How to get a PT or PTA license in North Carolina

North Carolina licenses physical therapists and PT assistants through the North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners. You apply online, and the board issues no temporary permits to new graduates: you work once you are licensed. 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.

North Carolina at a glance

Physical therapist (PT)PT assistant (PTA)
ExamNPTE-PT (225 questions, 5 hours), $485 to FSBPTNPTE-PTA (180 questions, 4 hours), $485 to FSBPT
Board fees$150 application (processing fees extra)$150
Law examJurisprudence Exercise I, online, before the license is issuedSame
Background checkFBI fingerprint check through the SBI (cards, or Live Scan by a North Carolina law enforcement agency)Same
Temporary permitNone for new graduates (repealed 1998; the board declined to bring it back in 2021)None
PT CompactMember, issuing and accepting privileges. A PT or PTA licensed in another member state can buy a North Carolina compact privilege instead of a full license, and a North Carolina license held where you live lets you buy privileges in the other member states. (PT Compact, checked October 18, 2026)

North Carolina, step by step

North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners

  1. Apply online and pay the $150 application fee (PT or PTA; processing fees are extra).
  2. FBI fingerprint check: every new applicant needs one. After you apply and pay, the board emails instructions and the forms. Live Scan is accepted only when a North Carolina law enforcement agency does it; otherwise complete two cards and send one to the board. Results can take up to six weeks after the SBI gets the prints.
  3. The NPTE: register with FSBPT for the exam.
  4. Jurisprudence Exercise I: new applicants (by exam or endorsement) must complete this online exercise on North Carolina law before a license is issued; it opens after the board processes your application and fees.
  5. No working early: North Carolina repealed temporary permits for new graduates in 1998, and in December 2021 the board decided not to bring them back.
  6. Keep it: licenses renew every year ($120), and each reporting period includes another jurisprudence exercise for continuing competence.

Sources: NC Board of PT Examiners, NCBPTE: schedule of fees, NCBPTE: FBI fingerprint criminal background check, NCBPTE: jurisprudence exercise, NCBPTE memo: temporary permits for new graduates (2021). Checked October 18, 2026.

Practice for the NPTE freeNPTE-PT questions on the 2024 outline, every answer cited, a score report by outline cell. Practice for the NPTE-PTA freeFor PT assistants: data collection, interventions within the plan of care, modalities and safety.

The national steps, briefly

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.

Official pages