Oregon Physical Therapy CE Requirements (2026): 24 Hours Every 2 Years

Requirements Overview

Under OAR 848-035-0020, the Oregon Board of Physical Therapy sets the standard PT/PTA renewal requirement at 24 continuing competence (CC) hours per 2-year certification period. Oregon tracks hours directly as contact hours with no CCU conversion, though academic coursework converts at 1 college credit = 10 contact hours.

Every renewal, licensees must complete the Oregon Pain Management Commission's module (1 hour, free) and a 1-hour cultural competency course. Newly licensed practitioners owe a prorated total instead: 24 hours in the cycle's first year, 12 hours in the second year, or 0 hours if first licensed January-March of an even year and renewing that same year.

Online and self-study coursework are uncapped and no in-person hours are required. Up to 8 excess hours may carry over to the next period with a written request 60 days before expiration.

Mandatory Topics

Renewal Pathways

Exemptions

• ✓
  Hardship Waiver — In individual cases involving physical disability or illness, undue hardship, or active military duty, the Board may grant waivers of the continuing competency requirement or extensions of time to fulfill it.

  Requests for waiver or extension must be made to the Board in writing at least 60 days prior to license expiration (OAR 848-035-0020(7)).
• ✓
  Newly Licensed Q1 Even Year — A licensee first issued a license between January 1 and March 31 of an even-numbered year who renews during that same even year owes 0 CC hours for the current certification period.

  Applies only to the current certification period at first licensure; all subsequent certification periods are subject to the normal 24-hour requirement (OAR 848-035-0020(5)).

How You Can Complete Your CE

Oregon CE Rules & Limits

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

• Carry-over — Licensees who complete more than the required CC hours in a certification period may request to carry over a maximum of 8 excess hours into the immediately following certification period. The request must be made to the Board in writing at least 60 days before license expiration (OAR 848-035-0030(6)). Separately, CC courses taken up to 2 years prior to the Oregon license expiration date -- even courses taken in another state before becoming Oregon-licensed -- may count toward the Oregon renewal (this is a look-back/reciprocity allowance, not the same as the 8-hour carryover cap).
• Oregon uses direct contact hours ('CC units'/'CC hours', 1 unit = 1 hour), not a separate CCU/point conversion system; no unit conversion is needed for total hours. The only stated conversion is for academic coursework: 1 college credit = 10 contact hours (OAR 848-035-0030(2)(c)).
• The OAR 848-035-0030 text as mirrored (last accessed by the secondary source May 2025) instead frames Pain Management as a ONE-TIME 7-hour requirement completed within 24 months of initial licensure (effective 2008), with the 1-hour web module separately listed as an optional one-time-per-period clinical activity worth 1 CC under 848-035-0030(2)(l). This reads as the OAR mirror not yet reflecting the board's stated 2021 amendment. This build treats the mandatory topics claim (1 hour, every renewal) as authoritative per the live official board page, since it is the more current and directly renewal-facing source.
• Non-clinical content (personal development/self-care, business/leadership, professional conduct/ethics, and qualifying committee/officer service for OBPT/OPTA/APTA/FSBPT) is capped at a maximum of 8 hours total per certification period, with no more than 4 hours from any single non-clinical category (OAR 848-035-0030(3)). A licensee first licensed, or whose lapsed license is renewed, in the second year of a certification period may use up to 4 hours total (rather than 8) from these non-clinical categories.
• Minimum course duration for CC credit is 0.5 hours (30 minutes); courses under 0.5 CC cannot be accepted (OAR 848-035-0020(1); primary page FAQ).
• Individual home-study courses, online courses, and webinars generally require an examination component to qualify as a clinical CC activity under OAR 848-035-0030(2)(d); OAR 848-035-0030(2)(a)-(b) note this exam requirement 'is waived for the 2020-2022 certification period' in the mirrored rule text, but the live board FAQ states plainly there is currently no limit on the number of courses taken online and no in-person requirement -- courses may be online, in-person, or hybrid, synchronous or asynchronous.
• CPR/BLS/ACLS coursework is capped at 1 hour of CC credit per certification period regardless of actual course length (OAR 848-035-0030(2)(e)).
• The Oregon Jurisprudence Assessment Model (OR-JAM), a $48 open-book 50-question law exam on Oregon PT statutes/rules, may be taken once per certification period and counts for 3 hours of CC credit in the Non-Clinical/Jurisprudence category (primary page FAQ; OAR 848-035-0030(2)(k)).
• CC courses taken up to 2 years prior to the Oregon license expiration date count toward Oregon renewal even if taken in another state before the licensee held an Oregon license, EXCEPT coursework taken as part of a CAPTE-accredited PT/PTA education program's curriculum, which never counts (primary page FAQ; OAR 848-035-0030(4)(a)).
• Category-specific credit caps under OAR 848-035-0030(2): presenting a course/lecture (max 1/3 of total requirement per period, one-time credit per course), publishing a peer-reviewed article (max 1/3 of total requirement up to 8 hours, one-time per period), serving as a certified clinical instructor (1 hour per 40 hours of direct clinical instruction, capped at 1/3 of total requirement up to 8 hours), ABPTS specialty certification (up to 24 hours in the award period), ABPTRFE-accredited residency/fellowship (up to 24 hours in the completion period).

Provider Requirements

The Board does not directly approve individual continuing competency courses or providers. It instead requires that a course be sponsored, certified, or approved by another established and recognized health-related organization, professional association, or state (i.e., if a course is approved by any other state board or another recognized health-related Oregon board/organization, it is accepted for Oregon PT/PTA credit as well). Separate approval criteria apply to specific categories: accredited-institution coursework (1 college credit = 10 contact hours), OHA-approved cultural competency courses, the Oregon Pain Management Commission module, ABPTS specialty certification, ABPTRFE-accredited residencies/fellowships, and the Board-approved Oregon jurisprudence exam (OR-JAM). Courses/activities not otherwise covered can be submitted for Board special-request approval in writing at least 60 days before license expiration.

Tips for Oregon PTs

• Complete the free Oregon Pain Management Commission module ('Transforming Pain Management') early in your certification period -- it's required at every renewal and worth 1 CC hour, but if you were licensed after April 1, 2024, you already completed it at application and just need to log the activity and upload the certificate at renewal instead of retaking it.
• Confirm your license effective date before assuming you owe the full 24 hours: licensees first issued a license in the second year of the 2-year certification period only owe 12 hours, and those first licensed between January 1 and March 31 of an even-numbered year owe 0 hours for that initial period.
• If you plan to bank extra hours, request the carryover in writing to the Board at least 60 days before your license expires -- only up to 8 excess hours transfer to the next certification period, and unrequested excess hours do not carry over automatically.
• Keep course certificates showing the course title, your name, the speaker/sponsor, hours awarded, and the class date -- Oregon does not pre-approve individual courses, so you're responsible for confirming a course was sponsored, certified, or approved by a recognized health-related organization, professional association, or another state.
• Non-clinical activities (personal development, business/leadership, ethics, or qualifying committee service) are capped at 8 hours total per certification period with no more than 4 hours from any single category, so don't count on them to fill more than a third of your requirement.

Sources

Each figure on this page is taken directly from the Oregon 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.

PT Requirements in Nearby States

Other Professions in Oregon