Connecticut Physical Therapy CE Requirements (2026): 20 Hours Every Year
Requirements Overview
Connecticut's Department of Public Health (DPH), which regulates PT licensure directly rather than through a separate board, requires 20 contact hours of continuing education for every annual license renewal, with no CCU or point conversion. Your very first renewal is fully exempt from CE.
DPH doesn't pre-approve courses or maintain a provider list, though APTA-affiliated, hospital, and accredited-institution coursework all qualify. State law (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 20-73b) also requires 2 hours on PTSD screening, suicide risk/depression/grief screening, and suicide-prevention training — due at your first CE-required renewal and at least once every six years after — a requirement DPH's own CE page doesn't spell out.
Hours completed in one registration period cannot carry over to the next. Licensees with a medical disability or illness can apply for a waiver or time extension with physician certification.
Mandatory Topics
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTSD screening, suicide risk/depression/grief screening, and suicide prevention training | 2 | Periodic | Statutory requirement effective January 1, 2022: not less than 2 hours covering (1) screening for post-traumatic stress disorder, risk of suicide, depression and grief, and (2) suicide prevention training. Required during the licensee's first registration period in which CE is required (i.e., the first renewal after the first-renewal CE exemption ends), and not less than once every six years thereafter. May be satisfied by the evidence-based youth suicide prevention training program under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 17a-52a. This 2-hour topic requirement is NOT mentioned on the DPH's own Continuing Education web page (which states only that CE must be 'in areas related to the individual's practice' and that DPH does not specify qualifying coursework) -- it appears only in the underlying statute text. |
Exemptions
- First Renewal Exemption — A licensee applying for license renewal for the first time is exempt from continuing education requirements entirely (0 hours required).
- Medical Disability Or Illness Waiver Or Extension — The Department may grant a waiver of the CE requirement, or an extension of time to complete it, for a licensee with a medical disability or illness, upon a notarized application submitted before the registration period expires along with certification from a licensed physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse.A waiver or extension is granted for a period not to exceed one registration period, but additional waivers/extensions may be granted if the underlying disability or illness continues and the licensee reapplies.
How You Can Complete Your CE
Connecticut CE Rules & Limits
Details specific to Connecticut that generic CE guides tend to miss:
- Annual minimum — at least 20 hours must be completed each year of the cycle, not just by the renewal deadline.
- No CCU/point-system conversion applies -- Connecticut uses direct contact hours (20 hours per 1-year registration period); total hours is recorded with no unit conversion.
- The DPH's own Continuing Education web page does not mention the statutory 2-hour PTSD/suicide-risk-screening and suicide-prevention training requirement at all -- this mandatory topic is documented only in Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 20-73b(a) (effective Jan 1, 2022). The statute was used as the source for the mandatory topics claim because it is the authoritative legal text; licensees relying solely on the DPH summary page could easily miss this requirement.
- Certificates of completion must be submitted to DPH within 45 days of a department request for them (statute Sec. 20-73b(b)); the DPH page states the general 3-year retention requirement but does not mention this 45-day submission deadline.
- Waiver/extension for medical disability or illness requires a notarized application submitted to DPH before the registration period expires, plus certification from a licensed physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse (statute Sec. 20-73b(c)); granted for up to one registration period at a time but renewable if the condition persists.
Provider Requirements
No board pre-approval of courses or providers. Per the DPH page: 'The Department does not approve continuing education courses or pre-approve specific coursework for individual licensees, nor does the Department maintain a list of continuing education courses.' The statute names non-exhaustive qualifying examples: courses offered or approved by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) or any APTA component, a hospital or other licensed health care institution, or a regionally accredited institution of higher education. Licensees exercise their own judgment that coursework is related to their practice.
Tips for Connecticut PTs
- Because unused hours never carry over, don't front-load a registration period expecting a buffer for next year — finish your full 20 hours within the same 12-month cycle you're renewing.
- Confirm which renewal is your 'first registration period in which continuing education is required' for the mandatory 2-hour PTSD/suicide-prevention topic — it's not literally your first renewal (that one is fully exempt), it's the one after that, and then every sixth year going forward.
- The evidence-based youth suicide prevention training program administered under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 17a-52a can satisfy the suicide-prevention half of the mandatory topic, so check whether a course you're already taking for other purposes qualifies.
- Since DPH doesn't pre-approve courses, pick coursework tied clearly to your practice area from APTA, a licensed hospital, or an accredited institution, and keep the certificate of completion — DPH can request it up to 3 years after your renewal date and gives you only 45 days to produce it.
- If a medical disability or illness will keep you from finishing your hours, apply for a waiver or extension before your registration period expires; it requires a notarized form plus certification from a physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse. Verify current specifics with DPH before relying on them.
Sources
Each figure on this page is taken directly from the Connecticut Department of Public Health's official rules and continuing-education sources and recorded with the exact source excerpt. Last verified Jul 2026. Read how we compile and verify this data.