Physical Therapy License from Florida to Wisconsin: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: Wisconsin Physical Therapy Examining Board (Department of Safety and Professional Services) ↗
A physical therapy license transfers from Florida to Wisconsin by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Wisconsin Physical Therapy Examining Board (Department of Safety and Professional Services), verify your Florida license, and meet Wisconsin's endorsement requirements. NPTE is not retaken; endorsement candidates must have FSBPT send the NPTE score directly to the Department. Wisconsin additionally requires every applicant to pass an online, open-book examination on the Wisconsin statutes and rules governing physical therapy, which can only be taken after the Department has processed the application..
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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 Wisconsin is an active member. Endorse into Wisconsin with the Wisconsin Physical Therapy Examining Board (Department of Safety and Professional Services), establish it as your home state and primary residence, and Wisconsin 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 → Wisconsin
| Florida (current) | Wisconsin (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.) | not verifiable on an official page on 2026-08-07. DSPS sets initial credential fees administratively under Wis. Stat. 440.03(9)(a); the last per-profession initial-fee schedule DSPS publishes online lists $56.00 for a Physical Therapist effective 7/1/2021, but DSPS announced an updated fee schedule on 2025-08-08 that superseded it, and no current initial-credential fee document could be located on dsps.wi.gov. The current PT renewal fee is documented: $68 biennially, due 02/28 of odd years (RDAF rev. 08/07/2025). |
| 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.) | DSPS publishes no processing timeframe for PT endorsement applications; it warns only that a file with no activity for a year may be withdrawn |
| Licensing authority | Florida Board of Physical Therapy Practice (Department of Health) | Wisconsin Physical Therapy Examining Board (Department of Safety and Professional Services) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Wisconsin sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Wisconsin's current requirements on the Wisconsin Physical Therapy Examining Board (Department of Safety and Professional Services) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Wisconsin Physical Therapy Examining Board (Department of Safety and Professional Services) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Pass the online open-book Wisconsin Statutes and Rules exam after your application has been processed.
- Submit Form 2687 authorizing release of FBI information, with a recent head-and-shoulders photograph, and provide fingerprints as required by Wis. Stat. 440.03(13)(c).
- Have FSBPT send your NPTE scores directly to the Department.
- Have every state board where you hold or have held a PT/PTA license send verification directly to the Department.
- Have your school return the Certificate of Professional Education (Form 3196) directly to the Department.
- Pay the fees (not verifiable on an official page on 2026-08-07. DSPS sets initial credential fees administratively under Wis. Stat. 440.03(9)(a); the last per-profession initial-fee schedule DSPS publishes online lists $56.00 for a Physical Therapist effective 7/1/2021, but DSPS announced an updated fee schedule on 2025-08-08 that superseded it, and no current initial-credential fee document could be located on dsps.wi.gov. The current PT renewal fee is documented: $68 biennially, due 02/28 of odd years (RDAF rev. 08/07/2025).) and allow DSPS publishes no processing timeframe for PT endorsement applications; it warns only that a file with no activity for a year may be withdrawn.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Wisconsin accept a Florida physical therapy license?
A physical therapy license transfers from Florida to Wisconsin by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Wisconsin Physical Therapy Examining Board (Department of Safety and Professional Services), verify your Florida license, and meet Wisconsin's endorsement requirements. NPTE is not retaken; endorsement candidates must have FSBPT send the NPTE score directly to the Department. Wisconsin additionally requires every applicant to pass an online, open-book examination on the Wisconsin statutes and rules governing physical therapy, which can only be taken after the Department has processed the application..
Do I retake the NPTE moving from Florida to Wisconsin?
No — the NPTE is taken once and your score transfers through the FSBPT. NPTE is not retaken; endorsement candidates must have FSBPT send the NPTE score directly to the Department. Wisconsin additionally requires every applicant to pass an online, open-book examination on the Wisconsin statutes and rules governing physical therapy, which can only be taken after the Department has processed the application..
What does the move cost?
not verifiable on an official page on 2026-08-07. DSPS sets initial credential fees administratively under Wis. Stat. 440.03(9)(a); the last per-profession initial-fee schedule DSPS publishes online lists $56.00 for a Physical Therapist effective 7/1/2021, but DSPS announced an updated fee schedule on 2025-08-08 that superseded it, and no current initial-credential fee document could be located on dsps.wi.gov. The current PT renewal fee is documented: $68 biennially, due 02/28 of odd years (RDAF rev. 08/07/2025). (not verifiable on an official page on 2026-08-07. DSPS sets initial credential fees administratively under Wis. Stat. 440.03(9)(a); the last per-profession initial-fee schedule DSPS publishes online lists $56.00 for a Physical Therapist effective 7/1/2021, but DSPS announced an updated fee schedule on 2025-08-08 that superseded it, and no current initial-credential fee document could be located on dsps.wi.gov. The current PT renewal fee is documented: $68 biennially, due 02/28 of odd years (RDAF rev. 08/07/2025).).
How long will it take?
DSPS publishes no processing timeframe for PT endorsement applications; it warns only that a file with no activity for a year may be withdrawn — DSPS publishes no processing timeframe for PT endorsement applications; it warns only that a file with no activity for a year may be withdrawn.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.
- WI DSPS - Physical Therapist profession page ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- WI DSPS Form #3195 - Credentialing Information for PT/PTA Applicants (Rev. 4/2022) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- WI DSPS - Renewal Dates and Fees (RDAF, rev. 08/07/2025) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- WI DSPS - 2021-2023 Initial Application Fee Changes (superseded) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- WI DSPS news release - fee adjustment, August 8, 2025 ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PT Compact - member state map ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PT Compact - how to get privileges (state fee and jurisprudence table) ↗ (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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