Georgia Physical Therapy CE Requirements (2026): 30 Hours Every 2 Years
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Requirements Overview
Under Rule 490-4-.02 of the Georgia Administrative Code, the Board requires every licensed PT and PTA to log 30 clock hours of continuing competence per two-year licensure period, capped at 10 hours per calendar day. The biennium runs January 1 of an even year through December 31 of the following odd year, when licenses expire.
Four of those 30 hours must cover Georgia Ethics and Jurisprudence (effective July 1, 2018), satisfied via an accredited course or the Georgia Ethics and Jurisprudence Examination (GA JAM). The Board doesn't pre-approve courses but recognizes APTA, PTAG, FSBPT ProCert, and CAPTE-accredited programs, and caps literature self-study at 3 hours.
Georgia allows no carry-over of unused hours. Recent grads who pass the National Physical Therapy Exam during their graduation biennium, and anyone licensed in a biennium's final six months, are exempt for that period. Keep records 5 years and log coursework in CE Broker.
Mandatory Topics
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Ethics and Jurisprudence | 4 | Every renewal | 4 of the 30 total hours must be in Georgia Ethics and Jurisprudence as defined in the Georgia Physical Therapy Act, required every biennium. Licensees may instead satisfy this requirement by passing the Georgia Ethics and Jurisprudence Examination (GA JAM), provided that exact test result has not already been submitted to the Board for licensure or under a Board order. Courses must come from accredited Georgia institutions or Physical Therapy Association of Georgia (PTAG)-approved providers. |
Exemptions
- Recent Graduate Exam Biennium — Licensees who graduated during the current renewal biennium and passed the National Physical Therapy Examination are exempt from the continuing competence requirement for the biennium in which they graduated and passed.
- Newly Licensed Last Six Months — Individuals licensed during the last six (6) months of a biennium renewal period are not required to meet continuing competence requirements for that biennium.
- Reinstated Last Six Months — Individuals reinstated within the last six (6) months of a biennium renewal period may apply the continuing competence coursework used for reinstatement toward that biennium, effectively exempting them from a separate renewal CE requirement for that period.
- Inactive Status — Licensees on inactive status are exempt from renewal fees and continuing competence requirements while inactive (Rule 490-4-.04). Reactivation requires supervised-practice hours scaled to time lapsed, per the same framework as reinstatement under 490-4-.01(4).
How You Can Complete Your CE
Georgia CE Rules & Limits
Details specific to Georgia that generic CE guides tend to miss:
- Georgia uses direct 'clock hours' / 'contact hours' with no CCU or point-system conversion; total hours is recorded directly as stated in the rule.
- A daily cap applies: continuing competence hours are not to exceed ten (10) credit hours per calendar day (Rule 490-4-.02(1)).
- No rollover/carry-over of excess hours between bienniums is provided for anywhere in Rule 490-4-.02; each biennium's 30-hour requirement stands alone.
- Georgia PTs seeking approval to perform dry needling must separately provide the Board proof of OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard training and at least 50 hours of dry-needling instruction plus competency assessment (per the Board's 'How To Gain Approval for Dry Needling' guide, https://sos.ga.gov/how-to-guide/how-gain-approval-dry-needling).
- Rule 490-4-.02 does not differentiate between Physical Therapists (PT) and Physical Therapist Assistants (PTA) for continuing competence/renewal purposes -- both share the identical 30-hour/4-hour-ethics requirement and identical reinstatement provisions.
- Since January 1, 2014, all licensees must register completed continuing competence coursework through CE Broker (https://www.cebroker.com), the Board-adopted online reporting system (Rule 490-4-.02(6)); supporting documentation must be uploaded or credit will not be granted.
- Licensees must retain original continuing competence documents for no less than five (5) years from the date the CE credit was obtained (Rule 490-4-.02(10)(a)), and licensees selected for audit must submit documentation (program outline/publication showing objectives, content relevance, and contact hours) upon notice (Rule 490-4-.02(9)).
Provider Requirements
No individual course pre-approval by the Board is required. The rule instead recognizes categories of already-approved organizations/providers: programs approved by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and its affiliate components; programs approved by the Physical Therapy Association of Georgia (PTAG) or other state chapters; programs approved by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT Procert); and programs held at CAPTE-accredited colleges/universities under the auspices of their physical therapy school. A broader list of acceptable continuing-competence activities (e.g., teaching, publication, specialty certification) is also enumerated in Rule 490-4-.02(3).
Tips for Georgia PTs
- Budget your 30 hours across the full two-year cycle, not the calendar year — Georgia's licensure period runs from January of an even year through December 31 of the following odd year, matching the renewal deadline.
- Knock out your 4-hour Georgia Ethics and Jurisprudence requirement early, or take the GA JAM exam instead if you'd rather test out of the classroom hours.
- Don't bank extra hours expecting credit next cycle — Georgia's rule has no carry-over provision, so track your progress in CE Broker throughout the biennium instead of cramming before December 31.
- If you're pursuing dry needling approval, budget separately for the 50-hour training and OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens requirement; it does not count toward your standard 30-hour renewal total.
- Keep certificates and course documentation for at least 5 years — if the Board selects you for audit, you'll need to show program outlines with contact hours and content tied to PT practice.
Sources
- Cross-checked against the official published rules of the Georgia State Board of Physical Therapy
- Each stated figure recorded with its exact source excerpt
- 2 sources cited — 1 primary (official board)
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