Title 34 — Title 34

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Alabama State Occupational Therapy Practice Act.” History: (Acts 1990, No. 90-383, p. 515, §1.)

(a) The board shall grant a license to any person certified prior to April 17, 1990, as an occupational therapist registered (OTR) or as a certified occupational therapy assistant (COTA) by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. The board may waive the examination, e…

(a) The board shall issue a license to any person who meets the requirements of this chapter upon payment of the license fee as described in Section 34-39-14. (b) The board shall issue a limited permit to persons who have completed the educational and fieldwork experience require…

Reinstatement. (a) The board shall, after notice and opportunity for hearing, have the power to deny or refuse to renew a license, or may suspend or revoke a license, or may impose probationary conditions, where the licensee or applicant for license has been guilty of unprofessio…

Practitioner Program. (a) The board shall promote the early identification, intervention, treatment, and rehabilitation of occupational therapists or occupational therapy assistants who may be impaired. (b) To accomplish this obligation, the board may contract with any nonprofit …

Fee. (a) All licenses under this chapter shall be subject to renewal and shall expire unless renewed in the manner prescribed by the rules and regulations of the board upon the payment of a renewal fee. The board may set a required number of continuing education units for license…

The board is empowered to establish, publish, and collect reasonable fees and costs in amounts determined by the board for the following purposes: (1) Application for examination; (2) Limited permit fee; (3) Initial license fee; (4) Renewal of license fee; (5) Late renewal fee; a…

License. Any person who violates any provision of this chapter as set forth in Sections 34- 39-4 and 34-39-13, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than $250 and not more than $1,000, or imprisonment for a period not exceedi…

(a) Any person may file a complaint with the board against any licensed occupational therapist or licensed occupational therapy assistant in the state charging the person with having violated this chapter. The complaint shall set forth specifications of charges in sufficient deta…

The Alabama State Occupational Therapy Practice Act is enacted to safeguard the public health, safety, and welfare, and to assure the availability of high quality occupational therapy services to persons in need of such services. It is the purpose of this chapter to provide for t…

In this chapter, the following terms shall have the respective meanings provided in this section unless the context clearly requires a different meaning: (1) ASSOCIATION. The Alabama Occupational Therapy Association. (2) BOARD. The Alabama State Board of Occupational Therapy. (3)…

(a) The purpose of this compact is to facilitate interstate practice of occupational therapy with the goal of improving public access to occupational therapy services. The practice of occupational therapy occurs in the state where the patient/client is located at the time of the …

As used in this compact, and except as otherwise provided, the following definitions shall have the following meanings: (1) ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY. A full-time duty status in the active uniformed service of the United States, including members of the National Guard and Reserve on a…

(a) To participate in the compact, a member state shall: (1) License occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants. (2) Participate fully in the commission’s data system, including, but not limited to, using the commission’s unique identifier as defined in rules of …

(a) To exercise the compact privilege under the terms and provisions of the compact, the licensee shall: (1) Hold a license in the home state; (2) Have a valid United States Social Security number or National Practitioner Identification number; (3) Have no encumbrance on any stat…

(a) An occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant may hold a home state license, which allows for compact privileges in member states, in only one member state at a time. (b) If an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant changes primary state of res…

Active duty military personnel, or their spouses, shall designate a home state where the individual has a current license in good standing. The individual may retain the home state designation during the period the service member is on active duty. Subsequent to designating a hom…

(a) A home state shall have exclusive power to impose adverse action against an occupational therapist’s or occupational therapy assistant’s license issued by the home state. (b) In addition to the other powers conferred by state law, a remote state shall have the authority, in a…

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

(a) The commission shall provide for the development, maintenance, operation, and utilization of a coordinated database and reporting system containing licensure, adverse action, and investigative information on all licensed individuals in member states. (b) A member state shall …

(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) The commission shall adopt reasonable rul…

Without License Prohibited. (a) No person may present himself or herself as an occupational therapist or an occupational therapy assistant in this state unless he or she is licensed in accordance with this chapter. No firm, partnership, association, or corporation may advertise o…

(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 compact’s purposes and intent. The provisions of this compact and the rules ad…

Therapy Practice and Associated Rules, Withdrawal, and Amendment. (a) The compact shall come into effect on the date on which the compact statute is enacted into law in the 10th member state. The provisions which become effective at that time shall be limited to the powers grante…

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 member state or of the Un…

(a) A licensee providing occupational therapy services in a remote state under the compact privilege shall function within the laws and rules of the remote state. (b) Nothing herein prevents the enforcement of any other law of a member state that is not inconsistent with the comp…

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. History: (Act 2022-93, §15.)

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as preventing or restricting the practice, services, or activities of any of the following persons: (1) Any person licensed under any other law of the state from engaging in the profession for which he or she is licensed. (2) Any person …

Created. (a) There is established the Alabama State Board of Occupational Therapy. (1) The board shall consist of five members, four of whom shall be involved in the practice of occupational therapy, of which one shall be an occupational therapy assistant. The remaining member sh…

Examiners. (a) The board shall administer, coordinate, and enforce this chapter. (b) The board, within 90 days of the time at which it is appointed, shall notify all current practitioners of occupational therapy in the state, as identified by the American Occupational Therapy Cer…

An applicant for licensure as an occupational therapist or as an occupational therapy assistant shall be a citizen of the United States or, if not a citizen of the United States, a person who is legally present in the United States with appropriate documentation from the federal …

(a) A person applying for licensure under this chapter shall demonstrate his/her eligibility in accordance with the requirements of Section 34-39-8, and shall make application for examination upon a form and in such a manner as the board shall prescribe. A person who fails an exa…