Applicants for Licensure as Professional Physical Therapists

PURPOSE: This rule provides requirements to applicants desiring permanent licensure in Missouri to practice as professional physical therapists. (1) The applicant shall furnish satisfactory evidence as to his/her innocence of unprofessional or dishonorable conduct and good moral character including acceptable evidence that he/she is at least twenty-one (21) years of age. (2) The applicant must furnish satisfactory evidence of completion of a program of physical therapy education approved as reputable by the board. If the applicant graduated on or before December 31, 2002, he/she must present evidence that his/her physical therapy degree is the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from a United States college or university. If the applicant graduated after December 31, 2002, he/she must present evidence that his/her physical therapy degree is equivalent in content to the first professional degree in physical therapy in the United States as defined by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT), 124 West Street South, Third Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314, (703) 2993100. An internationally trained applicant who graduated on or before December 31, 2002, must have education and training in physical therapy substantially equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from a United States college or university. An internationally trained applicant who graduated after December 31, 2002, must have education and training in physical therapy substantially equivalent to the first professional degree in physical therapy in the United States as defined by FSBPT. This includes an assessment of the applicant’s general and professional education. Applicants who wish to have their general and professional education considered “substantially equivalent” must submit their credentials to the Foreign Credentialing Commission of Physical Therapy (FCCPT), 124 West Street South, Third Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 6848406. The FCCPT shall use the coursework evaluation tool for foreign educated physical therapists as developed by the FSBPT and evaluate the applicant’s credentials against the requirements at accredited physical therapy programs in place at the time of the applicant’s graduation. An applicant who presents satisfactory evidence of graduation from a physical therapy program approved as reputable by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, or its successor, shall be deemed to have complied with the education requirements of this section. (3) All applicants shall have official transcripts, with the school seal affixed, submitted from each and every college or university attended, confirming the courses taken towards their physical therapy degree, grade received per course, degree(s) awarded, and date degree(s) awarded. (4) All applicants shall submit a copy of any and all legal name change documents incurred since birth. (5) All applicants shall have licensure, registration, or certification verification submitted from every jurisdiction in which he/she has ever held privileges to practice as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant. This verification must be submitted directly from the licensing agency and include the type of license, registration, or certification, the issue and expiration date, and information concerning any disciplinary or investigative actions. If a licensing agency refuses or fails to provide a verification, the board may consider other evidence of licensure. (6) All applicants shall submit an activities statement documenting all employment, professional and nonprofessional activities, from high school graduation to the date of licensure application, or for the last ten (10) years, whichever is the most recent. (7) All applicants shall take and pass a test administered by the board on the laws and rules related to the practice of physical therapy in Missouri. A minimum score of seventyfive percent (75%) is required to pass the examination. (8) Any applicant who has graduated from a physical therapy program outside the United States shall provide— (A) Documentation that the primary language of instruction in the physical therapy program was English; (B) A current Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) certificate in which the applicant has obtained, on the TOEFL paperbased, a minimum score of 55 in each section and a total score of 560 and a current Test of Spoken English (TSE) certificate in which the applicant has obtained a minimum score of 50; or (C) A current TOEFL Internet-based testing (TOEFL iBT) certificate in which the applicant has obtained a minimum of the following in each section: Writing 24, Speaking 26, Reading Comprehension 21, Listening Comprehension 18, and a total score of 89. (9) An internationally-trained physical therapist applying for licensure shall present proof that he/she is licensed as a physical therapist in the country in which he/she graduated. AUTHORITY: section 334.125, RSMo Supp. 2014, and sections 334.530, 334.540, 334.550, and 334.687, RSMo Supp. 2013.* This rule originally filed as 4 CSR 150-3.010. Original rule filed Dec. 19, 1975, effective Dec. 29, 1975. Amended: Filed March 13, 1985, effective May 25, 1985. Amended: Filed July 3, 1989, effective Dec. 1, 1989. Amended: Filed June 4, 1991, effective Oct. 31, 1991. Amended: Filed Aug. 6, 1992, effective April 8, 1993. Emergency amendment filed July 3, 1995, effective July 13, 1995, expired Nov. 9, 1995. Amended: Filed Oct. 2, 1995, effective May 30, 1996. Amended: Filed Aug. 18, 2000, effective Feb. 28, 2001. Amended: Filed June 28, 2002, effective Dec. 30, 2002. Amended: Filed March 18, 2005, effective Sept. 30, 2005. Amended: Filed Jan. 3, 2006, effective June 30, 2006. Moved to 20 CSR 2150-3.010, effective Aug. 28, 2006. Amended: Filed Aug. 11, 2006, effective March 30, 2007. Amended: Filed June 27, 2007, effective Dec. 30, 2007. Amended: Filed March 30, 2009, effective Nov. 30, 2009. Amended: Filed Nov. 1, 2011, effective April 30, 2012. Emergency amendment filed July 27, 2015, effective Aug. 6, 2015, expired Feb. 25, 2016. Amended: Filed July 27, 2015, effective Jan. 30, 2016. ** *Original authority: 334.125, RSMo 1959, amended 1993, 1995, 2014; 334.530, RSMo 1969, amended 1981, 1995, 2004, 2008; 334.540, RSMo 1969, amended 1974, 1981, 1988, 1995, 2004, 2008; 334.550, RSMo 1969, amended 1981, 1995, 2004, 2008; and 334.687, RSMo 2008. **Pursuant to Executive Order 21-07, 20 CSR 2150-3.010, section (3) was suspended from April 3, 2020 through April 23, 2021.