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LicenseReciprocity

Physical Therapy License from Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan 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. Michigan 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, Michigan → North Dakota

Side-by-side: Michigan vs North Dakota (Physical Therapy (PT/PTA)), verified 2026-08-07
Michigan (current)North Dakota (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.)$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 timeLARA's Physical Therapist Licensing Guide states no processing timeframe for endorsement applicationsNeither the North Dakota Administrative Code nor the Board's rules state a processing timeframe for endorsement applications.
Licensing authorityMichigan Board of Physical Therapy (Bureau of Professional Licensing, Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs)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

  1. Confirm North Dakota's current requirements on the North Dakota Board of Physical Therapy website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the North Dakota Board of Physical Therapy.
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Graduate from a physical therapy curriculum approved by the Board and submit an official transcript or electronic confirmation.
  5. Pass the North Dakota jurisprudence examination before the license issues.
  6. Submit verification of licensure from every jurisdiction in which you are currently licensed.
  7. Complete a criminal history background check.
  8. If you have not practiced physical therapy for three or more years, demonstrate current competence by a method the Board specifies.
  9. 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

North Dakota Board of Physical Therapy ↗Physical Therapy Licensure Compact ↗

Related guides

Reverse: North Dakota → MichiganPhysical Therapy in MichiganPhysical Therapy in North DakotaAll physical therapy statesThe PT Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does North Dakota accept a Michigan physical therapy license?

A physical therapy license transfers from Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan 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.

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

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