Skip to content
LicenseReciprocity

Physical Therapy License from Florida to Missouri: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts — Advisory Commission for Physical Therapists (Division of Professional Registration) ↗

A physical therapy license transfers from Florida to Missouri by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts — Advisory Commission for Physical Therapists (Division of Professional Registration), verify your Florida license, and meet Missouri's endorsement requirements. The NPTE is not retaken; the applicant requests an FSBPT score transfer so the passing score is reported to the Board. Missouri additionally requires its own jurisprudence examination, which is included in the application packet, answered from the Missouri statutes and rules, returned with the application and scored by the Board — a score of 75% or higher is required..

Verify this exact pair in the checker

Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.

Run the Reciprocity Checker →

Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

This direction has a payoff. Florida is outside the active compact, so you have had no privileges to work with — but Missouri is an active member. Endorse into Missouri with the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts — Advisory Commission for Physical Therapists (Division of Professional Registration), establish it as your home state and primary residence, and Missouri 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, Florida → Missouri

Side-by-side: Florida vs Missouri (Physical Therapy (PT/PTA)), verified 2026-08-07
Florida (current)Missouri (destination)
PT Compact statusLicensure by endorsementPT Compact member — multistate license honored
Application fee$180 ($180 total to the Board = $100 endorsement application fee + $75 initial license fee + $5 unlicensed-activity fee (FAC 64B17-2.001). A separate $90 FSBPT score-transfer fee and the electronic-fingerprint fee are additional. Florida is not a PT Compact state, so there is no compact privilege alternative.)$25 ($25.00 application fee for the physical therapist application — the same form and fee used by an applicant already licensed in another state. A temporary licence costs an extra $10.00 but is available to first-time examination applicants only. The Board cannot take credit or debit cards for the initial application fee. Fingerprint background-check costs are paid separately to the state vendor. This is NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.)
Processing time2–3 weeks (The Board conducts initial review within 10 business days of receipt and issues the license within about 7 days once all requirements are met; this excludes time for NPTE score transfer, license verifications, and fingerprint results.)6–10 weeks (the Board asks applicants to allow a minimum of 4-6 weeks for initial processing once the application and fee are in office, plus a further 2-4 weeks after the file goes to final review for approval; deficiencies or Board backlog lengthen this)
Licensing authorityFlorida Board of Physical Therapy Practice (Department of Health)Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts — Advisory Commission for Physical Therapists (Division of Professional Registration)

The destination column is what you must satisfy — Missouri sets the rules for this move.

Step by step

  1. Confirm Missouri's current requirements on the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts — Advisory Commission for Physical Therapists (Division of Professional Registration) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts — Advisory Commission for Physical Therapists (Division of Professional Registration) (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Complete the Board's jurisprudence examination and return it with the application; a score of 75% or higher is required.
  5. Complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check through the Missouri State Highway Patrol Applicant Fingerprint Services.
  6. Have each state, country or territory where you hold or have held a PT/PTA licence submit a verification of licensure directly to the Board.
  7. Have official sealed transcripts sent from every college or university attended, showing the degree and date conferred.
  8. Account chronologically for all professional and non-professional activity since high school (or the last ten years) with no unexplained gaps.
  9. Sign the application before a notary and attach a recent shoulders-up photograph.
  10. Pay the fees ($25 ($25.00 application fee for the physical therapist application — the same form and fee used by an applicant already licensed in another state. A temporary licence costs an extra $10.00 but is available to first-time examination applicants only. The Board cannot take credit or debit cards for the initial application fee. Fingerprint background-check costs are paid separately to the state vendor. This is NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.)) and allow 6–10 weeks (the Board asks applicants to allow a minimum of 4-6 weeks for initial processing once the application and fee are in office, plus a further 2-4 weeks after the file goes to final review for approval; deficiencies or Board backlog lengthen this).

Official links

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

Does Missouri accept a Florida physical therapy license?

A physical therapy license transfers from Florida to Missouri by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts — Advisory Commission for Physical Therapists (Division of Professional Registration), verify your Florida license, and meet Missouri's endorsement requirements. The NPTE is not retaken; the applicant requests an FSBPT score transfer so the passing score is reported to the Board. Missouri additionally requires its own jurisprudence examination, which is included in the application packet, answered from the Missouri statutes and rules, returned with the application and scored by the Board — a score of 75% or higher is required..

Do I retake the NPTE moving from Florida to Missouri?

No — the NPTE is taken once and your score transfers through the FSBPT. The NPTE is not retaken; the applicant requests an FSBPT score transfer so the passing score is reported to the Board. Missouri additionally requires its own jurisprudence examination, which is included in the application packet, answered from the Missouri statutes and rules, returned with the application and scored by the Board — a score of 75% or higher is required..

What does the move cost?

$25 ($25.00 application fee for the physical therapist application — the same form and fee used by an applicant already licensed in another state. A temporary licence costs an extra $10.00 but is available to first-time examination applicants only. The Board cannot take credit or debit cards for the initial application fee. Fingerprint background-check costs are paid separately to the state vendor. This is NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.) ($25.00 application fee for the physical therapist application — the same form and fee used by an applicant already licensed in another state. A temporary licence costs an extra $10.00 but is available to first-time examination applicants only. The Board cannot take credit or debit cards for the initial application fee. Fingerprint background-check costs are paid separately to the state vendor. This is NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.).

How long will it take?

6–10 weeks (the Board asks applicants to allow a minimum of 4-6 weeks for initial processing once the application and fee are in office, plus a further 2-4 weeks after the file goes to final review for approval; deficiencies or Board backlog lengthen this) — the Board asks applicants to allow a minimum of 4-6 weeks for initial processing once the application and fee are in office, plus a further 2-4 weeks after the file goes to final review for approval; deficiencies or Board backlog lengthen this.

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.

Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-08-07

How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]