Occupational Therapy

License Requirements:
Occupational Therapist & Occupational Therapy Assistant

General Requirements

Any use of the titles occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant within New York State requires licensure as an occupational therapist or State certification as an occupational therapy assistant.

To be licensed as an occupational therapist in New York State you must:

• be of good moral character
• be at least 21 years of age
• meet education and examination requirements

To be State certified as an occupational therapy assistant in New York State you must:

• meet education requirements

You must submit an application for licensure and the other forms indicated, along with the appropriate fee, to the Office of the Professions at the address specified on each form. It is your responsibility to follow up with anyone you have asked to send us material.

The specific requirements for licensure are contained in Title 8, Article 156, Section 7904 and Section 7906 (c) of New York's Education Law and Part 76 of the Commissioner's Regulations. Copies of both the NYS Education Law and the Commissioner's Regulations are available from opforms@mail.nysed.gov or by calling (518) 474-3817 ext. 320.

You should also read the general licensing information applicable for all professions.

Fees

The fee for licensure for occupational therapy is $270.

The fee for a limited permit for occupational therapy is $70.

The fee for certification for occupational therapy assistant is $95.

There is no limited permit for occupational therapy assistant.

Fees are subject to change. The fee due is the one in law when your application is received (unless fees are increased retroactively). You will be billed for the difference if fees have been increased.

• Do not send cash.
• Make your check or money order payable to the New York State Education Department. Your cancelled check is your receipt.
• Mail your application and fee to:
  
  

  New York State Education Department
  Office of the Professions
  P.O. Box 22063
  Albany, New York 12201

Partial Refunds

Individuals who withdraw their licensure application may be entitled to a partial refund.

• For the procedure to withdraw your application, contact the Occupational Therapy Unit at opunit3@mail.nysed.gov or by calling (518) 474-3817 ext. 270 or by fax at: (518) 402-5354.
• The State Education Department is not responsible for any fees paid to an outside testing or credentials verification agency.

If you withdraw your application, obtain a refund, and then decide to seek New York State licensure at a later date, you will be considered a new applicant, and you will be required to pay the licensure and registration fees and meet the licensure requirements in place at the time you reapply.

Education Requirements

Approved and Accredited Occupational Therapy Programs

For a list of New York State approved programs for both occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant, see the New York State Education Department's Inventory of Registered Programs at www.nysed.gov/heds/irpsl1.html.

For a list of programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), visit AOTA's website at: www.aota.org or contact AOTA at:

American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)
4720 Montgomery Lane
P.O. Box 31220
Bethesda, MD 20824-1220
Phone: (301) 652-2682
Fax: (301) 652-7711.

Occupational Therapist applicants:

To meet the professional education requirement for licensure as an occupational therapist, if your education was from a:

• New York State Registered or AOTA Accredited Occupational Therapist Program, you must have:
  
  
  • a baccalaureate or entry-level master's degree in occupational therapy, or
  • a post-baccalaureate certificate in occupational therapy from an institution acceptable to the Department.
  
  You must have a minimum of six months of supervised occupational therapy experience satisfactory to the New York State Board for Occupational Therapy. Graduates of New York State registered or AOTA-accredited programs meet this requirement as part of their educational program.
  
  
• Occupational Therapist Program Located Outside the United States that is Not AOTA Accredited (please see "Proof of Education" instructions below for verifying your education credentials), you must have:
  
  Completed a program satisfactory to the Department that:
  
  
  • totals not less than four years of postsecondary study and includes the professional study of occupational therapy,
  • culminates in a degree or diploma accepted by the civil authorities of the country in which the studies were completed as preparation in occupational therapy in that country, and
  • is determined equivalent by the New York State Education Department to a registered or accredited program, including the required clinical experience.
  
  For individuals who did not meet the experience requirement within their educational program, full-time experience must be under the supervision of a licensed occupational therapist. Part-time experience may be counted if you completed a minimum of 15 hours per week during at least two full days each week for continuous periods of not less than two months for a total of six months.

Occupational Therapy Assistant applicants:

To meet the professional education requirement for certification as an occupational therapy assistant, if your education was from a:

• New York State Registered Occupational Therapy Assistant Program or AOTA Accredited Occupational Therapy Assistant Program, you must have completed:
  
  
  • a two-year associate degree program for occupational therapy assistants.
  
