Frequently Asked Questions

I graduated in 2015 and became licensed the same year. How many CEUs do I need to renew my license in 2017?
§198.A. states that for the second year of the licensee’s renewal period, 15 contact hours must be completed and reported. This means that if you graduated in 2015 and renew in 2017, you only need 15 hours of CEUs. Of the 15 hours, you are still required to report 2 hours of Jurisprudence and 2 hours of Ethics. The courses may all be online. To proceed with renewing, we have created a course which will award 2015 graduates, 15 hours of CEUs. Assuming you have created an account on our new website, when you add courses on your dashboard, select the sponsor name, "Louisiana Physical Therapy Board" and the course title, "New Graduate 2015". This will add 15 hours towards your required 30.

I graduated in 2016 and became licensed the same year. How many CEUs do I need to renew my license in 2017?
§198.A. states that PTs and PTAs are exempt from CE requirements in the calendar year in which they graduate. This means that if you graduated in 2016 and renew your license in 2017, you do not need any CEUs to renew. Assuming you have created an account on our new website, when you add courses on your dashboard, select the sponsor name, "Louisiana Physical Therapy Board" and the course title, "New Graduate 2016". This will award you 30 hours of CEUs so you will be able to renew.

I am confused on how many continuing education units I need to renew my license?
§194. states that you need 30 hours of board-approved continuing education courses per biennial renewal period; 2 hours of Jurisprudence (live or online), 2 hours of Ethics, a minimum of 18 hours of Clinical, a maximum of 8 hours of Administrative. No more than 15 hours of CEUs shall be home study, internet, online courses, or by any other distance learning methods. This excludes the Jurisprudence requirement, if taken online. Ethics, however, does count towards your 15 online hours. If you renew your license in 2017, you can only use courses that were completed between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2017.

I attended a live Jurisprudence Seminar. How can I add it to my courses for renewals?
You will receive 2 credit hours for attending a live Jurisprudence Seminar. To receive credit, you must remember to sign in at the Seminar so we have a record of your attendance. Your certificate will be emailed to you after the seminar is complete. Assuming you have created an account on our new website, when you add courses on your dashboard, select the sponsor name, "Louisiana Physical Therapy Board" and the course title, “Jurisprudence – Live”.

I took a Board approved course, but I cannot find it on your website.
Verify that the Course Sponsor’s name has not recently changed (e.g. Course Sponsor, Care to Learn, recently changed their name to Relias). If you have verified with the Sponsor that their name has not changed and that the course is Board approved, you may contact Stephanie Boudreaux for assistance at 337-262-1043 x 101 or stephanie@laptboard.org.

I want to take a course, but it has not been approved by the Louisiana Physical Therapy Board. What should I do?
If you would like to take a course and use it towards your CEU’s, but it has not been approved by the Board, you may submit an Attendee Course Prior Approval Application along with payment of $20 (per application) to the Board for approval. Once approved, you will receive notification from the Board Staff and the course will be added to your online account. You have 90 days after completion of the course to submit for approval, but it cannot be during the last 90 days of your license term. (§193.G.)

I took a course sponsored by APTA, but I do not see it on your website. How can I add it to my courses for renewals?
All APTA, LPTA, and CAPTE Sponsored Courses are automatically approved by the Board (§§193.D-F). You are still required to submit an Attendee Course Prior Approval Application to the Board, but the review charge is waived. Once we have received your application, the Board Staff will add the course to your online account.

Our course has already been approved by the State Board. Do we need to re-apply?
Yes. The approval is valid only for the current calendar year. You may present that program again --- EXACTLY as it was approved with the same curriculum and presenter/speaker --- on additional dates within that calendar year. To be sure, check the listing of Approved Courses on the Louisiana Physical Therapy Board website.

How do we know the date of the initial approval? In other words, how do we know when a course approval expires?
For on-site courses, the date of the initial approval is the date the course is first presented, regardless of when you applied for or received approval. All courses/activities are approved for a calendar year and must submit for re-approval each calendar year.

The course must be COMPLETED during that calendar year for the PT or PTA to receive continuing education credit for renewal of licensure.

Does the course have to be pre-approved?
Yes, the continuing education program must be submitted for prior approval.

How long does it take to process an application?
Course sponsors who desire prior approval of a course, program, or other continuing education activity shall apply for approval on a form provided by the Board to the Board at least 45 days in advance of the commencement of the activity. The Board shall approve or deny the application in writing within 30 days of the application. The application shall state the dates, subjects offered, course outline, total hours of instruction, names and qualifications of speakers and other pertinent information. The course sponsor prior approval status allows the sponsor to advertise that this particular activity has been judged acceptable for continuing education credit for license renewal in the state of Louisiana by the Board. The course sponsor is responsible for adherence to the administrative and program criteria as outlined in The CEU Policy.

The course application I submitted was denied. Do I get my fee back?
No, the fee is a review fee, not an approval fee. If you wish to re-apply, you must submit a new application and another review fee.

Our course has been approved, but now we have additional speakers to present the course. Can additional speakers be added at a later date?
Additional speakers can be included at a later time with the approval of the Continuing Education Committee. To get approval, email, mail or fax the CVs or biographies of the additional speakers to the La Physical Therapy Board office along with a cover page requesting a "Supplemental Speaker Approval". Include the title of the course and a contact name and number. Supplemental Speaker approvals go through the same process as a regular application, so allow 45 days for processing.

What are the timelines for online publication?
All Course Sponsor Prior Approval requests will be published on the Board's website in the Continuing Education section under the link titled Approved Courses after being approved.