My state enacted the OT Compact. Can I practice in another member state?

Not on that basis alone. The commission is explicit that you cannot practice in an OT Compact state under the compact — even one that has enacted the legislation — until applications open in that state, you are deemed eligible, and your application is approved. Until you hold an approved privilege, you need a license from every state you practice in, obtained the ordinary way through its licensing board.

Where do I apply for an OT compact privilege?

Through the Occupational Therapy Compact Commission, not through a state licensing board. You designate a home state license — the state where you primarily reside and hold a license — and your privileges expire when that home state license expires, so they are repurchased at each renewal.

Is the OT Compact the same as the PT Compact or the nursing compact?

No. Occupational therapy, physical therapy and nursing each have their own compact, their own commission, and their own member list, and the lists differ substantially. Texas issues neither OT nor PT compact privileges, while Ohio does both. Check the compact that matches your credential rather than assuming a state’s position carries across professions.

What about Puerto Rico, Guam and the other territories?

The commission’s data set carries no status for American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands or the Northern Mariana Islands. That is an absence of information rather than a finding of non-membership, so this page makes no claim about them.

CompactStates.com — https://www.compactstates.com · Always confirm license status with the issuing board of nursing.

Occupational therapy compact states

37 states have enacted the OT Compact. Only 8 of them will issue you a privilege to practice.

How many states are in the OT Compact?

37 states have enacted the Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact — but only 8 are issuing compact privileges. The other 29 have passed the law and have not opened applications, and the commission states plainly that you cannot practice in them under the compact until applications open and yours is approved. Until then you need that state’s ordinary license.

OT Compact Commission — Compact Map data set ↗Last reviewed 2026-09-22

Issuing compact privileges now (8)

These states accept OT Compact applications. A privilege obtained here authorizes practice under the compact.

Indiana
Maryland
Minnesota
Ohio
Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Enacted, applications not yet open (29)

Members on paper. Each opens applications at its own pace and the commission does not set those dates. A compact privilege does not authorize practice in these states today — you need a license from the state board.

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Delaware
Georgia
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
New Hampshire
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Utah
Vermont
Washington
Wyoming

Legislation filed, not enacted (3)

A bill has been filed but not passed. These are not member states.

Illinois
Massachusetts
New York

Not enacted (11)

California
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Florida
Hawaii
Idaho
Nevada
New Jersey
New Mexico
Oregon
Texas

Each profession has its own compact

Occupational therapy, physical therapy and nursing each run a separate compact with its own commission and its own member list, and the lists genuinely differ — Texas issues neither OT nor PT compact privileges, while Ohio does both. A state’s position in one compact says nothing about the others, so check the one that matches your credential.

Frequently asked questions

37 states have enacted the Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact, but only 8 are issuing compact privileges: Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin. The other 29 have passed the law and are not yet accepting applications, so a compact privilege cannot be used there today.

Sources

OT Compact Commission — Compact Map data set
Reviewed 2026-09-22
The commission publishes the map from a tabular data set covering all 56 jurisdictions with a four-way status: Compact Member – Issuing Privileges (8), Enacted (29), Filed (3), Not Enacted (11), and no status for the five territories.
OT Compact Commission — Before You Apply
Reviewed 2026-09-22
Lists the states accepting applications with their open dates, and states plainly that "States not listed below are not a member of the Occupational Therapy Compact." Its eight accepting states match the map data set exactly. It omits Pennsylvania, which the map data set records as Enacted — the two official pages disagree by one state, and the map data set is used here because it is the more complete and more recently structured of the two.