For the past six years, members of the APTA and FSBPT have been working to implement the Physical Therapy License Compact. Essentially, the PT compact is an alternative to getting licensed to work in a remote state. It makes the process quicker, easier, and cheaper than traditional licensing.
Simply put, this compact will make it much easier to take travel physical therapy assignments!
In 2017 compact legislation passed in the 10 states required to enact the compact. Since then, 11 more states have joined bringing the current total to 21 states! (See an interactive map here).
In order to qualify for compact privileges in these states, you must meet certain requirements. First, your home state (permanent residence) must be a part of the compact. You also must have that state license. You must not have an encumbered license of any kind. Finally, there cannot be any disciplinary action against your license within the past 2 years.
As of June 19th, it was announced that the first 3 states will be issuing privileges on July 9th. Those states include Missouri, North Dakota, and Tennessee.
That means that if your state of residence is in one of those states you can purchase a compact privilege to work in one of the other 2 states! There will also be several other states that will begin to issue privileges in the immediate weeks following!
In order to purchase your privileges, you will go to the PT Compact website. There you will click “purchase now.” Your profile will automatically indicate if you are qualified to purchase privileges based on the information you provide.
It’s important to remember that you must abide by the scope of practice of the states in which you are going to work. For example, you must pass a jurisprudence exam for certain states. If you don’t, you will lose your privileges.
Get excited!
FAQs:
Can new graduates get the compact privileges? Yes!
How long do you have to live in a state for it to count as your permanent residence? There is no specified length of time. You just must prove you live there with a state ID of some kind.
How quickly do you get the privilege? Within minutes!
How much does it cost? It will cost $45 for the compact fee and varies for each state (about $100 for each state).
P.S. Unfortunately, there is no legislation passed for an OT or SLP compact. If you would like to help start the initiative, contact your representatives!
Source: fsbpt.org and ptcompact.org