South Carolina Physical Therapy CE Requirements (2026): 30 Hours Every 2 Years
Requirements Overview
The South Carolina State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners (Regulation 101-07) requires every licensed PT and PTA to complete 30 contact hours (3.0 CEUs, at 10 hours per CEU) each two-year biennium. At least 15 of those 30 hours must be Certified Activities — Board-evaluated offerings like FSBPT/APTA conferences, accredited university coursework, or specialty certification. The rest may come from capped Approved Activities such as self-study, clinical instruction, or publications.
A 3-hour course in ethics, professionalism, and/or South Carolina jurisprudence is mandatory every biennium via a Certified Activity, counting toward (not on top of) the 15-hour Certified minimum. New licensees are exempt for their first biennium renewal.
South Carolina's rule has no carry-over provision, and all licensees must report hours through CE Broker before renewing.
Mandatory Topics
| Topic | Hours | Frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethics, Professionalism, and/or South Carolina Jurisprudence | 3 | Every renewal | 3 contact hours per biennium, required every renewal. Must be obtained via a Certified Activity and counts toward (not in addition to) the licensee's 15-hour Certified Activity minimum -- it is not a hurdle on top of the 30-hour total. |
First Renewal vs. Standard Renewal
Exemptions
- First Biennium New Licensee — PTs and PTAs are not subject to the 30-hour CE requirement for the first biennium renewal period in which they are initially licensed in South Carolina.
How You Can Complete Your CE
South Carolina CE Rules & Limits
Details specific to South Carolina that generic CE guides tend to miss:
- Carry-over — Regulation 101-07(5)(f) explicitly states that no contact hours or CEUs may be awarded for hours 'carried over from one licensure period to another,' so excess CE earned in one biennium cannot be applied to the next biennium's requirement.
- CEU/contact-hour conversion: the regulation defines 1 CEU = 10 contact hours (Reg 101-01(2)) and states the requirement as '3.0 CEUs per biennium period (30 hours)' -- total hours is recorded as the contact-hour equivalent (30), matching the rule's own parenthetical.
- Certified vs. Approved Activities split: at least 15 of the 30 biennium hours must come from Certified Activities (a formal Board evaluative process); up to 15 hours may come from Approved Activities, each with its own per-category cap (e.g. Clinical instruction max 6 hrs, in-service programs max 3 hrs, adjunct teaching max 10 hrs, volunteer work max 7.5 hrs, presentations max 6 hrs, self-study max 2 hrs, research max 10 hrs, publications max 8 hrs, mentorship 5 hrs/biennium) (Reg 101-07(4)).
- The mandatory 3-hour ethics/professionalism/jurisprudence topic (101-07(2)) must be earned via a Certified Activity and counts toward, not in addition to, the 15-hour Certified Activity minimum.
- No carry-over: Regulation 101-07(5)(f) explicitly bars carrying CEUs or contact hours from one licensure period to another.
- Excluded activities that earn zero CE credit regardless of format: staff meetings, lay-audience presentations/publications, non-educational entertainment/recreational activities, case conferences/grand rounds/informal presentations, self-directed studies outside the listed categories, routine teaching/research/orientation duties that are part of a job requirement, and attendance at exhibits or poster presentations (Reg 101-07(5)(a)-(e),(g)).
- CE reporting is electronic: all licensees must submit/report their continuing education hours through the CE Broker system prior to renewing (free Basic account available); this is stated on the official renewal page (secondary source), not in Chapter 101 itself, but is treated as an operative reporting requirement.
- Record retention: licensees must retain original documentation of all Certified and Approved Activities for at least 3 years from the beginning date of the licensure period, and records are subject to random Board audit (Reg 101-07(6)-(7)).
- South Carolina participates in the Physical Therapy Compact; Compact Commission rules and amendments are incorporated by reference and binding on the Board and its licensees (Reg 101-16).
- PT/PTA differentiation: the CE rule applies equally to PTs and PTAs in total hours and structure, with one narrow difference -- academic coursework counted as a Certified Activity must be graduate-level for PTs, while undergraduate-level coursework is acceptable for PTAs (Reg 101-07(3)(g)).
- The renewal page (secondary source) additionally confirms current-cycle timing: 'The biennial reporting period for the 2026 renewal is January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2026' and gives board contact details ([email protected], (803) 896-4655, 110 Centerview Dr, Columbia, SC 29210).
Provider Requirements
The Board recognizes two tiers of activities. Certified Activities (evaluated, at least 15 of the 30 hours) include: FSBPT Standards of Continuing Competence programs; APTA, South Carolina Chapter of APTA (SCAPTA/APTA-SC), and other APTA chapter/section or other-state PT board conferences; accredited-university CE-credit programs; APTA-SC approved educational programs; APTA-credentialed fellowships/residencies; ABPTS clinical specialist certification or PTA advanced proficiency certification; academic coursework at accredited institutions (graduate-level for PTs, undergraduate acceptable for PTAs); FSBPT/APTA continued-competency tools; and AMA-approved PT courses. Approved Activities (non-evaluated, up to 15 of the 30 hours) include specific-capped categories: non-certified courses/conferences, clinical instruction, in-service programs, adjunct teaching, volunteer work, presentations, self-study, research, publications, and formal mentorship. All licensees must report their CE hours through the CE Broker electronic tracking system (a free Basic account is available at cebroker.com/sc/account/basic) prior to renewing.
Tips for South Carolina PTs
- Track your Certified vs. Approved Activity split: at least 15 of your 30 hours must be Certified Activities (Board-evaluated), and no more than 15 can come from the capped Approved Activities list.
- Complete your 3-hour ethics/professionalism/SC jurisprudence course through a Certified Activity provider — it counts toward your 15-hour Certified Activity minimum, not as a separate add-on.
- If self-study (correspondence, video, internet, or satellite courses outside the Certified Activity list) is part of your plan, remember it's capped at just 2 contact hours per biennium.
- Don't bank extra hours for later: South Carolina explicitly bars carrying CEUs or contact hours over from one licensure period to the next, so hours beyond 30 in a cycle are simply lost.
- Report your completed CE hours through CE Broker before you renew, and keep original certificates or documentation for at least 3 years in case your record is selected for the Board's random audit.
Sources
Each figure on this page is taken directly from the South Carolina State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners'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.