To apply to become a Physical Therapist or Physical Therapy Assistant in Oregon, you must:
1. Submit an Application
Applications are submitted online. Visit our
Self Service Portal, then click on Applicant Portal.
The first time that you visit the Applicant Portal, you'll click on "New User? Apply Now" to receive a temporary password allowing you to login and access the application. Important: Be sure to use a personal email address for your account, not one provided through your employer or school, as you may lose access to your university's email once you are no longer a student or your employment may change.
The application will ask you about all of the information listed on this page- so make sure that you read through the rest of this page before getting started!
2. Pay the Application Fees
The final step of the online application is to make payment. Please note that application fees are non-refundable. You can pay by credit card or check. If paying by check, please mark the pay by check option to submit your application and then mail your check to the Board office. Applications are not complete until valid payment is received. Please make checks out to "OBPT" or "Oregon Board of Physical Therapy".
All applicants must complete as part of your application the mandatory (OAR 848-035-0030(1)(D)(E) 1 hour on-line presentation by the Oregon Pain Commission linked above. A copy of the completion certificate must be submitted with the application, so be sure to save the certificate after you complete the module. There is no charge for this module.
If you have not yet taken the NPTE: The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) is the administrator of the NPTE, and determines if you are eligible to take the exam, issues your “Authorization To Test” (ATT) letter and releases your exam scores. The ATT letter is issued once the FSBPT has a completed online test registration, the registration fee has been paid and your program has verified your graduation date. Once issued, you can then schedule your test date with Prometric. You do not need to complete the Oregon application before registering with the FSBPT. Prometric has test centers located throughout the US.
FSBPT will send your score report to the states that you selected when you registered for the exam approximately one week after the exam.
Be sure to designate Oregon to receive your score. If you do not select Oregon as a state that you want your score sent to, you will need to request a
score transfer from FSBPT.
You may take the NPTE up to 90 days before graduation but a license cannot be issued until we have received all application materials including an official school transcript showing your degree has been conferred.
If you have already taken the NPTE: If you are applying in Oregon and did not previously have your NPTE score report transferred to Oregon when you initially took the exam, or at any point subsequently, you must have your NPTE score transferred to Oregon directly from the FSBPT by going
here.
All applicants must pass the OR-JAM. The OR-JAM is a law exam based on the content of the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) and Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR). The OR-JAM is a timed 90-minute exam of 50 multiple-choice questions. A score of 80% or greater is required to pass. The cost to take the OR JAM is $48.00 for each attempt. It is a computer-based, open-book exam that you can take from your home computer.
6. Provide Proof of graduation from a CAPTE accredited program.
Proof of graduation must come directly from your school. It is the applicant's responsibility to request that proof of graduation be sent to the Board. Applicants are responsible for any fees that the school may charge for transcripts. An applicant may request their school send an electronic official transcript, if offered by the school. Please have the transcript send to the board at physical.therapy@obpt.oregon.gov.
Alternatively, foreign educated therapists must provide the appropriate Course Work Tool showing substantially equivalent education and proof of English equivalency.
You will need to answer questions about your background on the application and be fingerprinted.
The Board uses a service called Fieldprint to conduct background checks. Fieldprint has 1200 locations throughout the United States. They will take your fingerprints and send them to the Oregon State Police to complete an FBI background check. You do not need to be in Oregon to get your fingerprints taken. You will receive a code to use when you register for an appointment as part of your application. Once you have the code, you will need to schedule an appointment at FieldprintOregon.com. Fieldprint will charge you a $12.50 fee to process your fingerprints.
Click here for additional information on the background check process.
8. Provide verification of all health care licenses ever held, if any.
You must provide official verification of all professional health care licenses you have ever held regardless of status (active, expired, inactive, and lapsed, etc.) and includes all relevant dates and notation of disciplinary actions, encumbrances, or other similar information. A copy of your license(s) is not a verification.
The Board will accept a copy of an official online verification from other states only if the other state's verification document printed from their website states it is “Primary Source”. You may save a PDF of the verification and upload it as part of your application.
If the other state's online verification website does not state “Primary Source”, you will need to contact that Board to request they send verification directly to the Oregon Board. States whose Physical Therapy Boards do not have primary source verification on their websites at this time are Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands; however, this may change at any time.
Verifications cannot be more than 90 days old at the time the Oregon Board issues the license.
Applicants who must disclose Background Information
The application asks if you have or have ever had discipline against a professional license (i.e. reprimand, revocation, suspension, surrender, denial, etc.); arrests, citations, charges, DUIs; physical, mental, or emotional conditions that impact your ability to practice; Unresolved or Pending Complaints or Investigations; or Substantiated Fraud or Abuse Cases. If you answer Yes to any of these questions, you will be required to provide a detailed explanation and supporting documentation.
Additional information on these questions can be found on the
Background Checks page.
Applicants who were educated Outside of the US
If you have any questions on Licensure, please Contact the Board.