(a)        The Board shall furnish a certificate of licensure to each applicant successfully passing the examination for licensure as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant, respectively. Upon receipt of satisfactory evidence that an applicant has graduated, within six months prior to application, from a physical therapy or physical therapy assistant program accredited as required under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-270.95, the Board may authorize the applicant to perform as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant in this State, but only under the immediate supervision of a physical therapist licensed in this State, until a formal decision by the Board on the application for license. If a new graduate applicant that has been authorized to perform under supervision by a licensed physical therapist fails (without due cause as determined in the Board’s discretion) to take the next succeeding examination, or if the applicant fails to pass the examination, and consequently does not become licensed, the authorization for the applicant to perform under supervision shall expire. Applicants approved by the Board for performance as physical therapists or physical therapist assistants while their applications are pending under circumstances described in this subsection shall be referred to as Physical Therapist Graduate or Physical Therapist Assistant Graduate.

(b)        The Board shall furnish a certificate of licensure to any person who is a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant registered or licensed under the laws of another state or territory, if the individual’s qualifications were at the date of his registration or licensure substantially equal to the requirements under this Article. When making such application, the applicant shall pay to the secretary-treasurer of the Board the fee prescribed by the Board, no portion of which shall be returned. ?(1951, c. 1131, ss. 4, 6; 1959, c. 630; 1969, c. 556; 1979, c. 487; 1985, c. 701, s. 1; 2017-28, s. 1.)

Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 90-270.98

  • Board: means the North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners. See North Carolina General Statutes 90-270.90
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Physical therapist: means any person who practices physical therapy in accordance with the provisions of this Article. See North Carolina General Statutes 90-270.90
  • Physical therapist assistant: means any person who assists in the practice of physical therapy in accordance with the provisions of this Article, and who works under the supervision of a physical therapist by performing such patient-related activities assigned by a physical therapist which are commensurate with the physical therapist assistant's education and training, but an assistant's work shall not include the interpretation and implementation of referrals from licensed medical doctors or dentists, the performance of evaluations, or the determination or major modification of treatment programs. See North Carolina General Statutes 90-270.90
  • Physical therapy: means the evaluation or treatment of any person by the use of physical, chemical, or other properties of heat, light, water, electricity, sound, massage, or therapeutic exercise, or other rehabilitative procedures, with or without assistive devices, for the purposes of preventing, correcting, or alleviating a physical or mental disability. See North Carolina General Statutes 90-270.90
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3