If you obtained your occupational therapy license in the state of Texas, you will need to earn continuing education units at required intervals in order to maintain your license. To help, I’m going to walk you through the steps I take to maintain my own occupational therapy license (and easily earn CEUs).💜
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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 Texas occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant license here. If you need to update any information you can do so here.
Step 2: Confirm the Texas OT continuing education requirements.
It’s always good to double check for any updates to your 2024 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 OT/OTA CEU requirements in Texas:
Due every 2 years by the end of licensee’s birth month
How many hours are required?
- OTs/OTAs need 24 hours
Required topics:
- A course on the prevention of human trafficking that is approved by the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC)
Verify here: Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners
Here are the occupational therapy continuing education requirements for pre-approved CE activities in Texas:
These were copied from the full chapter of OT Rules – June 2024 , made effective on June, 2024.
§367.1. Continuing Education.
(a) The Act mandates licensee participation in a continuing education program for license renewal. Continuing education (CE) is defined as activities that meet the requirements of this chapter. The licensee is solely responsible for keeping accurate documentation of all continuing education and for selecting continuing education that meets the requirements in this chapter.
(b) Required Continuing Education Hours.
(1) Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, 1 hour of continuing education is equal to1 contact hour.
(2) All licensees must complete a minimum of 24 contact hours every two years during the period of time the license is current in order to renew the license. Licensees must provide proof of completion of contact hours at the Board’s request.
(3) Training on Human Trafficking. As part of the minimum hours of required continuing education for each renewal, licensees must complete a training course on human trafficking that is approved by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Documentation of completion of a training course is a certificate of completion or letter of verification indicating credit awarded. Documentation must identify the licensee by name and include the date and title of the activity; the name of the authorized signer; either the signature of the authorized signer or the official seal, letterhead, or logo of the authorized signer if an area designated for a signature is not included; and the number of hours or contact hours awarded for the activity. When the documentation lists a unit of credit other than hours or contact hours, such as continuing education units (CEUs), professional development units (PDUs), or other units or credits, it must be accompanied by documentation from the continuing education provider or a copy of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s list of approved human trafficking courses noting the equivalence of the units or credits in terms of hours or contact hours.
- (A) Pre-Approved Credit and Additional Credit. The completion of one training course per renewal period to meet the training requirement is pre-approved for CE credit up to a maximum of 2 contact hours. Additional CE credit may be earned for a training course exceeding 2 hours if the additional hours meet the requirements of this chapter.
- (B) Repeated Course. A specific training course completed during one renewal period to meet the training requirement may be completed again during the next renewal period to meet the training requirement for that next renewal. Up to a maximum of 2 contact hours from the repeated course are exempt from subsection (c) of this section and may be applied toward license renewal.
(4) Licensees who submit their renewal with all required items prior to the month when their license expires may count CE completed during their license’s expiration month for their next renewal period.
(c) Each continuing education activity may be counted only one time in two renewal cycles.
(d) Acceptable Activities. In order to be eligible for continuing education, activities must either be pre-approved activities or meet the requirements for other acceptable activities.
(1) Pre-Approved Activities.
- (A) Course Approved by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on Human Trafficking. Up to a maximum of two hours of CE credit are pre-approved for a training course on human trafficking as provided under subsection (b)(3)(A) of this section (relating to Pre-Approved Credit and Additional Credit).
- (B) Activities Approved or Offered by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) or the Texas Occupational Therapy Association (TOTA). (⭐️This is where the OT Potential Courses count!⭐️)
- (i) Professional development activities approved or offered by AOTA or TOTA are preapproved for CE credit for license renewal. However, a human trafficking training course approved or offered by AOTA or TOTA may not be used to satisfy the requirements of subsection (b)(3) of this section (relating to Training on Human Trafficking) unless it is also approved by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, as described under that subsection.
(ii) Documentation shall include a certificate of completion, letter of verification, or transcript. Documentation must identify the licensee by name and include the date and title of the activity; the name of the authorized signer; either the signature of the authorized signer or the official seal, letterhead, or logo of the authorized signer if an area designated for a signature is not included; and the number of hours or contact hours awarded for the activity. Documentation for activities approved or offered by AOTA may include AOTA CEUs on the documentation instead of hours or contact hours; for such documentation, a licensee shall multiply the AOTA CEUs by ten in order to determine the equivalence in terms of contact hours. Examples: .1 AOTA CEU equals 1 contact hour and .25 AOTA CEUs equals 2.5 contact hours. When the documentation lists a unit of credit other than hours, contact hours, or AOTA CEUs, such as other continuing education units (CEUs), professional development units (PDUs), or other units or credits, it must be accompanied by documentation from the continuing education provider noting the equivalence of the units or credits in terms of hours or contact hours.
This doc goes on to describe other acceptable activies. Again, I recommend you read the OT rules in full.
Step 3: Earn your CEU hours (discounts below)!
Ok, now that you know your requirements, it is time to start earning thoseCEUs! 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 license?
Yes! In Texas, you can earn all of your CEUs education at OT Potential—except for your human trafficking course. (Our courses fall under §367.1. Continuing Education. 1B, as outlined above.)
Where can Texas OT professionals get the best deals on CEUs?
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 “Texas” to receive a 15% discount—and we’ll donate 15% of your order to TOTA.
👍 Price of OT Potential with your TOTA discount = $84.15 (Reg $99)
🎉 Donation amount to TOTA = $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 TOTA.
This is one of the cheapest ways to earn all of your required Texas 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 or send in the renewal paperwork via mail. I always renew online, but I do highly recommend looking at the paper version, because you will get to see the questions you must answer before you start the renewal process.
For example, it looks like you may have to actually list the CE you have completed when you do the submission. Here’s what the paper form says:
Enter your CE activities taken during this renewal period on the form below and complete all areas. You must earn a minimum of 24 CE hours that are eligible for CE credit as per the OT Rules in order to renew. See the OT Rules for further information. One course must meet the human trafficking training requirement.
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 Texas OT CEUs and license renewal, just ask me the comments!
Ok! Ready to try OT Potential?
Get 15% off + 15% goes to support TOTA.
Choose the $99 CEU plan, then use promo code: Texas
2 replies on “Texas OT CEU Requirements & Discounts!”
Sarah,
I remember hearing that only a certain percentage of CEUs could be from being a fieldwork educator in Texas, but I have looked for that clause and haven’t found it. Did I miss it or is there no limit apart from the Human Trafficking requirement?
Great question, Melinda! I’m learning that most states do limit the amount of CE you can earn from FW supervision. In Texas, it looks like your max is 10 hours. But, please note this formula for calculating it:
(5) Supervision of Students completing an Accredited Educational Program or Re-Entry
Course. Up to a maximum of 10 contact hours may be earned for student supervision
per renewal period.
(A) Fieldwork Level 1 and 2 Supervision.
(i) Supervision of Level 1 Fieldwork Students. Up to a maximum of .025
contact hours may be earned for each hour of supervision provided to a
student. Examples: A licensee may earn up to a maximum of 1 contact
hour for 40 hours or 2 contact hours for 80 hours of supervision provided
to a student.
(ii) Supervision of Level 2 Fieldwork Students.
(I) Up to a maximum of .75 contact hours may be earned for each
week of supervision provided to a student. Examples: A licensee
may earn up to a maximum of 6 contact hours for 8 weeks or 9
contact hours for 12 weeks of supervision provided to a student.
(II) Licensees may divide credit for a fieldwork rotation with
another supervisor based on the supervision provided by each.
You can read the full rule here:https://ptot.texas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/OT-Rules-June-2024.pdf