Continuing education and professional development requirements
Domain 7 tests continuing education and professional development. CE is a renewal condition, not a suggestion.
Core rules
- New Jersey OT licenses renew biennially. Under the Board’s CE rule, OTs complete 24 contact hours per biennium and OTAs complete 12, including the required ethics component.
- CE must be relevant to OT practice and accepted under Board rules; keep certificates and documentation for the audit period.
- Do not count unapproved, unrelated, or duplicate hours. If a course is advertised as “Board approved,” verify the provider and subject matter.
- Late renewal may require additional fees; practicing after expiration is unlicensed practice. Inactive status, if available, has its own rules.
- Professional development can include approved courses, conferences, and other Board-recognized activities; the licensee bears the burden of proving compliance.
Worked example
An OT submits 24 hours: 20 clinical hours, 2 ethics hours, and 2 hours in personal finance. Reasoning: the finance hours are unrelated to OT and should not count; the OT needs 2 more relevant hours. The ethics requirement is met, but total qualifying hours are short.
Traps
Counting CPR as clinical CE unless the Board accepts it; assuming employer in-service automatically counts; losing certificates; and waiting until the renewal deadline when a course is rejected.