  
• non-New York State Registered or non-AOTA Accredited Occupational Therapy Assistant degree Program, you must have completed:
  
  
  • a post-secondary program in occupational therapy of at least two years duration which is satisfactory to the New York State Education Department.

Proof of Education for Occupational Therapist and Occupational Therapy Assistant:

• Graduates of New York State Registered Programs or AOTA Accredited Programs
  
  You must have your Registrar's Office forward a completed Certification of Professional Education (Form 2) which documents that you have satisfactorily completed all requirements for your degree. The Registrar's Office must send the completed Certification of Professional Education (Form 2) directly to:
  
  

  NYS Education Department, Office of the Professions
  Division of Professional Licensing Services
  Occupational Therapy Unit
  89 Washington Avenue
  Albany, NY 12234-1000.

• Graduates of Programs Located Outside the United States that are not AOTA Accredited
  
  If you seek to meet the education requirements with credentials from programs outside the United States that are not accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), you must have your educational credentials verified by an independent credentials verification organization acceptable to the Department. In the profession of Occupational Therapy, that is the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS).
  
  Contact CGFNS at the address below for the application and instructions to complete the CGFNS Credentials Verification Service for New York State licensure applicants. Please note this verification service is not the same as CGFNS Visa screen. The CGFNS Credentials Verification Service for NYS licensure applicants is a process for verifying the authenticity of your education credentials. It is not an evaluation or certification process.
  
  The CGFNS credentials verification service for New York State applicants does not indicate approval by the New York State Education Department of the content of your education. After your educational credentials are validated by CGFNS they will be evaluated by the New York State Education Department and you will be advised of the result. Contact CGFNS at:
  
  

  The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools
  PO Box 8628
  Philadelphia, PA 19104-8628
  Phone: (215) 349-8767
  Fax: (215) 349-0026
  Web: www.cgfns.org

Examination Requirements

Occupational Therapist:

You must pass the examination of the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc. (NBCOT).

• The passing score is 450.
• Examination scores must be sent directly from the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) to:
  
  

  New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions
  Division of Professional Licensing Services
  Occupational Therapy Unit
  89 Washington Avenue
  Albany, NY 12234-1000.

To obtain a Candidate Handbook for the examination contact NBCOT at:

National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.
800 S. Frederick Avenue, Suite 200
Gaithersburg, MD 20877-4150
Phone: (301) 990-7979
Web: www.nbcot.org

If you have previously taken and passed the certification examination, ask NBCOT to provide written verification of your certification directly to the address listed above.

Occupational Therapy Assistant:

There is no examination requirement for New York State certification as an occupational therapy assistant.

English Proficiency

If your application is based on credit granted for the completion of courses of study in a country where English is not the principal language spoken, you must demonstrate proficiency in English by passing either an examination in English proficiency or a licensing examination given in English (for example, the NBCOT certification examination). Either exam must be acceptable to the Department. For further information, contact the New York State Education Department's Bureau for Comparative Education at comped@mail.nysed.gov or (518) 474-3817, ext. 300.

Limited Permits

A limited permit in occupational therapy allows an individual who has completed an occupational therapy educational program to work, under supervision, between the completion of the program and the time that the licensing examination results are received. You may apply for a limited permit with or after you submit the licensure application (Form 1), the application fee, and evidence of completion of a satisfactory educational program.

A permittee is authorized to practice occupational therapy only under the supervision of a New York State licensed occupational therapist or a New York State licensed physician and may practice only in a public, voluntary, or proprietary hospital, or health care agency, or in a preschool or elementary or secondary school for the purpose of providing occupational therapy as a related service for a handicapped child. Permittees are not authorized to practice in the private office of a licensed occupational therapist or physician.

The limited permit is valid for one year and may be renewed once, at the discretion of the Department, for one additional year. The limited permit will become void if the permittee fails the licensing examination. In this case, an applicant could apply for State certification as an occupational therapy assistant. To do so you must submit a new application and the appropriate fee. If you need new application forms, go here or, for a new application packet, call: (518) 474-3817 or e-mail us.