Louisiana Physical Therapy CE Requirements (2026): 30 Hours Every 2 Years

Requirements Overview

The Louisiana Physical Therapy Board requires 30 total CE hours per 2-year license renewal for both physical therapists and physical therapist assistants, tracked under LAC 46:LIV.194. Within that total, 2 hours must cover ethics or professionalism and 2 hours must satisfy the jurisprudence requirement, completed either through a live seminar hosted by the Board or by passing the online Jurisprudence Exam. The remaining 26 hours can be any mix of clinical and administrative content.

All courses must be pre-approved by the Board, though anything sponsored by APTA, the Louisiana APTA chapter, or a CAPTE-accredited program is automatically approved. Unlike some states, Louisiana currently places no maximum or minimum on online, home-study, or webinar hours — only the Jurisprudence Exam itself doesn't count toward your online-hour tally, since it's tracked separately as the mandatory jurisprudence category.

CE hours cannot be reused across renewal periods ("double dipping" is explicitly barred), and new graduates plus certain reciprocity/reinstatement licensees on a one-year license are automatically exempt without needing to file anything with the Board.

Mandatory Topics

Exemptions

• ✓
  New Graduate Reciprocity Reinstatement — Licensees who are exempt because they are a new graduate, or who were licensed through Reciprocity or Reinstatement and received a one-year license, do NOT need to submit an exemption request to the board.
• ✓
  Military Service — Exemption requests for military service must be submitted to and approved by the board.

  Requires a submitted request; not automatic.
• ✓
  Personal Hardship — Exemption requests for personal hardship must be submitted to and approved by the board.

  Requires a submitted request; not automatic.

How You Can Complete Your CE

Louisiana CE Rules & Limits

Details specific to Louisiana that generic CE guides tend to miss:

• Total hours are stated directly in contact hours; Louisiana does not use a CCU/point conversion system.
• Of the 30 total hours per 2-year cycle: 2 hours must be Ethics (mandatory), 2 hours must be Jurisprudence (mandatory; live board seminar or passing the online Jurisprudence Exam), and the remaining 26 hours may be Clinical and/or Administrative content.
• Taking the online Jurisprudence Exam does NOT count toward 'online hours' bookkeeping even though it is completed online -- it is tracked purely as the Jurisprudence category requirement.
• New graduates, and licensees granted a one-year license via Reciprocity or Reinstatement, are automatically exempt from CE for that period with no request needed to the board. Military service and personal hardship exemptions require an affirmative request to the board (Rule §198).
• CE audits are conducted annually after the close of renewals; a random sample of licensees who renewed between February and April is audited. Records must be kept for 4 years.
• Reporting window: licensees may report CE courses completed between February 1 of their LAST renewal period through April 30 of their CURRENT renewal period -- a filing/administrative window, not a hour carry-over allowance. The same course completion cannot be counted ('double dipped') toward more than one renewal period; doing so is listed as a non-compliance violation (§199), along with incomplete records, unsigned reports/verifications, and failure to report sufficient hours.
• All continuing education courses/activities must be pre-approved by the Board (§193); courses/activities sponsored by APTA, the Louisiana APTA chapter (LPTA), or CAPTE-accredited programs are automatically approved. Other providers submit an application reviewed by the CEU Committee (45-day turnaround). Licensees can also individually petition to have an otherwise-unapproved course approved via their dashboard, except in the final 60 days of their license term.
• Alternative ways to earn CE credit beyond standard courses (Rule §195): returning to school, serving as primary Clinical Instructor for PT/PTA students or provisional licensees, mentoring PTs in residency/fellowship programs, serving in an elected position of a PT organization, teaching an approved course, or writing an article.
• Non-compliance triggers a written Notice of Non-Compliance requiring the licensee to respond within 30 days with a written explanation and documentary proof of compliance or reasons for failure to comply (§199).
• No PT/PTA-specific split in total hours was found -- the 30-hour/2-year requirement, mandatory Ethics/Jurisprudence hours, and course-type rules apply uniformly per the official CE Guide page (it does not distinguish PT vs PTA totals, unlike some other states).
• A commercial CE-seller aggregator (ptprogress.com) independently corroborated the 30-hour/2-year, 2-hour ethics, 2-hour jurisprudence figures during initial web search, consistent with the official page; it was NOT used as a primary source per playbook rules.

Provider Requirements

All courses must be pre-approved by the Board (§193). Courses and activities sponsored by APTA, the Louisiana chapter of APTA (LPTA), and CAPTE-accredited programs are automatically approved. Other course sponsors submit an application (instructor CV, completion certificate, course survey, timed schedule, objectives, and peer-reviewed citations) reviewed by the CEU Committee within 45 days. Licensees may also individually submit an unapproved course/activity for board review via their dashboard (Rule §193.F), except during the last 60 days of their license term.

Tips for Louisiana PTs

• Knock out your 2 jurisprudence hours early by taking the online Jurisprudence Exam if you can't make it to a live board seminar — just remember it counts as jurisprudence, not as an online-hours credit.
• You can complete all 30 hours online if you want to — Louisiana currently sets no minimum or maximum for online/home-study, traditional, or webinar formats, so pick whatever fits your schedule.
• Report your CE between February 1 of your last renewal period and April 30 of your current one, and never reuse the same course completion across two renewal periods — the Board flags that as non-compliance.
• Keep your certificates and attendance records for at least 4 years and upload them to your licensee dashboard as you go, since the Board runs random audits annually after renewals close.
• If you're a new graduate or came in through reciprocity/reinstatement on a one-year license, confirm your exemption status rather than assuming — it applies automatically for that period, but military service and hardship exemptions require you to actively submit a request.

Sources

PT Requirements in Nearby States

Other Professions in Louisiana

All Physical Therapy CE Requirements by State

Open any other state's Physical Therapy CE requirements, or see the full Physical Therapy CE hub to compare every state in one table.