Rhode Island Physical Therapy CE Requirements (2026): 24 Hours Every 2 Years
Requirements Overview
Under 216-RICR-40-05-13, the Rhode Island Board of Physical Therapy requires 24 contact hours of continuing education every 2 years for both physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. Licenses expire May 1st of each even-numbered year, and hours are earned 1:1 for presentations, conferences, accredited coursework, or self-study/online courses.
Rhode Island names no mandatory topic — no required jurisprudence, ethics, or opioid course — courses just need to be relevant to PT practice and sponsored by one of the Board's many recognized organizations (APTA, ACCME, accredited universities, other state PT boards, and more). Supervising a student affiliate counts toward the total but is capped at 3 hours per cycle.
No carry-over provision is stated, so unused hours shouldn't be assumed to roll forward. Keep proof of attendance for 4 years for possible audit; newly examined PTs/PTAs are exempt from CE until their first full renewal cycle.
Exemptions
- New Licensee — Physical therapists (and PTAs) initially licensed by examination after the May 1st renewal date are exempt from continuing education requirements until the date of the next renewal cycle (April 30th of the next even-numbered year).
How You Can Complete Your CE
Rhode Island CE Rules & Limits
Details specific to Rhode Island that generic CE guides tend to miss:
- Physical therapist assistants (PTAs) face an identical CE requirement under § 13.5.5(D): 24 hours biennially, scope-of-practice-specific offerings, same 3-hour-per-cycle cap on teaching/clinical-supervision credit, same 4-year documentation retention, same new-licensee exemption, and the same one-time 6-month hardship extension. No PT/PTA difference in CE amount exists.
- Teaching and/or clinical supervision of student affiliates (in APTA-approved programs) by a licensed PT or PTA counts toward the 24-hour total but is capped at a maximum of 3 hours per 2-year licensure cycle (§ 13.4.5(D)(2) / § 13.5.5(D)(2)).
- Hardship extension: the Department may grant one single six-month extension of the CE completion deadline if satisfied the licensee suffered a hardship that prevented meeting the requirement (§ 13.4.5(D)(8), § 13.5.5(D)(7)).
- New-licensee exemption is time-based, not hour-based: a PT/PTA initially licensed by examination after the May 1st renewal date owes zero CE hours for that first partial cycle and becomes subject to the full 24-hour requirement only starting the following full biennial cycle (through April 30 of the next even-numbered year).
- License lapse: failing to renew by March 31 of the renewal year allows late renewal on payment of the current fee plus an additional late fee (§ 13.4.5(C)); using the professional title while lapsed is a violation subject to penalties under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 5-40. No separate CE 'make-up' hour tier for lapsed licenses is specified in this Part (distinguishing it from states like Idaho that set explicit reinstatement CE tiers).
- Documentation: licensees (PT and PTA) must self-retain CE proof of attendance/course descriptions for no less than 4 years and produce it if the Department conducts a random audit (§ 13.4.5(D)(4), § 13.5.5(D)(3)). The Board does not require submission of certificates at renewal time -- licensees 'attest' to completion.
- The PTA subsection's cross-reference to approved CE sponsors reads '.as set forth in § 13.4.5(E) of this Part,' which does not match the PT subsection's own internal numbering (the approved-sponsor list is actually at § 13.4.5(D)(3), not (E)); this appears to be a drafting/renumbering artifact in the codified rule. The substantive approved-sponsor list used for both PT and PTA CE is the one enumerated under § 13.4.5(D)(3).
Provider Requirements
The Board deems CE approved if sponsored/offered by an extensive named list of organizations, including ACCME-approved programs, APTA (and RI-APTA or any other state PT association), AOTA, ASHA, American Heart Association, American Red Cross CPR/first aid, any accredited college/university department or school of physical therapy, Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT), CARF, RI Department of Education, several disease/condition-specific nonprofits (e.g. Arthritis Foundation, Multiple Sclerosis Society, Paralyzed Veterans of America), other state medical/nursing societies, courses approved by other state PT licensing boards, and 'others as may be approved by the Board.' There is no requirement that the Board pre-approve each individual course beyond falling under one of these sponsor categories.
Tips for Rhode Island PTs
- Since Rhode Island doesn't pre-approve individual courses, confirm your course sponsor or provider falls on the Board's long approved-organization list (APTA, ACCME, an accredited college/university, FSBPT, or similar) rather than assuming any CE vendor automatically qualifies.
- Don't count on rolling extra hours into your next cycle — the rule doesn't mention carry-over, so aim to land at exactly 24 hours (or more) within each 2-year period rather than banking a surplus.
- If you supervise PT or PTA students in an APTA-approved program, track that time separately: it counts toward your 24 hours but only up to a 3-hour cap per licensure cycle.
- Keep your certificates of completion and course descriptions for at least 4 years, since the Department conducts random audits and you — not the course provider — are responsible for producing proof.
- If you were just licensed by examination after May 1st, you're exempt from CE for that first partial cycle — but confirm your exact renewal date with the Board so you know when the full 24-hour clock actually starts.
Sources
Each figure on this page is taken directly from the Rhode Island 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.