Wisconsin Occupational Therapy Assistant license renewal and CE requirements

Summary

Wisconsin occupational therapy assistants 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 therapy assistant credential renews biennially on May 31 of each odd-numbered year, the date the department cites to Wis. Stat. 440.08(2). A licensee who receives an initial credential in the months leading up to that date must still renew by the statutory date. Wis. Admin. Code OT 3.02 requires a completed renewal application and the renewal fee by the date specified in Wis. Stat. 440.08(2)(a)53, and the board notifies the licensee within 30 business days whether renewal is approved or denied. Renewal is filed through the LicensE system. 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 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.

Wisconsin counts points, and the Department of Safety and Professional Services states on the occupational therapy assistant continuing education page that 1 point equals 1 hour, so 24 points is 24 hours. Wis. Admin. Code OT 3.06(2) is the occupational therapy assistant subsection: each holder of a license as an occupational therapy assistant must certify at renewal that at least 24 points of acceptable continuing education were completed during the two year period immediately preceding the renewal date under Wis. Stat. 440.08(2)(a)53. The department states the biennium runs from June 1 of an odd year to May 31 of the next odd year. OT 3.06(3) applies to subsections (1) and (2) together: at least 12 of the 24 points must be accumulated through two or more professional development activities listed in Table OT 3.06 that relate to occupational therapy, and the remainder through 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. Supervision of an occupational therapy assistant is a practice requirement, not continuing education, and is not counted here.

Required CE topics for Wisconsin occupational therapy assistants

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 OTA need to renew?

Wisconsin occupational therapy assistants 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 on the occupational therapy assistant continuing education page that 1 point equals 1 hour, so 24 points is 24 hours. Wis. Admin. Code OT 3.06(2) is the occupational therapy assistant subsection: each holder of a license as an occupational therapy assistant must certify at renewal that at least 24 points of acceptable continuing education were completed during the two year period immediately preceding the renewal date under Wis. Stat. 440.08(2)(a)53. The department states the biennium runs from June 1 of an odd year to May 31 of the next odd year. OT 3.06(3) applies to subsections (1) and (2) together: at least 12 of the 24 points must be accumulated through two or more professional development activities listed in Table OT 3.06 that relate to occupational therapy, and the remainder through 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. Supervision of an occupational therapy assistant is a practice requirement, not continuing education, and is not counted here.

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

Occupational Therapy Assistant licenses in Wisconsin renew every two years. The occupational therapy assistant credential renews biennially on May 31 of each odd-numbered year, the date the department cites to Wis. Stat. 440.08(2). A licensee who receives an initial credential in the months leading up to that date must still renew by the statutory date. Wis. Admin. Code OT 3.02 requires a completed renewal application and the renewal fee by the date specified in Wis. Stat. 440.08(2)(a)53, and the board notifies the licensee within 30 business days whether renewal is approved or denied. Renewal is filed through the LicensE system. 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 therapy assistants?

The Wisconsin Occupational Therapists Affiliated Credentialing Board (Department of Safety and Professional Services) does not list mandated subject areas for OTA renewal on the pages we verified; the 24 contact hours may be in any approved subject.

Do Wisconsin occupational therapy assistants 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 OTA renewal exempt from CE?

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

Sources

Last verified September 10, 2026. Every value above was read from one of these.

• Wis. Admin. Code OT 3.06, Continuing education, Occupational Therapists Affiliated Credentialing BoardStatute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
• Wis. Admin. Code ch. OT 3, Biennial License Renewal (sections OT 3.01 to OT 3.06)Statute or administrative rule, accessed September 10, 2026
• Occupational Therapy Assistant Continuing Education, Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional ServicesState board page, accessed September 10, 2026
• Occupational Therapy Assistant, Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional ServicesState board page, accessed September 10, 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. Every occupational therapy assistant figure was read at an assistant source rather than copied from the Wisconsin occupational therapist record. Wis. Admin. Code OT 3.06 states the two credentials in separate subsections: subsection (1) is the occupational therapist and subsection (2) is the occupational therapy assistant, and each is tied to its own statutory renewal date, 440.08(2)(a)52 for the therapist and 440.08(2)(a)53 for the assistant. Both subsections require 24 points, so the totals genuinely match, and OT 3.06(3) is one sentence that applies the 12 point professional development minimum to subsections (1) and (2) together, so the same rule text is cited for both credentials. The 24 point total, the 1 point equals 1 hour statement, the June 1 odd year to May 31 odd year biennium and the first biennium exclusion were also confirmed on the department's own occupational therapy assistant continuing education page, and the May 31 odd year renewal date on the department's occupational therapy assistant page. None of the Wisconsin physical therapy figures were reused: physical therapists count 30 hours and physical therapist assistants 20, while occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants each count 24 points. 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 and alternatives_accepted is left empty. 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. NBCOT certification is a pre-credential requirement for initial licensure listed on the department's occupational therapy assistant page, but neither the rule nor the department makes it a renewal condition or a substitute for points. The rule states no mandated subject areas.