recertification

This information applies to you if you have never recertified. It also applies if you became Inactive rather than recertifying the first time.

General Requirements

1. Be a current CHT (Active or Inactive) in good standing (no unresolved disciplinary actions against you by HTCC).
2. Hold a current professional credential to practice as an OT or PT. Depending on your profession and where you practice, a professional credential may include a license, certificate, or registration. In all cases, it is the credential that you need to legally practice in that location. This credential must be active and you must be in good standing with the agency that issued it.

Work Requirements

Accrue a minimum of 2,000 hours of work experience.

1,000 hours must be in hand therapy clinical practice as defined below. However, if you are a hand therapy educator, you may submit hours spent in formal education related to hand therapy in lieu of clinical hours. (All 2,000 hours may be in clinical practice or formal teaching).

Up to 1,000 hours may be accrued in one or more of the following areas:

1. Formal teaching directly related to Hand therapy;
2. Research directly related to hand therapy;
3. Direct supervision or administration of a hand therapy clinical program;
4. Consultation related to hand therapy;
5. Activities supporting professional organizations related to hand therapy (i.e. American Society of Hand Therapists, the American Hand Therapy Foundation, the International Federation of Societies of Hand Therapists, the Hand Therapy Certification Commission, the American Association for Hand Surgery, the Hand Therapy Section of the American Physical Therapy Association, etc.).

Professional Development Requirements

Accrue 80 contact hours of professional development. All 80 hours may be in Category A.

Click here to view the Professional Development Categories and learn how to enter & track your hours online.

General Requirements

1. Be a current CHT (Active or Inactive) in good standing (no unresolved disciplinary actions against you by HTCC).
2. Hold a current professional credential to practice as an OT or PT. Depending on your profession and where you practice, a professional credential may include a license, certificate, or registration. In all cases, it is the credential that you need to legally practice in that location. This credential must be active and you must be in good standing with the agency that issued it.

Work Requirements

Accrue a minimum of 2,000 hours of work experience.

The 2,000 hours of work experience may be any combination of the following areas:

1. Hand Therapy Clinical Practice experience
2. Formal teaching directly related to Hand therapy;
3. Research directly related to hand therapy;
4. Direct supervision or administration of a hand therapy clinical program;
5. Consultation related to hand therapy;
6. Activities supporting professional organizations related to hand therapy (i.e. American Society of Hand Therapists, the American Hand Therapy Foundation, the International Federation of Societies of Hand Therapists, the Hand Therapy Certification Commission, the American Association for Hand Surgery, the Hand Therapy Section of the American Physical Therapy Association, etc.).

Professional Development Requirements

Accrue 80 contact hours of professional development. All 80 hours may be in Category A.

Click here to view the Professional Development Categories and learn how to enter & track your hours online.

You may submit your professional development and work hours at any time during your accrual cycle. It is a good habit to get into to enter your courses as you do them. Once you have entered your hours you will need to have them approved by HTCC.

Yes, you may take as many online courses as you wish provided that you submit a course certificate that includes your name, the dates of the course and the number of hours awarded. Please note that some categories have a maximum number of accepted hours per recertification cycle. Please click here for a description of Professional Development Categories.

If the course content is different each time, then the answer is yes. If not, you may only submit a presentation once within your accrual cycle.

Your observation time can count in Category B as long as the surgeon signs off on the hours. We will accept a short note for him or her to sign with the date, procedure and length of time spent observing.

You just need to give your therapists documentation that includes their name, date of meeting, contact hours and topic. It doesn’t have to be a formal certificate, but a memo will work. Some facilities use a sign in sheet that the therapist can then make a copy of and submit for recertification.

Since the CHT credential is an advanced specialty of rehabilitation of the upper limb, recertification categories are roughly based on the blueprint for the examination, so the majority of hours are allowed for professional education related to evaluation and treatment of the upper quarter. It is different for NBCOT or APTA, which is your certification as an Occupational Therapist or Physical Therapist – training new OTs or PTs has a more direct relationship with that credential.

Yes, you may receive credit for your trip. Professional Development and Work Experience Credit for participation as a hand therapist on a hand surgical trip or educational program in a developing country: up to 10 hours per week of formal and informal teaching in Cat E plus 30 hours per week towards work experience or 40 hours per week towards hand therapy work experience.

HTCC allows you to begin your new accrual cycle at the time you recertify.  For therapists who apply earlier in the year that they are due to recertify, their accrual cycle will be longer. Therapists who wait until the deadline of Nov 15th will have exactly five years in their new accrual cycle. We feel this flexibility rewards therapists who take a lot of CE and qualify early while allowing time for those therapists who need more CE to acquire it. 

The deadline for accruing your hours for recertification is November 15^th in the year that you are due. November 15^th is also the date for your application to be completed. If you recertify after that date late fees will apply. The final application deadline is December 15th. However, all professional development and work hours must be accrued by November 15th.

You may only apply for recertification in the year you are due to recertify. Therapists who have completed the requirements may apply early in the year, which will allow more time to accrue hours in the next cycle.

Yes you may use the continuing education hours towards your next cycle if you are due to recertify this year; however you must enter all of your professional development and work hours in "For CHTs", have them approved by HTCC and complete and pay the recertification fee prior to the meeting in order to include those hours in your next cycle.

You might become Inactive at the end of this year and you can be inactive for up to five years. You would need to recertify in the 5^th year (at the latest) to retain your credential. You might want to enter the work and CE hours that you do have to see where you stand. There is more information on Inactive Status on this page.

Inactive Status is available to therapists who are due to recertify, but who do not have enough hours to meet the requirements to recertify by professional development. It gives you additional time to meet the recertification requirements without having to take the examination. Inactive status can be selected for one year at a time up to five years maximum.

General Requirements

1. You must be a current CHT (Active or Inactive) in good standing. 
2. You must have a current professional credential to practice as an OT or PT. Depending on your profession and where you practice, a professional credential may include a license, certificate, or registration. In all cases, it is the credential that you need to legally practice in that location. This credential must be active and you must be in good standing with the agency that issued it. 
3. You can apply for Inactive Status only at the time you are due to recertify, not during your recertification cycle.

Work and Professional Development Requirements

No work or professional development hours are required if you plan to become Inactive.

If you are currently Inactive and wish to apply for Recertification, you must meet the general requirements. You may then recertify either by:

1. Successfully taking the CHT exam, which is given in the spring and fall of each year.
   or
2. Meeting Work and Professional Development Requirements for Recertification by Professional Development

• Your accrual cycle while you are inactive will begin January 1^st five years prior and end on November 15^th of the current year. All professional development and work hours must have been accrued during this five year time frame.
• Inactive Status must be renewed annually. If it is not renewed, certification will lapse.
• Work hours and professional development hours can only be accrued in the most recent five years, and the accrual cycle advances one year each year that a CHT is Inactive.
• A CHT may remain Inactive for up to five years.
• A CHT may take the exam at any time it is offered to reactivate status.
• An Inactive CHT will not be displayed in the HTCC online directory.
• During the time of Inactive Status, therapists are not allowed to use the CHT credential. Therapists who use the CHT credential during an inactive period lose the right to reactivate their credential by any means (professional development activities or examination) for a period of 10 years.
• The CHT must sign the application form, acknowledging the conditions of Inactive Status.
• Inactive Status will take effect January 1^st.

Example of How Inactive Status Works:

• A CHT is due for recertification but cannot meet the requirements and applies for Inactive Status, which becomes effective on January 1^st of the next year.
• Each year the CHT is Inactive, the accrual cycle for work and professional development activities advances one year.