California OT & OTA Professional Development Requirements

Occupational Therapists and Assistants in California have it all goin' on! If you are a California OT or OTA and have a birthday coming up, then you may need to check your PDUs. HomeCEU can help you understand your requirements and get on a roll for your upcoming renewal!

Professional Development Requirements & Deadline

The California Board of Occupational Therapy requires that OTs and OTAs complete 24 professional development units (PDUs) in the two-year renewal cycle. The deadline for completing your PDUs is based on your birth month and year, with the last digit of the birth year indicating whether you are due for renewal in an odd year or even year. For example, if your birthdate is February 1968 then you'd be required to have completed your PDUs in the two years preceding this February 2012. Each PDU is equal to 1 hour of continuing education content. Up to 6 PDUs may be carried over from one renewal cycle to the next.

The Board does not approve courses or course providers, but rather states that of the 24 total required PDUs a minimum of half must be "directly related to the delivery of occupational therapy services". This may include "models, theories or frameworks that relate to client/patient care in preventing or minimizing impairment, enabling function within the person/environment or community context. Other activities may include, but are not limited to, occupation-based theory assessment/interview techniques, intervention strategies, and community/environment as related to one's practice". So, OTs and OTAs must use their best judgment when choosing courses, to ensure that they directly relate to the practice of Occupational Therapy. As an AOTA Approved continuing education provider, you can be sure when you take a course from HomeCEU, you are getting quality and applicable material.

Reporting Your PDUs

As a California OT and OTA you will need the following information for each PDU being submitted for renewal:

• the date each course or activity was completed;
• the provider, course number, and course title, if applicable;
• a description of the course; and
• the total number of PDUs.

You must maintain records of all PDUs completed for a minimum of 4 years. HomeCEU makes this process simple by providing each course participant with a certificate of completion upon completion of a post-course exam. The certificate contains the date, provider, course title, and the total number of PDUs. So to sum it up, take 24 hours / PDUs related to the patient care in Occupational Therapy, every 2 years, and keep your certificates for a minimum of 4 years! Easy as lounging at the beach! HomeCEU offers courses to meet your PDU needs for the state of California, and since we are an AOTA Approved Provider, you can trust that our courses are of the highest quality! To see a full listing of our course offerings, search our state and profession specific course catalog.

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