Initial/Examination Military-Trained PTA

1. Using a non-university/student email account, select New License Applicant account and create your account.
2. Complete the online application. Ensure that you include your FSBPT ID, your PT/PTA program's name, and your anticipated graduation date on your application. The application fee is payable via credit/debit card only. Please be advised that once you complete the online application, you will not be able to go back and edit it.
3. Pass the Jurisprudence exam. The exam is linked to your New License Applicant checklist. All applicants must make a 75% or higher to pass the Board's online jurisprudence.  The exam is free of charge and consists of 40 questions from the Louisiana Practice Act and Rules.
4. Complete the Minimum Data Set (MDS) Survey and the Privacy Statement. Answer all questions to the best of your ability. If the question is not applicable to your situation, enter n/a. We are aware that you will not have a PT/PTA license number to enter in the survey. Please enter n/a.

1. Official Transcript: The transcript must not be a copy and must be sent directly from the school to the Board. Transcripts may be sent via postal mail or emailed to the address below. Do not send transcripts to other board email addresses. Staff cannot gurantee the receipt of transcripts sent to any other email address. When you request a final transcript from your institution, verify that the transcript states that the degree was conferred or awarded. 
   

   Email transcripts to Transcripts@laptboard.org

2. Passport-Sized Photo: Upload one (1) 2 in. x 2in. recent passport-style photograph (taken within six (6) months of the application date) to be used for identification purposes. Photos must be only of the applicant and cannot include animals or other people. You must be fully dressed in the photo, no tank tops or other revealing clothing.
3. Forms of ID: Upload proper forms of identification to prove identity and authorization to work in the United States. A copy of your social security card must be submitted. You must also submit either a copy of your Driver's License (front and back) OR your passport. All copies must be in color. If you are not a citizen of the United States, submit proper documentation evidencing that you have obtained legal authority to work in the United States. Expired documentation will not be accepted. All documents should be scans of the original and not pictures taken with phones or tablets.

Background check results received without an active application on file first will be destroyed.  

Resources:

• Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights
• Privacy Statement

A passing score on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) is required prior to being issued a provisional license to complete the supervised clinical period.

Visit www.fsbpt.org for more details. Once you take the exam, FSBPT will send the Board your score report. §169.A. The Board adopts a criterion–referenced passing point of 600 which is based on a scale ranging from 200 to 800.  

 For those seeking ADA accommodations to test, FSBPT will be responsible for reviewing and approving such requests. 

A Military-Trained PTA applicant must submit to the board a credentials evaluation of professional education and training prepared by a board-approved credentialing entity using the Course Work Tool. The credential report must have been prepared no more than eighteen months prior to the date of the application for licensure, and must be submitted to the board directly by the credential evaluation agency.  The applicant is responsible for any expense associated with the credentials evaluation.

1. The credentials evaluation must provide documentation that the applicant's education from outside a state or territory of the US is substantially equivalent to the education of a PT who has graduated from a physical therapy education program accredited by CAPTE.  The evaluation must also establish that the institution at which the applicant received their physical therapy education is recognized by the Ministry of Education or an equivalent agency in that country.
2. To determine substantial equivalency, the credentialing evaluation entity shall use a Course Work Tool (CWT) adopted by the FSBPT and approved by the board.
3. To determine substantial equivalency, the entity shall use the version of the CWT in place at the time of entry by the applicant into the US.
4. To be considered substantially equivalent to the requirements established in this rule, the applicant's foreign education must contain evidence of the content and distribution of coursework identified in the appropriate coursework evaluation tool identified in Paragraph D.3 of this rule.
5. An evaluation prepared by a credentialing agency reflects only the findings and conclusion of that agency, and shall not bind the board. If the board determines that the applicant's education is not substantially equivalent to an entry-level physical therapy program accredited by CAPTE, the board will notify the applicant in writing, identifying the deficiencies.

Approved Credentialing Agencies

Foreign Credentialing Commission of Physical Therapy (FCCPT)
511 Wythe Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-1917
703-684-8406
http://www.fccpt.org 

International Consultants of Delaware
CGFNS International
3600 Market Street
Philadelphia, OPA 19104
215-222-8454
http://www.icdeval.com

International Education Research Foundation, Inc.
PO Box 3665
Culver City, CA 90231
310-258-9451
http://www.ierf.org

A provisional license is available when the NPTE is only offered on limited fixed dates (§172.A).  A provisional license shall be issued for 90 days (§172.B).  To obtain a provisional license, you must complete ALL steps above plus submit a Supervisory Request Form to the Board office. 

• Your Supervisory Request Form must be submitted no fewer than 5 business days (which excludes weekends and holidays) prior to your employment start date. Please fill in the form online and print. Please do not fill out by hand except for signatures.
  • Request start dates can bemoved further into the future and will require a new form, but staff cannot accommodate changes which move the start date sooner. Please communicate with your employer prior to submitting.
• For each supervisor and each worksite location, a separate form is required. Please do not combine multiple worksite locations on one form.
• When selecting your issue date for your provisional license, applicants are encouraged to consider the date they will sit for the NPTE. Your provisional license is only valid for 90 days.
• Provisional licenses will be issued after all application components are received and on the issue date entered on the form. The notice will be sent via email.
• If the provisional licensee does not pass their exam, they may continue to practice until the provisional license expiration date. Once their provisional license expires, they must cease practicing until they pass their exam and are issued a full license.

The application fee is electronic only and payable by all major credit/debit cards including Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.

A license issued to an applicant for the first time shall be for a term of one year or two years, to be determined by the birth year of the applicant (Rule §175.C).  THIS FEE IS NON-REFUNDABLE.

• Even Birth Year & Odd Application Year  $250
• Odd Birth Year & Even Application Year  $250
• Odd Birth Year & Even Application Year  $250
• Odd Birth Year & Odd Application Year  $390

Applicants that apply at the end of one calendar year and receive their license in the following year may either owe additional fees or be entitled to a partial refund per the Fee Schedule referenced above. Please contact the Licensing Analyst for guidance.