Hiring Therapists Across State Lines: PT, OT and SLP Compact Status by State

Three interstate compacts now decide how fast a therapy hire from another state can start: the Physical Therapy Compact for PTs and PTAs, the Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact for OTs and OTAs, and the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact for SLPs and audiologists. In a state that is issuing, a clinician licensed in another issuing state can obtain a compact privilege and start without a second full license. Everywhere else, the state license comes first and the search waits on it.

The catch for a hiring manager is the middle column. A state that has enacted a compact is a member, but until the commission brings it online no privileges are available, so an out-of-state candidate still needs the full state license. The table below shows all three compacts for every state and DC, plus the disciplines you can hire on a privilege today. As of the source date, 38 states issue PT privileges, 8 issue OT privileges and 4 issue SLP and audiology privileges; 12 issue none of the three.

Read the row for the state you are hiring into, not the state the candidate lives in. If your state is issuing for the discipline, the search can run nationally from the first day and a candidate can usually start weeks sooner. If it is a member not yet issuing, or not a member, plan the search around in-state clinicians or build the full licensing time into the start date. Click any state for its therapist counts, pay and employer picture alongside its compact status.