Physical Therapy License from North Carolina to Minnesota: Does It Transfer? (2026)

A physical therapy license transfers from North Carolina to Minnesota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Minnesota Board of Physical Therapy, verify your North Carolina license, and meet Minnesota's endorsement requirements. The NPTE is not retaken. Minn. Stat. 148.723 requires a passing score on the National Physical Therapy Examination administered by FSBPT (or a board-determined equivalent national examination); an already-licensed applicant moves that score to the Board through the FSBPT Score Transfer Service rather than re-testing..

No — the NPTE is taken once and your score transfers through the FSBPT. The NPTE is not retaken. Minn. Stat. 148.723 requires a passing score on the National Physical Therapy Examination administered by FSBPT (or a board-determined equivalent national examination); an already-licensed applicant moves that score to the Board through the FSBPT Score Transfer Service rather than re-testing..

$100–$160 (Minn. Stat. 148.715 fixes the board application fee at $100 and annual licensure at $60, so roughly $160 is due to become licensed in year one; a temporary permit is a further $25. The fingerprint-based criminal background check is billed separately by the vendor. The Board's own fee page could not be retrieved during research (mn.gov bot protection), so only the statutory amounts are stated. Minnesota is NOT a PT Compact state, so no compact privilege fee exists here.) (Minn. Stat. 148.715 fixes the board application fee at $100 and annual licensure at $60, so roughly $160 is due to become licensed in year one; a temporary permit is a further $25. The fingerprint-based criminal background check is billed separately by the vendor. The Board's own fee page could not be retrieved during research (mn.gov bot protection), so only the statutory amounts are stated. Minnesota is NOT a PT Compact state, so no compact privilege fee exists here.).

the Board publishes no processing timeframe; under Minn. Stat. 148.71, subd. 2(b) an applicant already licensed in good standing in another state may practise on a temporary permit WITHOUT supervision, but only until the board meeting at which the application is considered — the Board publishes no processing timeframe; under Minn. Stat. 148.71, subd. 2(b) an applicant already licensed in good standing in another state may practise on a temporary permit WITHOUT supervision, but only until the board meeting at which the application is considered.