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

Requirements Overview

The Hawaii Board of Physical Therapy, under HRS Chapter 461J, requires every actively licensed physical therapist to log 30 continuing competence units (CCUs) each two-year renewal cycle (1 CCU = 50 minutes of instruction). That splits into 24 CCUs of professional-practice/patient-management coursework, 2 CCUs of Board-approved Hawaii ethics, laws, and rules, and 4 CCUs of life support training at or above the AHA Basic Life Support standard.

First renewals get reduced totals: under 12 months since initial licensure, 0 CCUs are owed; 12 months or more, only 15 CCUs are due instead of 30.

CCUs don't carry over between cycles, and online/self-study courses are allowed with no stated cap. Physical therapist assistants (PTAs) are currently exempt from Hawaii's CE requirement entirely — only PTs must comply.

Mandatory Topics

First Renewal vs. Standard Renewal

Exemptions

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  Physical Therapist Assistants Not Subject — Physical therapist assistants (PTAs) are currently NOT subject to continuing competence requirements in Hawaii at all.
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  Inactive Status — Licensees on inactive status are not subject to continuing competence requirements while on inactive status.

  A licensee on inactive status shall not engage in the practice of physical therapy.
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  Hardship Exemption By Written Request — Per HRS §461J-10.14, a licensee may submit a written request to the Board, prior to expiration of a renewal period, for an exemption based on: (1) residing outside the country for 1+ year during the 2-year period; (2) the licensee's own illness/disability of 1+ year (physician/surgeon/clinical-psychologist documented); or (3) a dependent family member's illness/disability of 1+ year (similarly documented).

  These exemptions are not granted for more than one renewal period.

  If the licensee cannot complete the CCU requirement during the two-year period after receiving the exemption, the licensee may only renew on inactive status.
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  Military Exemption — A licensee absent from Hawaii due to military service for 1+ year during the two-year renewal period may receive a Board-granted exemption.

  Unlike the other hardship exemptions, the military exemption may be granted for more than one renewal period.

How You Can Complete Your CE

Hawaii CE Rules & Limits

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

• One continuing competence unit (CCU) is defined as at least 50 minutes of classroom or hands-on instruction (HRS §461J-1; ImportantAnnouncementRegardingPTCCUs-rev.pdf, Section I), so total hours=30 is recorded directly with no unit conversion.
• First-renewal special rule: if the initial license was issued less than 12 months before the first renewal date, NO CCUs are required for that first renewal; if issued 12+ months before, only 15 CCUs (half the standard 30) are required for that first renewal.
• Record retention: licensees must keep CCU completion records (course/activity title, date, and record of participation) for at least 7 years after the course concludes, and must provide copies to the Board within 14 calendar days of a request. The Board conducts random audits of licensees' CCUs.
• Ethics/laws/rules (jurisprudence) courses must be approved directly by the Hawaii Board of Physical Therapy and must cover Hawaii-specific law; the Board does not accept jurisprudence courses approved by any other state, jurisdiction, or organization (including APTA/FSBPT approval, which IS accepted for general practice-area CCUs). Jurisprudence courses must include a minimum 25-question exam with an 80% passing score.
• No carry-over / credit-forward provision from one renewal period to the next was found in any sourced Board or statutory document.
• 'Other competence related activities' (beyond standard courses) are separately CCU-valued by the Board -- e.g., first-author peer-reviewed publication = 10 CCUs/publication, APTA-accredited residency/fellowship completion = 24 CCUs, ABPTS specialist certification = 15 CCUs, primary course instructor = 5 CCUs/course/semester, etc. -- documented in the Board's 'Other Competence Related Activities' notice (not separately captured as a formal evidence source here, but consistent with and referenced by the Important Announcement, Section III.C).

Provider Requirements

CCUs must come from a provider or agency approved by the Hawaii Board of Physical Therapy (HRS §461J-10.13), including: (1) courses sponsored by APTA or the Hawaii Chapter of APTA (HAPTA) -- excluding other states' APTA chapters; (2) courses approved by FSBPT's ProCert; (3) courses approved by another state/jurisdiction's PT board or equivalent; (4) courses offered/approved by any other Board-approved provider or agency; (5) college coursework from a U.S.-Dept.-of-Education-accredited institution; and (6) other competence-related activities approved by the Board (e.g. Authorship, teaching, service -- each with its own CCU schedule). Ethics/laws/rules (jurisprudence) courses are an exception: the Board will ONLY accept jurisprudence courses it has approved directly (no other state/organization approval accepted), and courses must be on a topic/technique allowed under Hawaii's PT scope of practice (e.g. Dry needling content is never accepted).

Tips for Hawaii PTs

• Budget your 30 CCUs as 24 general practice + 2 Hawaii ethics/jurisprudence + 4 life support — hours in the wrong bucket won't satisfy the mandatory-topic minimums even if your general-practice total is high.
• Only take a jurisprudence course approved directly by the Hawaii Board — courses approved by another state's board, or by APTA/FSBPT alone, do not satisfy the 2-CCU ethics, laws, and rules requirement.
• Check your license issue date before your first renewal: under 12 months before renewal, you owe zero CCUs; 12 months or more, you owe 15 CCUs instead of the standard 30.
• Keep CCU certificates and course documentation for at least 7 years, and be ready to send copies to the Board within 14 calendar days if you're selected for a random audit.
• If you're a PTA, note that Hawaii currently has no continuing competence requirement for physical therapist assistants — verify current status with the Board since this has been under legislative discussion.

Sources

Each figure on this page is taken directly from the Hawaii Board of Physical Therapy'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.

Other Professions in Hawaii