Rhode Island OT CEUs: License Renewal and Online Courses

Sarah Lyon, OTR/L

Last verified 2026-08-03 16:40:00

Rhode Island, United States

Overview

OT Required Hours

20 Contact Hours

OTA Required Hours

20 Contact Hours

CEU Due Date

March 31 (even years)

Next Renewal Date

March 31, 2028

OT Hours you can earn at OT Potential

All

OTA Hours you can earn at OT Potential

All

Requirements Verification

Rhode Island Department of Health

Licensure Law

Rhode Island General Laws §5-40.1-3

Full OT/OTA CEU Requirements in Rhode Island

Here are the occupational therapy continuing education requirements for coursework in Rhode Island:

These were copied from the Rhode Island Code of Regulations:
Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants (216-RICR-40-05-12)
E. Continuing Education
On application for renewal of license, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants must show proof of participation in twenty (20) hours biennially in presentations, clinical instruction, publications, research, inservice programs, continuing education activities offered by the American Occupational Therapy Association or American Occupational Therapy Association approved providers, Rhode Island Occupational Therapy Association, National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, university courses, and/or self-study courses. Contact hours of continuing education shall be recognized by the Board as follows:
Category I: Formal continuing education program that may consist of university courses, workshops, inservice programs, and/or institutes.
Credit: One (1) continuing education contact hour for each hour attended
Category II: Professional continuing education activities and scientific meetings and self-directed continuing education activities that may consist of local, regional, national symposia, colloquia, journal clubs, self- study courses, etc.
Credit: One (1) continuing education contact hour for each hour attended or One (1) competency assessment unit (CAU) for each hour completed.
Category III: Formal presentations (including clinical instruction)
Credit: Two (2) hours of continuing education contact hours for each hour of instruction; four (4) hours of continuing education contact hours for two (2) hours of instruction; five (5) hours of continuing education contact hours for three (3) hours of instruction; up to a maximum of five (5) hours of continuing education contact hours.
Category IV: Exceptional contributions to professional development that may consist of written publications
Credit: Continuing education contact hours shall be awarded for each written publication as listed below:
Book: ten (10) continuing education contact hours;
Juried article: eight (8) continuing education contact hours;
Book chapter: five (5) continuing education contact hours;
Non-juried article (must be published in a national publication in order to receive CE credit): four (4) continuing education contact hours.

This doc goes on to describe other acceptable activities. I recommend you read the rules in full.

Steps for Renewing Your OT License

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 Rhode Island occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant license here.

Step 2: Confirm the Rhode Island OT continuing education requirements.

It’s always good to double check for any updates to your licensing cycle. You can do so with the resources above. And, please reach out to me if you see any discrepancies.

Step 3: Earn your CEU hours.

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.