How to transfer your Occupational therapist licence to Pennsylvania (2026)

Occupational therapist work in Pennsylvania is licensed at state level, by the Pennsylvania occupational therapy board. This page says what a occupational therapist licensed or working in another state has to do to work in Pennsylvania, in the order to do it, and what goes wrong when the order is reversed.

How the transfer works

Every state licenses occupational therapists and accepts NBCOT certification for licensure by endorsement. The OT Compact exists in law in many states and is beginning to issue privileges; until Pennsylvania issues them, apply to the board with NBCOT verification, licence verification and the fee.

Exam: NBCOT.

How long: four to ten weeks. Fee: $75 to $300; the current figure is on the licensing body's own site.

What to have ready before you move

• NBCOT verification
• Licence verification
• Continuing education record

Start the paperwork before you give notice. Every week the licence is not done is a week you are not paid, and nothing in the process needs you to be in Pennsylvania already.

What people get wrong

• Assuming the OT Compact is live in both states; check the compact commission's map

Who hires occupational therapists in Pennsylvania

Occupational therapists in Pennsylvania are hired by schools, hospitals, outpatient paediatrics, home health and skilled nursing. The metros with the most of that work are Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie and Harrisburg. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are on the Pennsylvania openings page.

For the money side: the median occupational therapist in Pennsylvania earned $94,120 a year ($45 an hour) in May 2024 across 7,200 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Pennsylvania has a flat 3.07% state income tax. What that leaves you after tax is its own page.

Everything about Pennsylvania, on one page

The Pennsylvania page has the registries and boards, the income tax table, the programs that pay you to come and the openings filed this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Pennsylvania employers hiring from out of state.