Licensure as a Physical Therapist Assistant is regulated by the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy while individual states are typically overseen by a State Board of Physical Therapy.  All 50 states require graduation from a CAPTE accredited program as well as passing the NPTE-PTA in order to obtain a license and practice as a Physical Therapist Assistant. 

Effective October 31, 2023, South College – Atlanta Campus has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100, Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org).  If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call (470) 322-1224 or email acornell@south.edu. Candidate for Accreditation is an accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program may matriculate students in technical/professional courses.  Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status does not assure that the program will be granted Initial Accreditation. Further, though achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status signifies satisfactory progress toward accreditation, it does not assure that the program will be granted accreditation.  Some states have unique licensure requirements. For example, a jurisprudence exam is required in some states to test the graduate’s knowledge of state laws, rules, and practice acts that govern physical therapy practice (this is currently required in Georgia and North Carolina but not in Tennessee). Some require satisfactory background checks.  These unique requirements are not associated with preparation in the South College program.  The following link provides contact information for individual state licensing authorities:  https://www.fsbpt.org/Free-Resources/Licensing-Authorities-Contact-Information.

State Licensure/Professional Certification Disclosure Information – July 2024