Kansas licenses physical therapists and PT assistants through the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts, advised by its Physical Therapy Advisory Council. Initial applications may be filed on paper; processing averages four to eight weeks. Everything below comes from the board's own pages and rules, checked October 18, 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm on the linked pages before you pay.
Check with your board. PT Ticket is a study aid, not clinical or legal guidance. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT), CAPTE, the PT Compact Commission or any state board; NPTE and FSBPT are their marks, used here only to name the exam.
Kansas at a glance
Physical therapist (PT)
PT assistant (PTA)
Exam
NPTE-PT (225 questions, 5 hours), $485 to FSBPT
NPTE-PTA (180 questions, 4 hours), $485 to FSBPT
Board fees
$80 application based on examination
$80
Law exam
KS JAM required at renewal in odd-numbered years, and for compact privileges
Same
Background check
Fingerprints (Fingerprint Instructions and Waiver Agreement form)
Same
Temporary permit
$25, once, expires 3 months after issue
Same
PT Compact
Member, issuing and accepting privileges. A PT or PTA licensed in another member state can buy a Kansas compact privilege instead of a full license, and a Kansas license held where you live lets you buy privileges in the other member states. (PT Compact, checked October 18, 2026)
Kansas, step by step
Kansas State Board of Healing Arts (Physical Therapy Advisory Council)
Apply on the board's initial licensing application with the forms it lists (letter of completion, third party release, affidavit and authorization) and the $80 fee; card payments use the board's authorization form.
Fingerprints: follow the board's Fingerprint Instructions and Waiver Agreement; the board publishes a list of Kansas fingerprint locations.
The NPTE: register with FSBPT.
Temporary permit (optional): if you meet every requirement except the exam, you can get one temporary permit ($25, non-refundable); it expires three months after issue.
Keep it: licenses expire December 31 and renew yearly ($67 online). Kansas requires the Kansas JAM through FSBPT at renewal in odd-numbered years (K.A.R. 100-29-9), and Kansas is in the PT Compact.
Every state licenses physical therapists and PT assistants on the NPTE, with the same passing score everywhere (600 on a 200-800 scale): a CAPTE-accredited degree, your state board's application, then NPTE registration with FSBPT ($485 plus Prometric's sitting fee), which your board approves before FSBPT sends your Authorization to Test. The PT exam is 225 questions in 5 hours and the PTA exam 180 questions in 4 hours, both on fixed dates four times a year; you may test 3 times in 12 months and 6 times in a lifetime (FSBPT NPTE Candidate Handbook). The full walk-through: How to get your PT license.