Free OT CEUs (AOTA-Approved)

There are all sorts of reasons why you might find yourself looking for free OT CEUs.

Sometimes, you might want to try a new learning platform without committing to a full membership. Or, maybe you just need two or three more hours for license renewal.

The cool thing is that there are several free online OT CEUs out there! And, the even cooler part is that there are several free AOTA-Approved CEU courses.

Whether you are looking for free occupational therapy continuing education for pediatrics or adult-rehab, we have you covered.

Below are our top 5 free options for OTs and OTAs!

AOTA-Approved CEU Courses

Free can sometimes mean sketchy.

So in this list I’m focused on AOTA-Approved courses, because this approval means that these CEUs likely meet your specific requirements.  AOTA approval is also an indicator that the course should meet the requirements for NBCOT’s professional development units (PDUs).

1. OT Potential Podcast

We’ll start with ours first—because we are clearly biased! 🙂

We’re sharing two of our favorite podcast-based courses from 2023. ❤️

From these courses, you’ll get a taste of the OT Potential Club.

You’ll be able to experience our podcast-based format. And, you’ll see how we combine the most important new research with insights from OT leaders in the field!

When you join below, you’ll get access to:

• A Vision for the Future of OT with Arameh Anvarizadeh (1 hour)
• Cerebral Palsy and OT Evidence with Iona Novak (1 hour)

To earn your certificates of completion, all you have to do is listen to the episodes and pass the post-course quizzes with at least 75%. When you pass the quizzes, you’ll be emailed your course certificates for credit.

2. OccupationalTherapy.com

OccupationalTherapy.com offers a free single CEU course of your choice so you can try the platform before you commit to joining for a full year. While I prefer MedBridge Education for my own unlimited CEU needs, OccupationalTherapy.com also has a nice, if smaller, selection of courses.

3. Saebo

Saebo offers nine self-paced courses related to upper extremity (UE) recovery. The courses are pretty focused on the Saebo products, but a few are geared toward general UE rehab.

4. Wild Iris

Wild Iris Medical Education is an online continuing education company known for its super low-cost CEU options that are approved by AOTA and NBCOT. Along with affordable courses, they’re currently offering a free COVID-19 course titled The Impact of a Pandemic on Mental Health, which is definitely worth checking out.

5. NBCOT Navigator

The NBCOT Navigator is kind of in its own category because it is not AOTA-Approved, but since it was created by our national registration agency, it carries with it a high level of credibility.

If you’re certified through NBCOT as an OTR or COTA, you have free access to the NBCOT Navigator, which comes with case simulations, management challenges, practice quizzes, and other tools designed to improve your practice.

You can gain up to 14 “competency assessment units” per renewal period by using this platform. You’ll need to check with your state to see if these free courses count toward your license.

See the states that accept the Navigator for license renewal.

Other free online OT CEU courses

We’ve gone over various free AOTA-Approved courses, and we’ve covered the NBCOT Navigator.

There are other free CEU options that come and go.  The caveat is that these are offered by various organizations that may or may not be recognized by your state. It’s definitely wise to check with your state licensing board before counting on these CEUs to help you renew your license.

(Also, I had taken AOTA’s free webinars out of my list, because they kept shifting around. But I did find these free AOTA webinars on COVID-19!)

Cheap Occupational Therapy CEUs

If you are looking for just a couple CEUs and want to pay for them out of pocket. The biggest library of inexpensive individual courses is CE Broker. We offer all of our courses there for just $13 per course.

These courses from CE Broker are currently only available for purchase in 8 states (Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee). With that said, keep an eye out for more options coming online in the future.

Of course, if you are interested in more than one, it quickly becomes financially savvy to just buy the OT Potential Club membership for $89!

• Depression in Neurodegenerative Diseases with Rachel Wiley
• OT, Plagiocephaly, and Cognitive Outcomes with Amirra Condelee
• Cancer Rehab for Older Adults with Mackenzi Pergolotti
• OT & Smart Home Tech Adoption with Carol Chiang
• Anti-racist OT Praxis with Khalilah R. Johnson and Ryan Lavalley
• Racism and Occupation with Ryan Lavalley and Khalilah R. Johnson
• OT and Social Determinants of Health with Joy Doll
• Participation-focused Knowledge Translation in Pediatric OT with Satvika Garg
• Pediatric TBI and OT with Nelson Gonzalez
• OT and Falls Prevention with Pooja Patel
• OT Hand Therapy Interventions with Hoang Tran
• Telehealth, Parent Alliance, and OT with Adam Griffin
• Early Intervention for Motor Performance with Sarah Putt
• OT Supports for Sensory Processing Differences: A Conversation on the Evidence
• Virtual Reality and OT with Christopher Gaskins
• Trends in Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal OT with Winnie Tsui
• OT for Hand Burns with Jody Sabel
• Lifestyle Medicine and OT with Ryan Osal
• CIMT and OT with Catherine Hoyt
• School-based OT Workload Trends
• The Value of Acute and Postacute OT
• Cerebral Palsy and OT Evidence
• Beyond Cultural Competence in OT
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Pain, and OT
• Parkinson’s Disease Evidence Review
• The CORE Approach for Inclusive OT
• OT for Spinal Cord Injury
• Pediatric OT Evidence Review
• Payment Models in Post-Acute OT
• Mindfulness, Chronic Pain, and OT
• Maternal Mental Health and OT
• Collaboration and the Kawa Model
• A Vision for the Future of OT
• The Research Behind the CO-OP Approach
• Pelvic Health & OT
• Client Centered Care, Psychosis, and OT
• Hospital at Home: Imagining new models of OT delivery
• Beyond Individualism: Ethical considerations for OTs
• OT for Adults with Cancer
• Nature-based OT
• Disparities in Supports for Autism in Latino Families
• Brain Computer Interfaces and OT
• The Services Cliff and Autism
• Beyond Occupational Injustice
• Relationship-based OT Care
• Rheumatoid Arthritis and OT: Evidence and Discussion
• Understanding Sensory Function in Autism
• Self-Advocacy in OT (Being Self-Assured in Uncertain Times)
• Supporting Informal Caregivers of People with Dementia
• POTS & COVID-19 Long Haulers
• OT Education During a Pandemic
• Supporting Adults on the Spectrum
• COVID-19 and OT: Evidence and Discussion 
• Postconcussion Syndrome and OT
• OT, eHealth, and Participatory Medicine
• Self-management for Stroke

Conclusion

Sometimes, free OT CEUs are exactly what you need. Luckily, as you can see from this article, there are some great options out there for the financially savvy therapist looking to learn without breaking the bank!

(If you’re a skimmer and skipped to the bottom, I’d love to invite you to try out the OT Potential Club by taking these 2 FREE AOTA-approved CEU podcast courses. That’s right—earn professional credit while you listen!)