State/Professional Licensure

Licensure as a Physical Therapist Assistant is regulated by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy while individual states are typically overseen by a State Board of Physical Therapy.  All 50 states require graduation from a CAPTE accredited program as well as passing the NPTE-PTA in order to obtain a license and practice as a Physical Therapist Assistant.  The South College-Atlanta is seeking approval from CAPTE of a new physical therapist assistant education program from CAPTE. The program is planning to submit an Application for Candidacy, which is the formal application required in the pre-accreditation stage, on June 1, 2023. Submission of this document does not assure that the program will be granted Candidate for Accreditation status. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status is required prior to implementation of the technical phase of the program; therefore, no students may be enrolled in technical courses until Candidate for Accreditation status has been achieved. Further, though achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status signifies satisfactory progress toward accreditation, it does not assure that the program will be granted accreditation.  Some states have unique licensure requirements. For example, a jurisprudence exam is required in some states to test the graduate’s knowledge of state laws, rules, and practice acts that govern physical therapy practice (this is currently required in Georgia and North Carolina but not in Tennessee). Some require satisfactory background checks.  These unique requirements are not associated with preparation in the South College program.  The following link provides contact information for individual state licensing authorities:  https://www.fsbpt.org/Free-Resources/Licensing-Authorities-Contact-Information.