Illinois Physical Therapy CE Requirements (2026): 40 Hours Every 2 Years
At a Glance
40
Contact Hours
2 yr
Renewal Cycle
Yes
Online Allowed
No
Carry-Over
Illinois PT licensees renew every two years and must log 40 contact hours of continuing education per cycle (physical therapist assistants: 20 hours), including 3 hours on ethics and jurisprudence. Illinois also layers separate one-hour mandates for sexual harassment prevention, implicit bias, cultural competency, and Alzheimer's/dementia training onto that same total — sexual harassment training is required even at your very first renewal, when the rest of the CE requirement is otherwise waived.
First renewal? Requirements may differ for first-time renewals. See details below.
Disclaimer: This information is for reference purposes only. Requirements are set by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) - Physical Therapy Licensing and Disciplinary Board and may change. Always verify current requirements directly with the board.
Requirements Overview
Under 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1340.61, the Illinois Physical Therapy Licensing and Disciplinary Board (via IDFPR) sets the standard continuing education load at 40 hours per 2-year prerenewal period — the 24 months ending September 30 of the renewal year — with 3 of those hours covering ethical practice and jurisprudence. Physical therapist assistants follow the same biennial cycle at 20 hours.
Separate state legislative mandates add further one-hour topics that count toward, not on top of, that total: sexual harassment prevention (required starting with your first renewal), implicit bias awareness, and, for renewals on or after January 1, 2025, cultural competency plus Alzheimer's/other-dementias training (the latter only if you treat patients age 26 or older), each retaken every six years.
New licensees owe no profession-specific CE at their first renewal — only the 1-hour sexual harassment course. Illinois caps self-study and web-based courses at 75% of your total hours and does not allow unused hours to carry over into the next cycle.
Mandatory Topics
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethical practice of physical therapy, including jurisprudence | 3 | Every renewal | Required within the standard 40-hour (PT) / 20-hour (PTA) total at every renewal, effective beginning with the September 2016 renewal for PTs and the September 2017 renewal for PTAs. Not required at the first renewal after initial licensure, since the entire CE requirement is waived that cycle. |
| Sexual Harassment Prevention Training | 1 | Every renewal | One hour required at every renewal cycle, beginning with the licensee's FIRST renewal after initial licensure -- this legislative mandate is not waived by the Physical Therapy Act's first-renewal CE exemption, since it derives from a separate statute (Civil Administrative Code) applicable to all individual license holders regardless of profession-specific CE rules. Also applies to reinstatement/restoration. Counts toward the profession-specific total. |
| Implicit Bias Awareness Training | 1 | Every renewal | One hour per renewal period, starting with the first renewal that actually requires CE (i.e., the licensee's SECOND renewal, since the PT Act waives CE at the first renewal). Licensees holding multiple IDFPR licenses may apply the same course to each license. Effective July 1, 2026, licensees who report providing maternal health care services must complete implicit bias training that includes maternal-health-risk content. Counts toward the profession-specific total. |
| Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias | 1 | Every 3rd renewal | One hour required prior to the first CE-requiring renewal occurring on or after January 1, 2025, then retaken once every six years (i.e., every third biennial renewal) thereafter. Applies only to licensees with direct patient interactions with adults age 26 or older. Also applies to reinstatement/restoration. Counts toward the profession-specific total. |
| Cultural Competency Training | 1 | Every 3rd renewal | One hour required prior to the first CE-requiring renewal occurring on or after January 1, 2025, then retaken once every six years (every third biennial renewal) thereafter. Also applies to reinstatement/restoration. Counts toward the profession-specific total. |
| Mandated Reporter Training (child abuse/neglect) | 1 | Conditional | Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants are listed as 'Medical Personnel Mandated Reporters' under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Those who work with children in their professional capacity must complete 1 hour of mandated reporter training at least every six years and may count it toward CE hours. Those who do NOT work with children may instead attest at each renewal that they understand their mandated-reporter obligations, with no repeated training required. Administered by DCFS, not IDFPR. |
First Renewal vs. Standard Renewal
1 hour (sexual harassment only) -- CE otherwise waived
1 hour
Section 1340.61(a)(6) waives the entire profession-specific CE requirement (including the ethics/jurisprudence, implicit bias, dementia, and cultural competency mandates, which are all keyed to 'the first renewal that requires CE') at a licensee's first renewal after initial licensure. However, the Sexual Harassment Prevention Training mandate (20 ILCS 2105/2105-15.5) independently applies 'beginning with the first renewal' regardless of profession-specific CE status, so 1 hour is still owed.
40 hours CE every 2-year cycle (physical therapist)
40 hours
Applies from the second renewal onward. Includes 3 hours ethics/jurisprudence, 1 hour sexual harassment prevention, 1 hour implicit bias, and (periodically) 1 hour Alzheimer's/dementia and 1 hour cultural competency -- all counted within, not added to, the 40-hour total.
