Fastest path to licensure in California?

[CaliHopeful]

Hello everyone 🙂

I'm currently a DPT student that will be graduating in a few months, and am beginning my job search. I go to school in New England, however I plan on moving to California to work and to finally live with my fiancee and his family once I graduate. It seems like getting licensed in CA is more complicated than most other states though!

I've done some research regarding the process, but I definitely need help on the fastest path to licensure! It would make sense that taking the boards early would get me licensed faster, but from what I've read it seems like that's not the case? I've read that CA can take forever to process your results and award a license if you take the boards early in another state, and that it's better to have the Physical Therapy Board of California sponsor you for a seat to take the boards, which they won't do until your degree is conferred (another difference from some other states). Is that indeed the case? Because the timeline for my degree conferral means that by taking that path, I won't be able to sit for the boards until April. But it ALSO seems like you can work as a PTLA prior to taking the boards if granted permission by the PTBC???

Has anyone gone through this process themselves? It just seems like a lot to navigate, and I was hoping to get some insight from someone who's gone through it all. Any help/advice that you can offer would be very very appreciated 🙂

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[ptbusiness]

I am going through CA licensing right now. So far, I got my PTLA within 2 weeks after all the documents were submitted to PTBC. Their website says you get PT license within 45 days after passing NPTE.
As for job search prior to PTLA status... I got 1 offer after applying to 45 places (I am in LA and applied mostly for inpatient, it might be different for outpatient). They just legally cannot hire you before you get at least PTLA. So I found it to be the waste of time to try to find a job before you submit all your documents for PTLA because no one wanted to wait for me for months to get PTLA status.
From my understanding, if you get PT license outside of CA, you have to apply for CA license. If you are waiting for it here in CA, you can only work as PTLA.
Also, to get license in your state, I assume you would have to pass law exam for your state? Then, to get CA PT license, you will have to take CA law exam.
Plus, if you are applying for PT license in your state, they will be charging your hundreds of dollars for application, exam registration, processing fees, prometrics fees, fingerprints, background check... Then you will have to pay at least a part of all those fees again when you apply for CA license. I do not know how much time you can save by going through licensing in 2 states and how much sense it will make for you financially .

 

[CaliHopeful]

I am going through CA licensing right now. So far, I got my PTLA within 2 weeks after all the documents were submitted to PTBC. Their website says you get PT license within 45 days after passing NPTE.
As for job search prior to PTLA status... I got 1 offer after applying to 45 places (I am in LA and applied mostly for inpatient, it might be different for outpatient). They just legally cannot hire you before you get at least PTLA. So I found it to be the waste of time to try to find a job before you submit all your documents for PTLA because no one wanted to wait for me for months to get PTLA status.
From my understanding, if you get PT license outside of CA, you have to apply for CA license. If you are waiting for it here in CA, you can only work as PTLA.
Also, to get license in your state, I assume you would have to pass law exam for your state? Then, to get CA PT license, you will have to take CA law exam.
Plus, if you are applying for PT license in your state, they will be charging your hundreds of dollars for application, exam registration, processing fees, prometrics fees, fingerprints, background check... Then you will have to pay at least a part of all those fees again when you apply for CA license. I do not know how much time you can save by going through licensing in 2 states and how much sense it will make for you financially .

Thank you so much, this is incredibly helpful! Good to know that applying for jobs before having my PTLA in hand would pretty much be a waste of time, I suppose that helps me streamline things a little 🙂

I don't plan on applying for a PT license in my current state at all actually, I'll probably just head straight for CA and only pursue a license there, at least for the time being. Do you happen to know anything about being sponsored by PTBC to sit for the boards being a quicker path to licensure in CA than taking the boards elsewhere and using those results?

Any advice from anyone else who happens to come across this thread would be greatly appreciated as well 🙂

 

[ptbusiness]

No, I have no idea about that. 🙂