Physical Therapy License from Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan 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..
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Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
This direction has a payoff. Michigan 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, Michigan → Missouri
| Michigan (current) | Missouri (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| PT Compact status | PT Compact enacted — not yet issuing | PT Compact member — multistate license honored |
| Application fee | $319.75 (single combined charge labelled 'Application Fee + 3 year license fee', identical for a Physical Therapist license by examination OR by endorsement; payable only by Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover. LARA does not publish the application/license split anywhere on its live site, so the two components are not separately stated. The PSI jurisprudence exam fee and criminal background check costs are billed separately and are not published by LARA. Michigan licenses on a 3-year cycle; renewal is $297.75 and relicensure $339.75.) | $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 time | LARA's Physical Therapist Licensing Guide states no processing timeframe for endorsement applications | 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 authority | Michigan Board of Physical Therapy (Bureau of Professional Licensing, Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs) | 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
- 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.
- 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).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Complete the Board's jurisprudence examination and return it with the application; a score of 75% or higher is required.
- Complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check through the Missouri State Highway Patrol Applicant Fingerprint Services.
- 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.
- Have official sealed transcripts sent from every college or university attended, showing the degree and date conferred.
- Account chronologically for all professional and non-professional activity since high school (or the last ten years) with no unexplained gaps.
- Sign the application before a notary and attach a recent shoulders-up photograph.
- 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 Michigan physical therapy license?
A physical therapy license transfers from Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan 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.
- Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts — Instructions for the Physical Therapist Application (fees, processing times, jurisprudence exam, background check, FSBPT score transfer) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Missouri Division of Professional Registration — Advisory Commission for Physical Therapists ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PT Compact — member state status map ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- FSBPT — NPTE Score Transfer Service ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Michigan LARA — Physical Therapy Licensing Guide and FAQs, revision date 2026-01-26 (read live from michigan.gov; $319.75 exam-or-endorsement fee, 3-year cycle, human trafficking + implicit bias training) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Michigan LARA — Board of Physical Therapy, licensing information (guide link source) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Michigan LARA — Physical Therapy Examination (Michigan Jurisprudence Exam required of ALL applicants, delivered by PSI) ↗ (accessed 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]