Physical Therapy License from Florida to North Dakota: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: North Dakota Board of Physical Therapy ↗
A physical therapy license transfers from Florida to North Dakota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Dakota Board of Physical Therapy, verify your Florida license, and meet North Dakota's endorsement requirements. NPTE is not retaken. For licensure by endorsement from another United States jurisdiction, NDAC 61.5-02-02-02(2)(c) requires a copy of the examination scores transmitted by a score transfer service approved by the Board (the FSBPT Score Transfer Service). North Dakota also requires its own jurisprudence examination, an open-book test on the ND Practice Act and Board rules that is completed inside the online application (NDAC 61.5-02-02-01(1)(e))..
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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 North Dakota is an active member. Endorse into North Dakota with the North Dakota Board of Physical Therapy, establish it as your home state and primary residence, and North Dakota 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 → North Dakota
| Florida (current) | North Dakota (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| PT Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | PT 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.) | $200 (Non-refundable application fee set by NDAC 61.5-02-03-01(1); the same application fee applies to licensure by endorsement. Annual renewal is $100 for physical therapists ($60 for PTAs) and the late renewal fee is $50. The criminal-history background check is billed separately at cost. The $40 'compact fee' in the same rule is North Dakota's PT Compact privilege fee, not the endorsement application fee.) |
| Processing time | 2–3 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.) | Neither the North Dakota Administrative Code nor the Board's rules state a processing timeframe for endorsement applications. |
| Licensing authority | Florida Board of Physical Therapy Practice (Department of Health) | North Dakota Board of Physical Therapy |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — North Dakota sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm North Dakota's current requirements on the North Dakota Board of Physical Therapy website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the North Dakota Board of Physical Therapy.
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Graduate from a physical therapy curriculum approved by the Board and submit an official transcript or electronic confirmation.
- Pass the North Dakota jurisprudence examination before the license issues.
- Submit verification of licensure from every jurisdiction in which you are currently licensed.
- Complete a criminal history background check.
- If you have not practiced physical therapy for three or more years, demonstrate current competence by a method the Board specifies.
- Pay the fees ($200 (Non-refundable application fee set by NDAC 61.5-02-03-01(1); the same application fee applies to licensure by endorsement. Annual renewal is $100 for physical therapists ($60 for PTAs) and the late renewal fee is $50. The criminal-history background check is billed separately at cost. The $40 'compact fee' in the same rule is North Dakota's PT Compact privilege fee, not the endorsement application fee.)) and allow Neither the North Dakota Administrative Code nor the Board's rules state a processing timeframe for endorsement applications..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does North Dakota accept a Florida physical therapy license?
A physical therapy license transfers from Florida to North Dakota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Dakota Board of Physical Therapy, verify your Florida license, and meet North Dakota's endorsement requirements. NPTE is not retaken. For licensure by endorsement from another United States jurisdiction, NDAC 61.5-02-02-02(2)(c) requires a copy of the examination scores transmitted by a score transfer service approved by the Board (the FSBPT Score Transfer Service). North Dakota also requires its own jurisprudence examination, an open-book test on the ND Practice Act and Board rules that is completed inside the online application (NDAC 61.5-02-02-01(1)(e))..
Do I retake the NPTE moving from Florida to North Dakota?
No — the NPTE is taken once and your score transfers through the FSBPT. NPTE is not retaken. For licensure by endorsement from another United States jurisdiction, NDAC 61.5-02-02-02(2)(c) requires a copy of the examination scores transmitted by a score transfer service approved by the Board (the FSBPT Score Transfer Service). North Dakota also requires its own jurisprudence examination, an open-book test on the ND Practice Act and Board rules that is completed inside the online application (NDAC 61.5-02-02-01(1)(e))..
What does the move cost?
$200 (Non-refundable application fee set by NDAC 61.5-02-03-01(1); the same application fee applies to licensure by endorsement. Annual renewal is $100 for physical therapists ($60 for PTAs) and the late renewal fee is $50. The criminal-history background check is billed separately at cost. The $40 'compact fee' in the same rule is North Dakota's PT Compact privilege fee, not the endorsement application fee.) (Non-refundable application fee set by NDAC 61.5-02-03-01(1); the same application fee applies to licensure by endorsement. Annual renewal is $100 for physical therapists ($60 for PTAs) and the late renewal fee is $50. The criminal-history background check is billed separately at cost. The $40 'compact fee' in the same rule is North Dakota's PT Compact privilege fee, not the endorsement application fee.).
How long will it take?
Neither the North Dakota Administrative Code nor the Board's rules state a processing timeframe for endorsement applications. — Neither the North Dakota Administrative Code nor the Board's rules state a processing timeframe for endorsement applications..
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.
- North Dakota Administrative Code 61.5-02-03 - Fees (ND Legislative Branch) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- North Dakota Administrative Code 61.5-02-02 - Licensure (general requirements and types of licensure incl. endorsement) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- North Dakota Administrative Code Title 61.5 - ND Board of Physical Therapy (index) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PT Compact - member state map ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- FSBPT - NPTE Score Transfer Service ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Florida Board of Physical Therapy — Physical Therapist (MOBILE endorsement) licensing ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Florida Board of Physical Therapy — Florida PT/PTA Laws and Rules Exam ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- Fla. Stat. Ch. 486 (486.031, 486.081) — Physical Therapy Practice Act ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-08-07
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