Regulations Governing Licensure of Occupational Therapists Mississippi State Department of Health - Office of Health Protection
and Occupational Therapy Assistants Office of Licensure - Professional Licensure Bureau
Amended February 2023
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5. A license issued under this section is valid only in this state and does not make the
person eligible to be part of an interstate compact.
6. The Department shall issue or deny the license to the applicant within one hundred
twenty (120) days after receiving an application.
7. If the application requires longer than two (2) weeks to process, the Department
shall issue a temporary practice permit within thirty (30) days after receiving the
application if the applicant submits an affidavit, under penalties of perjury,
affirming that he or she satisfies the provisions of Rule 8.4.7(3) or Rule 8.4.7(4) and
pays all applicable fees as required by Rule 8.4.7(1)(f).
a. The applicant may practice under the temporary permit until a license is
granted, or until a notice to deny the license is issued, in accordance with rules
adopted by the Department. A temporary license will expire in three hundred
sixty-five (365) days after its issuance if the applicant fails to satisfy the
requirement for licensure in Rule 8.4.7(1) through Rule 8.4.7(3), as applicable.
8. The Department shall grant a license to any person certified prior to July 1, 1988, as
an Occupational Therapist Registered (OTR) or a Certified Occupational Therapy
Assistant (COTA) by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).
The Department may waive the examination, education, or experience requirements
and grant a license to any person certified by AOTA after July 1, 1988, if the
Department determines the requirements for such certification are equivalent to the
requirements for licensure in these Regulations.
9. The Department may waive the examination, education, or experience requirements
and grant a license to any applicant who shall present proof of current licensure as
an occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant in another state, the
District of Columbia, or territory of the United States which requires standards for
licensure considered by the Department to be equivalent to the requirements for
licensure of this chapter. The issuance of a license by reciprocity to a military-
trained applicant, military spouse, or person who establishes residence in this state
shall be subject to the provisions of Section §73-50-1 or §73-50-2 of the Mississippi
Code of 1972, as applicable.
10. Foreign-trained occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants shall
satisfy the examination requirements of Miss. Code Ann. §73-24-19. The
Department shall require foreign-trained applicants to furnish proof of good moral
character and completion of educational and supervised fieldwork requirements
substantially equal to those contained in Miss. Code Ann. §73-24-19 before taking
the examination.
11. Denial of Universal License
a. The applicant may appeal any of the following decisions of the Department to a
court of general jurisdiction: