Physical Therapy License from California to Tennessee: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: Tennessee Board of Physical Therapy (Tennessee Department of Health) ↗
A physical therapy license transfers from California to Tennessee by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Tennessee Board of Physical Therapy (Tennessee Department of Health), verify your California license, and meet Tennessee's endorsement requirements. NPTE is not retaken; passing scores must be sent directly from the examining service to the Board's administrative office (FSBPT Score Transfer Service, $90 per report), and reciprocity candidates must have passed the licensing examination at a criterion-referenced passing point. Tennessee requires no jurisprudence exam to obtain the license, but every renewal cycle 4 of the required continuing-competence hours must be ethics and jurisprudence courses of at least 2 hours each..
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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 Tennessee is an active member. Endorse into Tennessee with the Tennessee Board of Physical Therapy (Tennessee Department of Health), establish it as your home state and primary residence, and Tennessee 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 → Tennessee
| California (current) | Tennessee (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.) | $260–$305 (Rule 1150-01-.06 fee schedule for a PT: $150 application fee + $100 reciprocity fee + $10 biennial state regulatory fee are due when the application is filed ($260); a $45 license fee is then due before the license is issued, for $305 total. PTA equivalents are $140 + $100 + $10 + $45. Background-check vendor costs and the $90 FSBPT score-transfer fee are separate. 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) | the Board's rules set no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; they only require the $45 license fee to be received within 30 days of notification that it is due, or the application file is closed |
| Licensing authority | Physical Therapy Board of California (Department of Consumer Affairs) | Tennessee Board of Physical Therapy (Tennessee Department of Health) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Tennessee sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Tennessee's current requirements on the Tennessee Board of Physical Therapy (Tennessee Department of Health) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Tennessee Board of Physical Therapy (Tennessee Department of Health) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a current, unrestricted PT license in another U.S. jurisdiction and have verification sent from every state where you hold or have held a license.
- Have an official transcript sent directly from the CAPTE-accredited degree-granting institution showing the degree was conferred.
- Have the result of a criminal background check sent to the Board directly from the Board's designated vendor.
- Submit an original letter of recommendation from a licensed PT or PTA attesting to good moral character (not from a relative).
- Submit a passport-style photograph taken within the preceding 12 months.
- Pay the fees ($260–$305 (Rule 1150-01-.06 fee schedule for a PT: $150 application fee + $100 reciprocity fee + $10 biennial state regulatory fee are due when the application is filed ($260); a $45 license fee is then due before the license is issued, for $305 total. PTA equivalents are $140 + $100 + $10 + $45. Background-check vendor costs and the $90 FSBPT score-transfer fee are separate. NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.)) and allow the Board's rules set no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; they only require the $45 license fee to be received within 30 days of notification that it is due, or the application file is closed.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Tennessee accept a California physical therapy license?
A physical therapy license transfers from California to Tennessee by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Tennessee Board of Physical Therapy (Tennessee Department of Health), verify your California license, and meet Tennessee's endorsement requirements. NPTE is not retaken; passing scores must be sent directly from the examining service to the Board's administrative office (FSBPT Score Transfer Service, $90 per report), and reciprocity candidates must have passed the licensing examination at a criterion-referenced passing point. Tennessee requires no jurisprudence exam to obtain the license, but every renewal cycle 4 of the required continuing-competence hours must be ethics and jurisprudence courses of at least 2 hours each..
Do I retake the NPTE moving from California to Tennessee?
No — the NPTE is taken once and your score transfers through the FSBPT. NPTE is not retaken; passing scores must be sent directly from the examining service to the Board's administrative office (FSBPT Score Transfer Service, $90 per report), and reciprocity candidates must have passed the licensing examination at a criterion-referenced passing point. Tennessee requires no jurisprudence exam to obtain the license, but every renewal cycle 4 of the required continuing-competence hours must be ethics and jurisprudence courses of at least 2 hours each..
What does the move cost?
$260–$305 (Rule 1150-01-.06 fee schedule for a PT: $150 application fee + $100 reciprocity fee + $10 biennial state regulatory fee are due when the application is filed ($260); a $45 license fee is then due before the license is issued, for $305 total. PTA equivalents are $140 + $100 + $10 + $45. Background-check vendor costs and the $90 FSBPT score-transfer fee are separate. NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.) (Rule 1150-01-.06 fee schedule for a PT: $150 application fee + $100 reciprocity fee + $10 biennial state regulatory fee are due when the application is filed ($260); a $45 license fee is then due before the license is issued, for $305 total. PTA equivalents are $140 + $100 + $10 + $45. Background-check vendor costs and the $90 FSBPT score-transfer fee are separate. NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.).
How long will it take?
the Board's rules set no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; they only require the $45 license fee to be received within 30 days of notification that it is due, or the application file is closed — the Board's rules set no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; they only require the $45 license fee to be received within 30 days of notification that it is due, or the application file is closed.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.
- Rules of the Tennessee Board of Physical Therapy, Chapter 1150-01 (December 2025 revision) - Rules 1150-01-.04 Qualifications, .05 Procedures, .06 Fees ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Tennessee Department of Health - Board of Physical Therapy ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PT Compact - state status list (Physical Therapy Compact Commission) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- FSBPT - NPTE Score Transfer Service ↗ (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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