District of Columbia PT & PTA continuing education requirements

Full requirements

PT hours required

40 contact hours (DC Mun. Regs. 17-6706.(4)(a))
Source: [4]

PTA hours required

30 contact hours
Source: [2]

Renewal cycle

2 years
Source: [5]

Deadline pattern (PT)

DC Health is moving all licenses to a birth-month cycle: credentials issued or renewed from June 16, 2024 (renewals from September 2024) expire on the last day of your birth month, in odd or even years matching your birth year.
Source: [1]

Deadline pattern (PTA)

Same birth-month cycle as PTs.
Source: [1]

Live / in-person / online limits

PT: no more than 20 of 40 hours may be internet courses (17 DCMR 6706.4). PTA: no more than half from online, home study or distance education (17 DCMR 8206.5). Live, synchronous, interactive webinars count as in-person (Policy 24-001).
Source: [2] [3]

Required topics

• 2 hours of LGBTQ cultural competency (PT and PTA)
• 10% of required hours on DC Health public health priority topics

Source: [2] [1]

Course approval rules

FSBPT approval model: Type 5 (Hybrid: some activities approved by virtue of sponsor, others require evaluation). Recognized approvers listed by FSBPT: Licensing Board.
Source: [7]

Official state board

D.C. Board of Rehabilitative Therapies
(202) 442-5955 · [email protected]

Notes

• FSBPT lists 40 hours for DC PTAs; Board Policy Statement 24-001 cites 17 DCMR 8206.4 requiring 30 hours for PTAs.
• One-time transition: licensees with under two years on their term during the birth-month switch need 50% of CE, but still the LGBTQ and public health hours.

Before buying, check that a course is approved for District of Columbia (look for the state on the course’s approval statement).

Sources

Numbers next to each field point to the source(s) used for that field.

1. https://dchealth.dc.gov/service/physical-therapy-licensing
2. https://dchealth.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/doh/service_content/attachments/Policy%20Statement%2024-001%20-%20Live%20Interactive%20Real-Time%20CEs%20to%20count%20as%20IN-Person%20CEs.pdf
3. https://doh.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/doh/publication/attachments/Physical_Therapy_DC_Municipal_Regulations_for_Physical_Therapy.pdf
4. https://www.fsbpt.org/lrg/Home/LicenseRenewalUnitsRequired
5. https://www.fsbpt.org/lrg/Home/LicensureRenewalTerm
6. https://www.fsbpt.org/lrg/Home/LicensureRenewalRequirement
7. https://www.fsbpt.org/lrg/Home/LicenseRenewalCourseApproval

Last checked: 2026-10-17. Primary source: https://dchealth.dc.gov/service/physical-therapy-licensing