20 hours CE every 2-year cycle (physical therapist assistant)
20 hours
Physical Therapist Assistants have a lower profession-specific total (20 hours vs. 40 for PTs) under 1340.61(a)(2), effective beginning with the September 2017 renewal for the 3-hour ethics/jurisprudence component. The same legislative mandates (sexual harassment, implicit bias, dementia, cultural competency, mandated reporter) apply to PTAs and count within this 20-hour total.
Exemptions
- First Renewal Exemption — A renewal applicant is not required to comply with the profession-specific CE requirements (total hours and mandatory ethics/jurisprudence topic) for the first renewal following the original issuance of the license.The 1-hour Sexual Harassment Prevention Training mandate still applies beginning with the first renewal, since it derives from a separate statute that is not subject to the Physical Therapy Act's CE waiver.
- Out Of State Practice No Exemption — Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants licensed in Illinois but residing and practicing in other states are NOT exempt -- they must still comply with Illinois's CE requirements, though equivalent out-of-state CE hours may be submitted for approval to satisfy the Illinois requirement.
How You Can Complete Your CE
💻
Online / Distance
Allowed, no limit
🏫
In-Person / Live
Allowed
Illinois CE Rules & Limits
Details specific to Illinois that generic CE guides tend to miss:
- The physical-therapist-assistant (PTA) total is 20 hours per 2-year prerenewal period (vs. 40 for PTs), with its own 3-hour ethics/jurisprudence requirement effective beginning with the September 2017 renewal (one year later than the PT effective date of September 2016).
- No CCU/point-system conversion applies. Illinois PT/PTA CE is measured directly in 'CE hours,' defined as 50 minutes of engagement; after the first hour, credit may be given in half-hour increments.
- Illinois layers several cross-profession 'legislative mandate' CE topics on top of the profession-specific 40/20-hour PT/PTA requirement: Sexual Harassment Prevention (1 hr, every renewal from the first), Implicit Bias Awareness (1 hr, every renewal starting with the first CE-requiring renewal; expanded July 1, 2026 for those reporting maternal health care services), Alzheimer's/Dementia (1 hr, one-time before the first CE-requiring renewal on/after Jan 1 2025, then every 6 years, only for those treating patients age 26+), and Cultural Competency (1 hr, same cadence as dementia training, no age restriction). All of these hours count toward, not in addition to, the profession-specific 40/20-hour total.
- PTs and PTAs are also listed as 'Medical Personnel Mandated Reporters' under Illinois's child abuse/neglect reporting law (325 ILCS 5/4), administered by DCFS rather than IDFPR: those who work with children must complete 1 hour of mandated-reporter training at least every 6 years (creditable toward CE), while those who don't work with children may instead attest to their reporting obligations at each renewal with no repeat training required.
- Records of CE compliance must be retained by the licensee for a minimum of 5 years and produced to the Division upon request; CE sponsors must retain attendance/certificate records for at least 5 years as well.
- Illinois licensees residing and practicing in other states remain subject to the same Illinois CE requirements (no residency-based exemption), though equivalent out-of-state CE can be submitted for approval.
Provider Requirements
The Division (IDFPR), upon Board recommendation, licenses CE sponsors. Automatically-approved sponsors include APTA and its components (including IPTA-approved programs), the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy, and CAPTE-accredited PT/PTA education programs (any accredited college/university for post-professional academic coursework). Other organizations must apply for and be licensed as a CE sponsor. Credit is not given for courses taken in Illinois from unapproved sponsors; out-of-state CE from a nonapproved sponsor requires a separate $20 approval application.
Tips for Illinois PTs
- Reserve 3 of your 40 (or 20) hours for the ethics/jurisprudence course at every renewal after your first — it's mandatory and won't happen automatically through general CE.
- Don't assume your first renewal is CE-free: the 40/20-hour requirement is waived, but the 1-hour sexual harassment prevention course is still due, since it comes from a separate state mandate that applies to every individual licensee from day one.
- Keep self-study, correspondence, and web-based courses to no more than 75% of your total hours, and use only approved sponsors (APTA/IPTA, the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy, or CAPTE-accredited programs) — credit from unapproved Illinois sponsors won't count.
- If you treat patients age 26 or older, plan for the one-time Alzheimer's/dementia course before your first CE-required renewal on or after 2025, and pair it with the cultural competency course on the same six-year cadence.
- Illinois has no carry-over, so hours in excess of your requirement don't roll into the next cycle — pace your CE across the full 2-year window and keep certificates and attendance records for at least 5 years in case of an audit.
Sources
Each figure on this page is taken directly from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) - Physical Therapy Licensing and Disciplinary Board'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.