Physical Therapy License from California to Indiana: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: Indiana Physical Therapy Board (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency) ↗
A physical therapy license transfers from California to Indiana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Indiana Physical Therapy Board (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency), verify your California license, and meet Indiana's endorsement requirements. NPTE is not retaken. Indiana's published reciprocity checklist relies on verification of your existing out-of-state license rather than a submitted NPTE score report. Indiana requires no jurisprudence exam for licensure or for a compact privilege, though 2 of the 22 biennial continuing-competency hours must be in ethics and Indiana jurisprudence..
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
This direction has a payoff. California is outside the active compact, so you have had no privileges to work with — but Indiana is an active member. Endorse into Indiana with the Indiana Physical Therapy Board (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency), establish it as your home state and primary residence, and Indiana becomes your springboard: from there you can buy compact privileges into every other active member state without another full license. Your NPTE score transfers through the FSBPT; you do not re-sit the exam.
What changes, California → Indiana
| California (current) | Indiana (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| PT Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | PT Compact member — multistate license honored |
| Application fee | $450 (nonrefundable $300 application processing fee + $150 initial license fee (both required to obtain the license) = $450. A $49 fingerprint hard-card fee and the $50 CAL-JAM exam fee (paid to FSBPT) are separate. California is not a PT Compact state, so there is no compact-privilege fee.) | $100 (the IPLA fee schedule lists 'Physical Therapist License by Reciprocity' at $100.00, the same as licensure by examination; all fees are non-refundable. The criminal background check is paid separately to the vendor. NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.) |
| Processing time | 6–7 weeks (the Board acknowledges receipt within 30 days and states a license is generally issued within 45 days (about 6-7 weeks) after all deficiencies are satisfied and scores are received) | IPLA publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; it states only that an application is abandoned without Board action if all requirements are not submitted within one year of filing |
| Licensing authority | Physical Therapy Board of California (Department of Consumer Affairs) | Indiana Physical Therapy Board (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Indiana sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Indiana's current requirements on the Indiana Physical Therapy Board (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Indiana Physical Therapy Board (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Meet the reciprocal licensure requirements defined in IC 25-1-21-5.
- Complete a criminal background check through the Professional Licensing Agency.
- Have official license verification sent directly to the Board by each licensing authority where you hold or held a license.
- Provide your Social Security Number — the application cannot be processed without it.
- Submit documentation of any legal name change where your name differs across your documents.
- Pay the fees ($100 (the IPLA fee schedule lists 'Physical Therapist License by Reciprocity' at $100.00, the same as licensure by examination; all fees are non-refundable. The criminal background check is paid separately to the vendor. NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.)) and allow IPLA publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; it states only that an application is abandoned without Board action if all requirements are not submitted within one year of filing.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Indiana accept a California physical therapy license?
A physical therapy license transfers from California to Indiana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Indiana Physical Therapy Board (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency), verify your California license, and meet Indiana's endorsement requirements. NPTE is not retaken. Indiana's published reciprocity checklist relies on verification of your existing out-of-state license rather than a submitted NPTE score report. Indiana requires no jurisprudence exam for licensure or for a compact privilege, though 2 of the 22 biennial continuing-competency hours must be in ethics and Indiana jurisprudence..
Do I retake the NPTE moving from California to Indiana?
No — the NPTE is taken once and your score transfers through the FSBPT. NPTE is not retaken. Indiana's published reciprocity checklist relies on verification of your existing out-of-state license rather than a submitted NPTE score report. Indiana requires no jurisprudence exam for licensure or for a compact privilege, though 2 of the 22 biennial continuing-competency hours must be in ethics and Indiana jurisprudence..
What does the move cost?
$100 (the IPLA fee schedule lists 'Physical Therapist License by Reciprocity' at $100.00, the same as licensure by examination; all fees are non-refundable. The criminal background check is paid separately to the vendor. NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.) (the IPLA fee schedule lists 'Physical Therapist License by Reciprocity' at $100.00, the same as licensure by examination; all fees are non-refundable. The criminal background check is paid separately to the vendor. NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.).
How long will it take?
IPLA publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; it states only that an application is abandoned without Board action if all requirements are not submitted within one year of filing — IPLA publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; it states only that an application is abandoned without Board action if all requirements are not submitted within one year of filing.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.
- Indiana Professional Licensing Agency — Physical Therapy Licensing Information (reciprocity checklist, fee schedule, PT Compact) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Indiana Professional Licensing Agency — Physical Therapy Home ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PT Compact — Compact Privilege Fee, Jurisprudence and Waiver Table ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PT Compact — States by Category ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Physical Therapy Board of California — US-Educated PT/PTA Applicant (Endorsement) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- PTBC — Endorsement Application Fees ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- PTBC — Endorsement Examination Information (CAL-JAM) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-08-07
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