Physical Therapy License from Tennessee to North Dakota: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Yes — both Tennessee and North Dakota are members of the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact (PT Compact). If Tennessee is your primary state of residence and you hold a multistate license, you can practice in North Dakota now; if you are moving your residence to North Dakota, apply for licensure by endorsement there and declare North Dakota your new primary state of residence — your multistate privilege continues.

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))..

If you are buying a North Dakota compact privilege to work while living in Tennessee: the commission's uniform fee plus North Dakota's privilege fee. If you are relocating and taking a full North Dakota license by endorsement: $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.).

A compact privilege issues quickly once your eligibility and any North Dakota jurisprudence exam are cleared — usually faster than a full license. A relocation endorsement runs 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.).