Wisconsin Occupational Therapist license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Wisconsin occupational therapists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Wisconsin Occupational Therapists Affiliated Credentialing Board (Department of Safety and Professional Services). The occupational therapist credential renews biennially on May 31 of each odd-numbered year, the date set by Wis. Stat. 440.08(2)(a)52. A licensee who receives an initial credential in the months leading up to that date must still renew by the statutory date. Renewal is filed through the LicensE system with the renewal fee, and the board notifies the licensee within 30 business days whether renewal is approved or denied. A license that is not renewed expires; it can be late renewed within five years on payment of the late fee and completion of the continuing education, and after five years the board decides what is needed, including passing the open book examination on statutes and rules. The first renewal is exempt.

Wisconsin 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.

Wisconsin counts points, and the Department of Safety and Professional Services states that 1 point equals 1 hour, so 24 points is 24 hours. Wis. Admin. Code OT 3.06(1) requires an occupational therapist to certify at renewal that at least 24 points of acceptable continuing education were completed during the two years immediately before the renewal date; the biennium runs from June 1 of an odd year to May 31 of the next odd year. At least 12 of the 24 points must come from two or more professional development activities listed in Table OT 3.06 that relate to occupational therapy, and the rest from courses, programs or other educational activities related to the licensee's practice. In that table a contact hour means not less than 50 minutes of actual professional activity. The table itself is not rendered in the online administrative code, which says to see the PDF, so the individual activity values and caps were not read. Continuing education does not apply to the biennium in which the license was first issued. A licensee may ask the board for a postponement, partial waiver or total waiver on grounds of prolonged illness, disability or other hardship, decided case by case.

Required CE topics for Wisconsin occupational therapists

The Wisconsin Occupational Therapists Affiliated Credentialing Board (Department of Safety and Professional Services) 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 Wisconsin OT need to renew?

Wisconsin occupational therapists must complete 24 contact hours of continuing education every two years to renew their license with the Wisconsin Occupational Therapists Affiliated Credentialing Board (Department of Safety and Professional Services). Wisconsin counts points, and the Department of Safety and Professional Services states that 1 point equals 1 hour, so 24 points is 24 hours. Wis. Admin. Code OT 3.06(1) requires an occupational therapist to certify at renewal that at least 24 points of acceptable continuing education were completed during the two years immediately before the renewal date; the biennium runs from June 1 of an odd year to May 31 of the next odd year. At least 12 of the 24 points must come from two or more professional development activities listed in Table OT 3.06 that relate to occupational therapy, and the rest from courses, programs or other educational activities related to the licensee's practice. In that table a contact hour means not less than 50 minutes of actual professional activity. The table itself is not rendered in the online administrative code, which says to see the PDF, so the individual activity values and caps were not read. Continuing education does not apply to the biennium in which the license was first issued. A licensee may ask the board for a postponement, partial waiver or total waiver on grounds of prolonged illness, disability or other hardship, decided case by case.

How often does a Wisconsin OT license need to be renewed?

Occupational Therapist licenses in Wisconsin renew every two years. The occupational therapist credential renews biennially on May 31 of each odd-numbered year, the date set by Wis. Stat. 440.08(2)(a)52. A licensee who receives an initial credential in the months leading up to that date must still renew by the statutory date. Renewal is filed through the LicensE system with the renewal fee, and the board notifies the licensee within 30 business days whether renewal is approved or denied. A license that is not renewed expires; it can be late renewed within five years on payment of the late fee and completion of the continuing education, and after five years the board decides what is needed, including passing the open book examination on statutes and rules.

Does Wisconsin require specific CE topics for occupational therapists?

The Wisconsin Occupational Therapists Affiliated Credentialing Board (Department of Safety and Professional Services) 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 Wisconsin occupational 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 2 years. The rule does not name an approving organization; qualifying activity types are set out in Table OT 3.06, which the online code does not render. Licensees certify compliance at renewal rather than filing certificates, and keep certificates of completion or other evidence for at least two years following the biennium in which the continuing education was completed.

Is the first Wisconsin OT renewal exempt from CE?

Yes. Wisconsin does not require continuing education for a OT's first renewal.

Sources

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

• Wis. Admin. Code ch. OT 3, Biennial License Renewal, Occupational Therapists Affiliated Credentialing Board (sections OT 3.02 to OT 3.06)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 9, 2026
• Occupational Therapist Continuing Education, Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional ServicesState board page, accessed September 9, 2026
• Occupational Therapist, Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional ServicesState board page, accessed September 9, 2026

Occupational therapy in Wisconsin is regulated by the Occupational Therapists Affiliated Credentialing Board, an affiliated credentialing board under the Department of Safety and Professional Services with its own chapter OT 3, not by the Physical Therapy Examining Board. None of the physical therapy figures were reused: Wisconsin physical therapists count 30 hours and physical therapist assistants 20, while occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants each count 24 points. The point total, the 12 point professional development minimum, the two year retention, the first biennium exclusion and the hardship waiver were read in Wis. Admin. Code OT 3.06 on the Legislature's official administrative code site; the May 31 odd year renewal date and the statement that 1 point equals 1 hour were read on the department's own pages. Table OT 3.06, which sets what each activity is worth and any caps, is marked See PDF for table in the online code and was not opened, so category values, self-study caps and carryover are unknown. The board audits a licensee for continuing education compliance when that licensee is under investigation for alleged misconduct (OT 3.06(5)); the rule describes no random audit. Neither the rule nor the department makes NBCOT certification a renewal condition or a substitute for points. The rule states no mandated subject areas.