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LicenseReciprocity

Physical Therapy License from Michigan to Montana: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners), Department of Labor & Industry ↗

A physical therapy license transfers from Michigan to Montana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners), Department of Labor & Industry, verify your Michigan license, and meet Montana's endorsement requirements. The NPTE is not retaken; FSBPT must verify a passing NPTE score of 600 or higher directly to the Board. Montana also requires a completed open-book state jurisprudence examination (ARM 24.177.501), with a $25 fee for each retake..

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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 Montana is an active member. Endorse into Montana with the Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners), Department of Labor & Industry, establish it as your home state and primary residence, and Montana 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 → Montana

Side-by-side: Michigan vs Montana (Physical Therapy (PT/PTA)), verified 2026-08-07
Michigan (current)Montana (destination)
PT Compact statusPT Compact enacted — not yet issuingPT 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.)$225 ($100.00 physical therapist application fee (all applicants) + $125.00 out-of-state licence application fee, per the Board's application form (rev. 2025-03-14) and licensing checklist. The department also charges an extra $5.00 litigation-fund fee to applicants and licensees of qualifying boards from 1 July 2025 (HB 227). Jurisprudence re-examination is $25 per retake and a pre-exam temporary licence is $100. Fingerprint background-check costs are separate. This is NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.)
Processing timeLARA's Physical Therapist Licensing Guide states no processing timeframe for endorsement applicationsthe Board publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state applications; it notes only that if all other requirements are met it can issue a provisional licence with a reservation of rights, valid for 60 days, while outstanding licence verifications are completed
Licensing authorityMichigan Board of Physical Therapy (Bureau of Professional Licensing, Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs)Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners), Department of Labor & Industry

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm Montana's current requirements on the Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners), Department of Labor & Industry website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners), Department of Labor & Industry (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Pass the Montana open-book jurisprudence examination (ARM 24.177.501).
  5. Submit fingerprints for a Montana Department of Justice and FBI criminal background check (MCA 37-11-312).
  6. Provide a certificate of graduation or transcripts from a CAPTE-accredited physical therapy program.
  7. Have licence verifications sent from every jurisdiction where you hold or have held a licence (ARM 24.177.507).
  8. Foreign-trained applicants must submit an FCCPT educational evaluation and, from a non-English-speaking culture, a passing TOEFL score (ARM 24.177.510).
  9. Pay the fees ($225 ($100.00 physical therapist application fee (all applicants) + $125.00 out-of-state licence application fee, per the Board's application form (rev. 2025-03-14) and licensing checklist. The department also charges an extra $5.00 litigation-fund fee to applicants and licensees of qualifying boards from 1 July 2025 (HB 227). Jurisprudence re-examination is $25 per retake and a pre-exam temporary licence is $100. Fingerprint background-check costs are separate. This is NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state applications; it notes only that if all other requirements are met it can issue a provisional licence with a reservation of rights, valid for 60 days, while outstanding licence verifications are completed.

Official links

Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners), Department of Labor & Industry ↗Montana application ↗Physical Therapy Licensure Compact ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Montana → MichiganPhysical Therapy in MichiganPhysical Therapy in MontanaAll physical therapy statesThe PT Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Montana accept a Michigan physical therapy license?

A physical therapy license transfers from Michigan to Montana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Montana Board of Physical, Rehabilitative, and Developmental Health Care Professionals (formerly the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners), Department of Labor & Industry, verify your Michigan license, and meet Montana's endorsement requirements. The NPTE is not retaken; FSBPT must verify a passing NPTE score of 600 or higher directly to the Board. Montana also requires a completed open-book state jurisprudence examination (ARM 24.177.501), with a $25 fee for each retake..

Do I retake the NPTE moving from Michigan to Montana?

No — the NPTE is taken once and your score transfers through the FSBPT. The NPTE is not retaken; FSBPT must verify a passing NPTE score of 600 or higher directly to the Board. Montana also requires a completed open-book state jurisprudence examination (ARM 24.177.501), with a $25 fee for each retake..

What does the move cost?

$225 ($100.00 physical therapist application fee (all applicants) + $125.00 out-of-state licence application fee, per the Board's application form (rev. 2025-03-14) and licensing checklist. The department also charges an extra $5.00 litigation-fund fee to applicants and licensees of qualifying boards from 1 July 2025 (HB 227). Jurisprudence re-examination is $25 per retake and a pre-exam temporary licence is $100. Fingerprint background-check costs are separate. This is NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.) ($100.00 physical therapist application fee (all applicants) + $125.00 out-of-state licence application fee, per the Board's application form (rev. 2025-03-14) and licensing checklist. The department also charges an extra $5.00 litigation-fund fee to applicants and licensees of qualifying boards from 1 July 2025 (HB 227). Jurisprudence re-examination is $25 per retake and a pre-exam temporary licence is $100. Fingerprint background-check costs are separate. This is NOT the PT Compact privilege fee.).

How long will it take?

the Board publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state applications; it notes only that if all other requirements are met it can issue a provisional licence with a reservation of rights, valid for 60 days, while outstanding licence verifications are completed — the Board publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state applications; it notes only that if all other requirements are met it can issue a provisional licence with a reservation of rights, valid for 60 days, while outstanding licence verifications are completed.

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]