North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners members are appointed
by the governor of North Carolina from a list compiled by APTA NC
Current status as of May 14th, 2025:
Open for Nominations!
The North Carolina Physical Therapy Practice Act requires APTA North Carolina (APTA NC, formerly NCPTA) to submit names of individuals for the Governor to consider when making appointments to the North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners (Board). To compile the list of names to submit to the Governor, APTA NC completes a step-wise online process:
- In May and June, APTA NC requests nominations of qualified individuals for the Board positions that are available for appointment the following year.
- In July and Aug, licensees living in NC vote from among the nominees who received the greatest number of nominations and consent to serve on the Board.
- By early October, APTA NC uses the outcome of voting to submit a list of names to the Governor for consideration of appointment..
- The NC State Ethics Commission will review individuals on that list.
- The Governor’s office will make the decision regarding who is appointed to the Board.
- Board positions will begin in January for a 3-year term.
The Practice Act requires that:
A. Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who serve on the Board:
- Must be licensed and reside in North Carolina.
- Have not less than three years' experience in physical therapy immediately preceding appointment; and
- Shall be actively engaged in practice during incumbency and must be employed or otherwise actively engaged in a position that includes at least 1000 hours annually devoted to review, oversight, supervision, administration, teaching, or providing physical therapy services for patients, clients, or the public.
B. Consideration should be given to:
- Geographic distribution.
- Practice setting (institution, independent, academic, etc.); and
- Other factors that will promote representation of all aspects of physical therapy practice on the Board.
Board members serve a 3-year term. A Board member may be re-appointed for a second consecutive term by repeating this process during year 3 of their initial term. The positions are elected on staggered terms as follows:
*APTA NC does not compile a list for the Public Member appointment. The Governor's Office of Boards and Commissions assists the Governor for that appointment. If you know someone interested in becoming a public member on a Board, encourage them to go to the Governor’s office of Boards and Commissions website and apply for an open position: https://bc.governor.nc.gov/
The Duties of Board members include, but are not limited to:
- Attend meetings ‑ approximately four - six full day meetings a year.
- Review license applications and attend to other business by email.
- Consider disciplinary action against licensees; and
- Participate in making policy regarding Board matters.
If you have any questions about this process, please email NomCom@aptanc.org
For all other questions and additional information about physical therapy practice and licensure in North Carolina, visit the
North Carolina Board of Physical Therapy Examiners website
