NEWARK – Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the Division of Consumer Affairs announced today that the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners (Board) has taken action to expand employment opportunities for physical therapists (PTs) and physical therapy assistants (PTAs).

On December 2, 2019, the Board issued a proposed rule implementing P.L. 2017, c. 304, which entered New Jersey into the interstate Physical Therapy Licensure Compact (Compact).

The Compact is an agreement between states in which PTs and PTAs licensed in one participating state may work in another state without obtaining a separate license. In order to work in the second state, a PT or PTA must satisfy a number of requirements beyond the requirements for licensure in the first state.

To practice in a second state under the Compact, applicants cannot have any limitations on any physical therapy license or have faced disciplinary action against any physical therapy license for a period of two years. In addition, applicants must prove their awareness of applicable legal requirements and pay a fee set by the additional states in which they are seeking privileges.

If adopted, the Board’s proposed rules will enable New Jersey licensees to work in other states and licensees from other states to work in New Jersey, with the approval of the Commission that administers the Compact. The proposed rules also allow military service members and their spouses to use their military home of record, permanent change of station, or current residence to determine their “home state” under the rules, decreasing administrative burdens by eliminating the need to switch home state licenses each time the service member or spouse moves.

New Jersey is currently the 21st state to enter the Compact. Current members include: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and West Virginia.

The proposed regulation, and information on how to submit a comment by February 14, 2020, can be viewed on the Division of Consumer Affairs’ website here.

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