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

Requirements Overview

The Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts, acting on recommendations from the Advisory Commission for Physical Therapists, requires every licensed PT and PTA to complete 30 contact hours (equivalent to 3.0 CEUs, since 1 CEU = 10 clock hours) of continuing education during each 2-year reporting period. Reporting is biennial, due on even-numbered years, with the cycle running January 1 through December 31.

Missouri does not mandate any specific topics (no required ethics, jurisprudence, or law-and-rules course) — any activity that maintains or expands skills directly related to physical therapy practice qualifies, as long as it meets the rule's organized-activity and qualified-instructor criteria. The Board does not pre-approve courses or providers; licensees are responsible for confirming their own coursework meets the acceptable-CE criteria, and unused hours cannot carry over into the next period.

Licensees who graduate from a CAPTE-accredited PT or PTA program owe only 15 hours (half the standard requirement) for the reporting period in which they graduated. Temporary licensees are exempt from CE entirely until they pass the licensing exam and receive full licensure.

Renewal Pathways

Exemptions

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  Temporary License Exemption — Temporary licensed physical therapists and physical therapist assistants are exempt from obtaining continuing education hours until the temporary licensee successfully passes the licensing examination and is approved and issued full licensure.
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  Graduation Year Half Exemption — PTs/PTAs are exempt from one-half (15 of 30 hours) of the CE requirement for the reporting period in which they graduated from a CAPTE-accredited PT/PTA program.
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  Extension For Hardship — A licensee unable to complete the 30-hour requirement due to personal illness/disability, military service (combat or national-emergency deployment), or other board-determined unforeseeable circumstances beyond the licensee's control may request a discretionary extension (with fee) from the Board, on recommendation of the Advisory Commission for Physical Therapists.

  Extension requests must be submitted before the Dec 31 reporting-period deadline; a licensee who requests an extension may not engage in active practice until the Board grants written authorization; the balance of CE hours must be completed by Feb 28 and documentation submitted by March 10 following the reporting period, or it becomes a rule violation subject to discipline.

How You Can Complete Your CE

Missouri CE Rules & Limits

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

• Unit definition/conversion: 20 CSR 2150-3.200(1)(E) defines one continuing education unit (CEU) = ten (10) clock hours (1 clock hour = 0.1 CEU). The 30-hour requirement is stated directly in clock/contact hours by the rule itself ('thirty (30) hours. I.e. Three (3) continuing education units'), so total hours=30 needs no further conversion; the '3.0 CEU' figure is just the CEU-unit restatement of the same 30 hours.
• Extensions (20 CSR 2150-3.202): a licensee who cannot complete the 30 hours due to illness/disability, military service (combat/national-emergency deployment), or other Board-determined unforeseeable hardship may request a discretionary, fee-based extension before the Dec 31 reporting deadline. Practice is prohibited while the extension request is pending until the Board grants written authorization. If granted, the licensee must finish the remaining hours by Feb 28 and submit proof by March 10 following the reporting period, or face discipline under section 334.100, RSMo.
• Specialty certification: obtaining or renewing an APTA (or other nationally recognized PT association) specialty certification satisfies the ENTIRE 30-hour requirement for the 2-year reporting period in which it is awarded (20 CSR 2150-3.203(5)(D)).
• Presentation-credit cap: delivering professional presentations/workshops/courses is capped at a maximum of 15 CE hours per 2-year reporting period (3 hours per hour of first-time delivery, 1 hour per hour of repeat delivery, and no credit at all for a 3rd+ delivery of the same course) — 20 CSR 2150-3.203(5)(E). This cap applies only to a licensee acting as presenter, not to attending/taking courses.
• CPR certification/recertification is creditable as CE hours, but only once per 2-year reporting period (20 CSR 2150-3.203(5)(L)).
• Record retention: licensees must retain CE attendance/completion documentation for a minimum of four (4) years after the end of the reporting period in which the CE was obtained; the Board may audit licensees and require timely, complete documentation (20 CSR 2150-3.201(4)).
• Licensees self-certify compliance under oath/penalty of perjury on the license renewal form (20 CSR 2150-3.201(3)); failure to timely complete and report the 30 hours while continuing to practice is treated as unauthorized practice and grounds for discipline under section 334.100, RSMo (20 CSR 2150-3.201(5)).
• Governance structure: the actual rulemaking/licensing authority is the Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts (a multi-profession board also covering physicians, PAs, athletic trainers, etc.). The five-member Advisory Commission for Physical Therapists, appointed by the Governor, makes recommendations to that Board specifically on PT/PTA licensure and CE matters (20 CSR 2150-3.200(1)(A)-(B), 20 CSR 2150-3.210) but is not itself a rulemaking body.
• The board's own physicaltherapists.asp web page does not restate the CE hour requirements in prose (unlike some other states); it primarily hosts the MOPRO online licensing portal and links out to 'Rules & Statutes.' The 30-hour/biennial figures come from the CSR rule text itself (primary source), not the web page.

Provider Requirements

The Board and the Advisory Commission for Physical Therapists do NOT preapprove courses or providers; the burden is on the licensee to ensure any course/activity meets the rule's acceptable-CE criteria. Automatically-acceptable sources include: courses sponsored/approved by APTA (or its state chapters/specialty sections, e.g. The Missouri Physical Therapy Association), AMA, AOA, or FSBPT; academic coursework (C grade or better) at a regionally accredited college/university; post-graduate clinical residency programs; APTA (or other nationally recognized) specialty certification/recertification (credited as the full 30 hours for that period); professional presentations delivered by the licensee (capped at 15 hours/2-year period); peer-reviewed publications/manuscripts (5 hrs), book chapters (5 hrs), and abstract publications/presentations (2 hrs); videotaped presentation reviews; home study courses; Grand Rounds attendance; and CPR certification/recertification (creditable once per 2-year period).

Tips for Missouri PTs

• Plan your 30 hours across the full 2-year window (Jan 1 - Dec 31 of each even year) since Missouri does not allow any carry-over of excess hours into the next reporting period.
• If you're a new PT or PTA graduate, you only need 15 hours (not 30) for the reporting period in which you graduated — don't over-schedule courses in your first cycle.
• Because Missouri doesn't pre-approve courses, verify any activity against the acceptable-CE criteria in 20 CSR 2150-3.203 yourself (APTA/AMA/AOA/FSBPT sponsorship, accredited academic coursework, home study with a certificate, etc.) before counting it toward your total.
• If you present at conferences or teach courses, remember presentation credit is capped at 15 hours per 2-year period, and a course only earns credit the first two times you deliver it — plan a mix of presenting and other CE types.
• Keep certificates, transcripts, or other proof of completion for at least 4 years after the reporting period ends, since the Board can audit compliance and you self-certify your hours under penalty of perjury on the renewal form.

Sources

PT Requirements in Nearby States

Other Professions in Missouri

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.