Title 34

(a) Composition; appointment and terms of members. The Board of Physical Therapy shall consist of seven members. Four members shall be physical therapists, two members shall be physical therapist assistants, and one member shall be a consumer. The members shall be appointed by th…

(a) The board shall have the following duties: (1) To pass upon the qualifications of applicants for licensing as physical therapists or physical therapist assistants. (2) To conduct examinations. (3) To issue licenses and license renewals to physical therapists and physical ther…

(a) Any person may file a complaint with the board against any licensed physical therapist, licensed physical therapist assistant, or compact privilege holder in the state charging the individual with a violation of this article. The complaint shall set forth specifications of ch…

All fees collected by the board shall be paid into the State Treasury and credited to a special fund designated as the “Physical Therapist Fund.” There is hereby appropriated to the board all funds appropriated, or otherwise made available, to the board by the Legislature of Alab…

(a) Each violation of Section 34-24-210 shall be punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by imprisonment for not less than 30 days nor more than 90 days, or both. (b) Any individual who knowingly makes a false…

(a) License or compact privilege required. No individual shall practice nor hold himself or herself out to be able to practice physical therapy in this state unless he or she is licensed or has been granted a compact privilege in accordance with this chapter. (b) License or compa…

(a) A physical therapist may not treat patients without a referral from a physical therapy referrer unless the physical therapist possesses a doctorate in physical therapy or a master’s degree from an accredited institution along with 10 years of clinical practice experience and …

(a) An applicant for licensure as a physical therapist or as a physical therapist assistant shall file a written application on forms provided by the board together with a fee as set by the board, no part of which shall be refundable. The applicant shall present evidence satisfac…

(a) Generally. The board shall give an appropriate physical therapy examination and a jurisprudence examination to every applicant who complies with Section 34-24-211 and who pays the fee prescribed for the examination. Examinations shall be held within the state at least once ea…

The board shall issue a license to each applicant who passes the appropriate examination for licensure as a physical therapist or licensure as a physical therapist assistant in accordance with standards fixed by it and who is not disqualified to receive a license under Section 34…

Upon payment to the board of a fee set by the board and the submission of a written application on forms provided by the board, the board shall issue a license without examination to: (1) An individual who is qualified within the meaning of this article as a physical therapist by…

(a) On payment to the board of a fee set by the board, and on submission of a written application on forms provided by the board, the applicant shall be issued without examination a temporary license to practice physical therapy or to act as a physical therapist assistant in this…

(a) All licenses issued by the board to physical therapists and physical therapist assistants shall expire on the first day of October of the year next succeeding the issuance thereof. A license may be renewed on the payment, on or before November first of each year, to the board…

(a) The board shall refuse to issue a license to any individual and, after notice and hearing in accordance with its rules, shall suspend or revoke the license or compact privilege of any individual who has done any of the following: (1) Practiced physical therapy other than upon…

(a) This article shall be known and may be cited as the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact. The purpose of this compact is to facilitate interstate practice of physical therapy with the goal of improving public access to physical therapy services. The practice of physical therapy…

As used in this article, and except as otherwise provided, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY. Full-time duty status in the active uniformed service of the United States, including members of the National Guard and Reserve on active duty ord…

(a) To participate in the compact, a state shall do all of the following: (1) Participate fully in the commission’s data system, including using the commission’s unique identifier as defined in rules. (2) Have a mechanism in place for receiving and investigating complaints about …

(a) To exercise the compact privilege under the terms and provisions of the compact, the licensee shall meet all of the following requirements: (1) Hold a license in the home state. (2) Have no encumbrance on any state license. (3) Be eligible for a compact privilege in any membe…

A licensee who is active duty military or is the spouse of an individual who is active duty military may designate one of the following as the home state: (1) Home of record. (2) Permanent Change of Station (PCS). (3) State of current residence if it is different from the PCS sta…

(a) A home state shall have exclusive power to impose adverse action against a license issued by the home state. (b) A home state may take adverse action based on the investigative information of a remote state, provided that the home state follows its own procedures for imposing…

(a) The compact member states shall create and establish a joint public agency known as the Physical Therapy Compact Commission. (1) The commission is an instrumentality of the compact member states. (2) Venue is proper and judicial proceedings by or against the commission shall …

(a) The commission shall provide for the development, maintenance, and utilization of a coordinated database and reporting system containing licensure, adverse action, and investigative information on all licensees in member states. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of stat…

(a) The commission shall exercise its rulemaking powers pursuant to the criteria set forth in this section and the rules adopted thereunder. Rules and amendments shall become binding as of the date specified in each rule or amendment. (b) If a majority of the legislatures of the …

