Oklahoma Physical Therapy CE Requirements (2026): 40 Hours Every 2 Years
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Requirements Overview
The Physical Therapy Committee, operating under the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision, requires licensed PTs to log 40 approved contact hours (or PDU equivalent) every 2 years, running February 1 through January 31 of the next even year. Physical Therapist Assistants have a separate, lower requirement of 30 hours on the same biennial cycle.
At least half of your hours must come from actual coursework (live or recorded courses with a posttest), rather than from activities like publications or committee service, and 3 hours must specifically address the APTA Guide for Professional Conduct and Code of Ethics. Oklahoma explicitly bars carrying excess hours into the next compliance period.
New licensees who are first licensed during the second year of a compliance period skip CE requirements for that first renewal, and PTs/PTAs working under 250 hours per year may request a reduced requirement from the Committee. Missing the deadline blocks renewal and doubles your next cycle's hours.
Mandatory Topics
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethics (APTA Guide for Professional Conduct and APTA Code of Ethics) | 3 | Every renewal | 3 of the 40 (PT) / 30 (PTA) required hours must be ethics education that specifically includes the APTA Guide for Professional Conduct and the APTA Code of Ethics; generic ethics content does not automatically satisfy this without covering those two APTA documents. |
Renewal Pathways
Exemptions
- First Renewal New Licensee — Any PT or PTA initially licensed in Oklahoma during the second year of a compliance period is exempt from professional development requirements for that first renewal period.
- Reduced Workload — Licensees working less than 250 hours per year may request a lesser professional development requirement from the Committee (case-by-case, amount not specified in published rule text).Requires an affirmative request/approval process; not an automatic reduction.
How You Can Complete Your CE
Oklahoma CE Rules & Limits
Details specific to Oklahoma that generic CE guides tend to miss:
- Carry-over — Oklahoma explicitly prohibits carrying excess PDU/contact hours forward: no professional development hours earned in one 2-year compliance period may be applied to the next.
- Oklahoma does not have a standalone Physical Therapy licensing board; PTs/PTAs are regulated by a Physical Therapy Committee operating under the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision (the same board that licenses physicians). The Committee's page is embedded within okmedicalboard.org.
- No CCU/point-system conversion is needed -- Oklahoma uses direct 'contact hours' and/or an equivalent 'PDU' (Professional Development Unit) system where most course-based activities earn PDUs on a 1-hour-of-participation = 1 PDU basis, functionally equivalent to contact hours for coursework. Certain non-coursework activities (publications, presentations, org participation, specialty certification, residencies/fellowships, study groups, clinical instruction) earn PDU credit on different formulas (e.g., 1.5 PDU per contact hour for original presentations, 15 PDU for a published book/chapter) and are capped individually and, in aggregate as 'other professional development activities', implicitly limited by the requirement that at least half of total hours be professional development coursework (see next note).
- At least half of the total required hours (i.e., at least 20 of 40 for PTs, 15 of 30 for PTAs) must be 'professional development coursework' -- meaning synchronous (live/real-time) or asynchronous (video/webcast/DVD with posttest) course-based instruction under 435:20-9-3(b)/(c) -- as opposed to the 'other professional development activities' category (publications, research, teaching, org participation, specialty certification, study groups) under 435:20-9-3(d). This is a course-vs-other-activity mix requirement, not a cap on online/self-study hours specifically.
- Failure to meet the CE requirement blocks renewal until deficient PDUs are obtained and verified, AND doubles the required PDU total for the following compliance period (435:20-9-2(c)).
- Records (course title, date, place, presenter, contact hours/PDUs, and proof of completion) must be retained by the licensee for a minimum of four years (two compliance periods) and produced to the Board on request; the Committee conducts random and for-cause audits with a 30-calendar-day response window (435:20-9-2(d), 435:20-9-4).
- Certain activities are explicitly NOT accepted for CE credit: routine in-service training (e.g., CPR, bloodborne pathogens, equipment/procedural updates), staff meetings, presentations by less-credentialed personnel, publications/presentations aimed at lay audiences, and teaching required as part of one's own job duties (435:20-9-3(d)(6)(F)).
- Oklahoma joined the PT Compact (effective Nov 1, 2018); compact-privilege practitioners in Oklahoma are subject to separate Compact Commission rules referenced on the page, which are outside the scope of this state's own CE-for-renewal requirement.
Provider Requirements
The Board pre-approves both individual courses and blanket-approved providers. Automatically-approved providers (no per-course application needed) include: any US/Canada PT licensing agency or board; the APTA (including Sections, Academies, credentialed residencies/fellowships, and accrediting subsidiaries); State Chapters of APTA; the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) and its accrediting subsidiaries; the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET); any provider accredited by the above; and PT/PTA education programs approved by a US Dept. Of Education- or CHEA-recognized accreditor. Other course sponsors must submit an Application for Approval of Physical Therapy Professional Development for individual course review by the Committee. Course tracking/provider account management is handled via the CE Broker platform.
Tips for Oklahoma PTs
- Track your 2-year window carefully: it runs February 1 of an odd year through January 31 of the next even year, not a calendar-year or license-anniversary cycle.
- Budget at least 3 of your hours specifically for a course covering the APTA Guide for Professional Conduct and APTA Code of Ethics — general ethics content that skips those two documents may not count.
- Keep at least half your total hours as genuine coursework (live seminars or video/webcast courses with a posttest); credits from publications, presentations, or organizational service alone won't cover that portion.
- Since Oklahoma does not allow carry-over, don't front-load a cycle with extra hours expecting a head start on the next one — any surplus is forfeited at the January 31 cutoff.
- If you were licensed mid-cycle (second year of the compliance period) this is your one exemption — confirm your exact licensure date with the Committee so you don't complete hours you didn't need for that first renewal.
Sources
- Cross-checked against the official published rules of the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision — Physical Therapy Committee
- Each stated figure recorded with its exact source excerpt
- 1 source cited — 1 primary (official board)
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