If you obtained your occupational therapy license in the state of New Jersey, you are currently NOT required to earn continuing education in order to maintain your license. Hooray!
But, you do still have to renew your license every two years on the date of initial licensure or last renewal.
You may, also, want to take professional development courses to maintain your NBCOT certification. While maintaining NBCOT certification is not mandatory for New Jersey OTs, holding a board certification boosts your professional credibility and helps maintain a national standard for OT practice.
In this post, I’m going to walk you through the steps to maintain your occupational therapy license and NBCOT certification (and easily earn PDUs).💜
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Step 1: Look up your OT/OTA license.
To begin the process, I always double-check that my license is displaying correctly. You can look up your New Jersey occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant license here.
Step 2: Confirm the New Jersey OT license renewal requirements.
It’s always good to double check for any updates to your 2025 licensing cycle. (One year, I completed ALL of my state of Nebraska requirements only to find out that they were waived due to COVID. 😭)
But, to get you going here is the information I found, with links to where I found it.
Here are the basic license renewal requirements in New Jersey:
Due every two years on the date of initial licensure or last renewal
How many continuing education hours are required?
- ZERO: OTs and OTAs in the state of New Jersey are currently NOT required to complete any continuing education hours for license renewal.
Verify here: New Jersey Occupational Therapy Advisory Council
Discounts
Get a 15% discount on OT Potential by using the promo code: NewJersey
(We’ll also give 15% of that sale to the New Jersey OT Association.)
Here are the specific occupational therapy license renewal requirements in New Jersey:
These were copied from the NJ Administrative Code, revised 01/18/2022.
NJ OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ADVISORY COUNCIL LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY
Chapter 44K
13:44K-8.6 LICENSE RENEWAL
a) The Council shall send a notice of renewal to each licensed occupational therapist and
licensed occupational therapy assistant, at least 60 days prior to the expiration of the
license. The notice of renewal shall explain inactive renewal and advise the licensee of the
option to renew as inactive. If the notice to renew is not sent 60 days prior to the expiration
date, no monetary penalties or fines shall apply to the holder for failure to renew provided
that the license is renewed within 60 days from the date the notice is sent or within 30 days
following the date of license expiration, whichever is later.
b) A licensee shall renew his or her license for a period of two years from the last expiration
date. The licensee shall submit a renewal application to the Council, along with the renewal
fee set forth in N.J.A.C. 13:44K-11.1, prior to the date of license expiration.
c) A licensee may renew his or her license by choosing inactive status. A licensee electing to renew his or her license as inactive shall not engage in the practice of occupational therapy, occupational therapy assisting, or hold himself or herself out as eligible to engage in the practice of occupational therapy or occupational therapy assisting in New Jersey until such time as the license is returned to active status.
d) If a licensee does not renew the license prior to its expiration date, the licensee may renew the license within 30 days of its expiration by submitting a renewal application, a renewal fee, and a late fee as set forth in N.J.A.C. 13:44K-11.1. During this 30-day period, the license shall be valid and the licensee shall not be deemed practicing without a license, as applicable.
e) A licensee who fails to submit a renewal application within 30 days of license expiration shall have his or her license suspended without a hearing.
f) A licensee who continues to engage in the practice of occupational therapy or occupational therapy assisting with a suspended license shall be deemed to be engaging in the unauthorized practice of occupational therapy or occupational therapy assisting and shall be subject to action consistent with N.J.S.A. 45:1-14 et seq., even if no notice of suspension has been provided to the individual.
Step 2.5: Confirm the NBCOT Certification Renewal requirements.
Here are the basic renewal requirements to maintain NBCOT Certification:
Due every three years. The certification renewal season occurs between January and March annually, regardless of the month indicated on the certificant’s initial certification document.
How many hours are required?
- 36 education units per renewal cycle
- Units can be a combination of competency assessment units (CAUs) and/or professional development units (PDUs)
Verify here: 2025 NBCOT Certification Renewal Handbook
Check your certification status and renew online here: NBCOT Certification Renewal
Step 3: Earn your PDU hours (discounts below)!
Ok, now that you know your requirements, it is time to start earning those CEUs! There are of course a lot of options out there, but we hope you consider checking out the courses offered by OT Potential.
Do OT Potential courses count toward the continuing education required to renew my NBCOT certificate?
Yes! You can easily earn NBCOT PDUs though OT Potential courses. Each 1-hour CEU credit is equivalent to 1.25 PDUs.
Where can New Jersey OT professionals get the best deals on PDUs?
At OT Potential, our courses are all built around helping you get new evidence into practice.
But, what good is evidence-based practice, if you are not reimbursed appropriately for it? Our local associations do SUCH important advocacy work, when it comes to reimbursement and scope of practice. That’s why we’ve made it part of our mission to support these associations.
So, we have this win-win proposition for you. Join OT Potential using the promo code “NewJersey” to receive a 15% discount—and we’ll donate 15% of your order to NJOTA.
👍 Price of OT Potential with your New Jersey discount = $84.15 (Reg $99)
🎉 Donation amount to NJOTA = $12.62
And, the best part is if you decide to renew, it will be at your discounted price. AND, we’ll make another donation to NJOTA.
This is one of the cheapest ways to earn OT CEUs, and you can feel good doing it because you are giving back to your state association ❤️.
(If OT Potential is not right for you, I am also a long-time fan of MedBridge, and through OT Potential, you can snag a MedBridge Promo Code for 40% off.)
Step 4: Renew your license. 🎉
Ok, now it’s time for the big moment.
You can renew your license online.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you found this post helpful!
As you can tell, I am a continuing education nerd 🤓, so if you have any other questions about continuing education and your New Jersey OT license renewal or NBCOT certification renewal, just ask me the comments!
Ok! Ready to try OT Potential?
Get 15% off + 15% goes to support NJOTA.
Learn more, then use promo code: NewJersey