Section 1340.50  Endorsement

a)         An applicant who is currently licensed under the laws of another state or territory of the United States and who wishes to be licensed as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant by endorsement, shall file an application with the Division, on forms provided by the Division, which shall include:

1)         Certification, on forms provided by the Division, of successful completion of an approved physical therapist or physical therapist assistant program in accordance with Section 1340.20;

2)         Certification from the state or territory of original licensure and the state in which the applicant is currently licensed and practicing, if other than original, stating the time during which the applicant was licensed in that state, whether the file on the applicant contains record of any disciplinary actions taken or pending, and the applicant's license number;

3)         The Division may waive the TOEFL and TSE examination for individuals who are licensed and have been actively practicing in another jurisdiction for 3 years prior to the date of application for licensure in Illinois;

4)         A report of the applicant's examination record forwarded directly from the test reporting service;

5)         Complete work history since graduation from the physical therapist or physical therapist assistant program; and

6)         The required fee specified in Section 1340.57.

b)         Graduates from Outside the United States

1)         A graduate of a physical therapist program outside the United States or its territories shall have his or her credentials evaluated, by a credentialing service acceptable to the Committee, to determine equivalence of education to a physical therapist degree conferred by a regionally accredited college or university in the United States or its territories.  The credentialing service must have a physical therapist consultant on its staff.  The Committee recognizes the Foreign Credentialing Commission of Physical Therapy, Inc. (FCCPT), P.O. Box 25827, Alexandria, Virginia 22313 as a service determined by the Committee to be acceptable.  A person who graduated from a physical therapist  program outside the United States or its territories and whose first language is not English shall submit certification of passage of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of Spoken English (TSE).

2)         A graduate of a physical therapist assistant program outside the United States or its territories shall have his or her degree evaluated by a credentialing service to determine equivalence of education to a physical therapist assistant degree conferred by a regionally accredited college or university in the United States or its territories pursuant to Section 1340.20(b).  A person who graduated from a physical therapist assistant program outside the United States or its territories and whose first language is not English shall submit certification of passage of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of Spoken English (TSE).

c)         The Division shall examine each endorsement application to determine whether the requirements in the jurisdiction at the date of licensing were substantially equivalent to the requirements then in force in this State and whether the applicant has otherwise complied with the Act.

d)         Applicants who were licensed in another state between August 1, 1996 and September 1, 1999 will have their curriculum reviewed on an individual basis.  All programs previously approved by the Division will no longer be considered approved.

e)         The Division shall either issue a license by endorsement to the applicant or notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for the denial of the application.

f)          When an applicant for licensure by endorsement as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant is notified in writing by the Division that the application is complete, the applicant may practice in Illinois for one year or until licensure has been granted or denied, whichever period of time is lesser, as provided in Section 2(4) of the Act.

(Source:  Amended at 28 Ill. Reg. 16252, effective December 2, 2004)