(a) Oversight. (1) The executive, legislative, and judicial branches of state government in each member state shall enforce this compact and take all actions necessary and appropriate to effectuate the purposes and intent of this compact. This compact and the rules adopted hereun…

(a) This compact shall come into effect on the date on which the compact statute is enacted into law in the tenth member state. The provisions, which become effective at that time, shall be limited to the powers granted to the commission relating to assembly and the adoption of r…

This compact shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate the purposes thereof. The provisions of this compact shall be severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision of this compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any party state or of the Unit…

Except as to judicial proceedings for the enforcement of this compact among member states, individuals may pursue judicial proceedings related to this compact in any Alabama state or federal court that would otherwise have competent jurisdiction. (Act 2021-115, §14.)

For purposes of this title, the following terms have the respective meanings ascribed by this section: (1) ANKLE. Consists of the ankle joint that consists of the distal third of the tibia and fibula and their articulations with the talus and the soft tissue structures surroundin…

It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in the practice of podiatry in this state to print or cause to be printed, or circulate or cause to be circulated, or publish or cause to be published, by any means whatsoever, any advertisement or circular in which appears any untruthf…

Nothing in this article shall be construed as applying to physicians, surgeons, or persons authorized to practice the healing arts as otherwise provided under the laws of the State of Alabama. No person who qualifies for a certificate of license under this article shall be subjec…

A podiatrist may not surgically treat osseous ailments of the ankle unless he or she has completed at least 36 months of post-graduate residency training approved by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medical Association. (Act 2023-106, §2.)

(a) The Governor of Alabama shall appoint a State Board of Podiatry consisting of seven individuals, each of whom shall be a citizen of the United States and a resident of Alabama, over the age of 25, and shall have been engaged in the actual continuous practice of podiatry in th…

The State Board of Podiatry shall hold meetings at such times and places as the board may designate for the discharge of all business as may legally come before the board, and may hold additional meetings, on call of the president of the board, and the president shall call such m…

The State Board of Podiatry shall be the certifying board for podiatrists and shall have the exclusive power and authority to certify and to issue, suspend, revoke, limit, and reinstate all licenses or certificates authorizing the licensee to practice podiatry in the State of Ala…

The members of the State Board of Podiatry shall each be entitled to receive the same per diem and travel allowance as is paid by law for state employees for each day actually employed in the discharge of their official duties, in addition to any daily compensation or allowance, …

(a) Every person desiring to commence the practice of podiatry shall apply to the board and shall pay an application fee as established by the board. The applicant shall thereafter take and pass the standard examination provided in this article and fulfill the other requirements …

All funds received by the board shall be deposited to the credit of the board in a federally insured bank selected by the board, and the execution and enforcement of this article and the payments of salaries, expenses, and other authorized costs shall be paid by checks drawn by t…

Any person who shall practice podiatry in this state or hold himself or herself out to the public as a podiatrist, or who shall in any sign or advertisement use the word “podiatrist,” “foot specialist,” “foot correctionist,” “foot expert,” or “chiropodist” or any other term or te…

Any person who is a legal, ethical, and competent practitioner of podiatry in this state, who has been duly examined and licensed by the State Board of Podiatry, and of good moral character and known to the board as such, who shall desire to change his or her residence to another…

Every applicant who shall pass the standard examination, or whose reciprocity has been accepted by the State Board of Podiatry, shall receive from the board a license entitling him or her to practice podiatry in Alabama, which license shall be signed by the president of the board…

Every licensed podiatrist who desires to continue the practice of podiatry shall annually, on or before the first of October, pay to the secretary-treasurer of the state board a renewal registration fee in a reasonable amount set by the board and comply with such other conditions…

(a) A license issued to any person may be suspended for a definite period of time, revoked, or limited, or a licensee may be reprimanded, or an application for licensure or renewal of licensure may be denied by the State Board of Podiatry for any of the following reasons: (1) Con…

For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings: (1) APPROVED PROGRAM. A program for the education and training of assistants to physicians which has been formally approved in writing by the board. (2) ASSISTANT TO PHYSICIAN. A …

(a) Shortages of all skilled health personnel, both physicians and others, new scientific and technological developments and new methods of organizing health services have made the question of new uses for allied health personnel the critical issue to be resolved if our supply of…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a licensed assistant to a physician may perform medical services when the services are rendered under the supervision of a licensed physician or physicians approved by the board; except, that no medical services may be performed und…

(a) The Board of Medical Examiners shall have and exercise all powers and duties previously granted to it. The board may make specific rules and regulations pertaining to the licensure approval, registration, and regulation of assistants to physicians. The board may also make spe…