia occupational therapists have to submit CE certificates at renewal?
- Licensees attest to completion at renewal rather than submitting certificates and the board audits a sample of renewals and asks for documentation. The board does not require pre-approval of specific courses or providers, and says it is the licensee's responsibility to make sure the courses chosen meet the licensee's own needs to maintain knowledge of occupational therapy theory and practice. Courses and providers the board lists on its site as a resource are not necessarily endorsed by it.
Sources
Last verified September 9, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.
- Continuing Education Requirements, West Virginia Board of Occupational TherapyState board page, accessed September 9, 2026
- License Renewal, West Virginia Board of Occupational TherapyState board page, accessed September 9, 2026
- W. Va. Code 30-28-14, Renewal of license (West Virginia Occupational Therapy Practice Act)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 9, 2026
- Frequently Asked Questions, West Virginia Board of Occupational TherapyState board page, accessed September 9, 2026
- West Virginia Board of Occupational TherapyState board page, accessed September 9, 2026
West Virginia has a standalone Board of Occupational Therapy in Morgantown, separate from the West Virginia Board of Physical Therapy, and its own practice act at W. Va. Code chapter 30, article 28. None of the physical therapy figures were reused: physical therapists and physical therapist assistants count 24 clock hours under their own board's rules, and occupational therapy licensees count 24 contact hours under 13 CSR 4, which is the same number reached through different rules. The 24 contact hours, the 12 hour first period figure, the six hour carryover, the no pre-approval policy, the excluded job specific courses and the random audit were read on the board's own pages; the biennial cycle and the one year lapse window come from W. Va. Code 30-28-14 on the Legislature's official code site. Legislative Rule 13 CSR 4 (https://wvbot.wv.gov/media/41/download?inline=) is published only as a PDF and was not opened, so activity categories, any category minimum, any self-study cap, record retention and any subject mandate are unknown; mandatory_topics is empty because no subject mandate appears on the board's pages or in the statute, not because the rule was checked and found silent. The West Virginia Secretary of State's Code of State Rules service at apps.sos.wv.gov is a search form that returns rule documents rather than a browsable HTML rule text, so 13 CSR 4 was not readable there either. NBCOT is linked from the board's site as a resource; neither the statute nor the board's pages make current NBCOT certification a renewal condition or a substitute for hours. Uploading continuing education certificates at renewal is encouraged rather than required, except for licensees selected for the random audit, who must upload their documents.
Provided for general reference. Requirements change through legislative sessions and rulemaking, so confirm with the West Virginia Board of Occupational Therapy before relying on them for a renewal. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.