Physical Therapy License Reciprocity by State (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-07
38 of 51 US jurisdictions actively issue and accept Physical Therapy Licensure Compact privileges; the remaining 13 (3 enacted but not yet operational, 10 not enacted) require licensure by endorsement. A privilege authorizes practice in a member state without a second license; endorsement is the route everywhere the compact doesn't reach and for every relocation that changes your home state.
Check your exact transfer pathway
Pathway, requirements, fees, and board links for your specific state pair.
The pathways, applied to physical therapy
Compact privilege (the fast lane, when both states qualify)
If your home state is an active compact member, it is your primary state of residence, and the state you want to work in is also an active member, you buy a compact privilege for that destination through the commission rather than applying to its board for a license. The privilege is per-state and per-purchase — it authorizes practice, not residence — and it stays valid only while your home-state license does. This is the closest physical therapy comes to plug-and-play mobility, and it is built for travel PTs, satellite clinics, and telehealth across member lines.
Licensure by endorsement (everywhere else, and every relocation)
Endorsement is the standard door: the destination board verifies your existing license, accepts your NPTE score through the FSBPT Score Transfer Service, runs a criminal background check, and issues its own license. You use it whenever the destination is not an active compact member — and also when you are actually moving your residence into a member state, because changing your home state means getting that state's license, not a privilege from it. You never repeat the NPTE or your degree.
Enacted-but-waiting states
A handful of states have passed the compact into law but their boards are not yet issuing or accepting privileges. Until a state goes fully active, it behaves exactly like a non-member: no privilege works there, and endorsement is the only route in. Membership on paper is not the same as membership in practice, and this site flags which states are which as of its verification date.
No full re-examination anywhere
Physical therapy has no state that forces a licensed PT or PTA to re-sit the NPTE or redo the degree. Even the non-compact states endorse out-of-state licensees and pull the original score through the FSBPT. The practical variables are the destination's jurisprudence exam, its background-check turnaround, and its fee — not re-education.
Two moving pieces shift the map: state legislatures keep enacting the compact (the enacted-but-not-yet-issuing list shrinks as boards finish implementation), and each state sets its own privilege fee and jurisprudence rule. Some states require a jurisprudence/law exam before a privilege can issue, some allow it within a short window after, and many require none — the state pages carry each state's specifics and the date they were verified against the compact commission and board.
The master matrix: every state by pathway
| Pathway (as destination) | States |
|---|---|
| PT Compact member — multistate license honored(38) | Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin |
| Licensure by endorsement(10) | California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Wyoming |
| PT Compact enacted — not yet issuing(3) | Maine, Michigan, Rhode Island |
Fees & timelines: the spread
Lowest verified application fees
- Missouri$25
- Maine$30
- Pennsylvania$30
- Idaho$50
- Kansas$80
Highest verified application fees
- California$450
- Alaska$350
- Michigan$319.75
- Tennessee$260–$305
- Hawaii$185–$300
Processing times range from ~1 weeks (Mississippi) to ~14 weeks (Maryland) — where a board publishes no timeframe, the state page says so honestly instead of guessing.
Frequently asked questions
How does physical therapy license reciprocity work in 2026?
38 of 51 US jurisdictions actively issue and accept Physical Therapy Licensure Compact privileges; the remaining 13 (3 enacted but not yet operational, 10 not enacted) require licensure by endorsement. A privilege authorizes practice in a member state without a second license; endorsement is the route everywhere the compact doesn't reach and for every relocation that changes your home state.
Which states are in the PT Compact?
38 jurisdictions are active members issuing and accepting privileges as of 2026-07-21: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin. Maine, Michigan, Rhode Island have enacted the compact but are not yet issuing privileges; California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Wyoming have not joined.
Is a PT compact privilege the same as a license?
No. A compact privilege is authorization to practice in a member state while your license stays in your home state — it is not a license and not a transfer. You purchase one privilege per state you want to work in, and it lapses automatically if your home-state license lapses.
Do I have to retake the NPTE when I move states?
No. The NPTE is a national exam taken once; when you endorse into a new state your passing score moves through the FSBPT Score Transfer Service. Compact privileges rely on the same original score. No state makes you re-sit the exam.
How much does a PT compact privilege cost?
A uniform $45 commission fee plus the destination state's privilege fee, which ranges from $0 to $264 depending on the state (as of 2026-07-21). That is separate from — and usually far cheaper and faster than — a full license by endorsement, which each board prices on its own.
What if my state isn't in the PT Compact?
Then the compact can't help you, in either direction: you can't buy privileges out of a non-member home state, and you can't buy a privilege into a non-member destination such as California, Florida, Hawaii. Every move touching a non-member state runs through licensure by endorsement instead.
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-08-07
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