Am I Ready to Travel? Readiness Checklist

What this checklist rests on

Each item above is a judgment call except where a rule sits behind it. Here are the rules, in the words of the bodies that set them.

Boards and your first license

The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy describes the National Physical Therapy Examination as an exam that “for PTs and PTAs is an essential part of the licensing process.” It adds: “Each licensing authority has its own eligibility criteria for licensure and for taking the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE).” So the board in the state you want your first license from decides when you can sit the exam and what it needs from you. (FSBPT)

A home-state license before a compact privilege

A compact privilege is not a first license. In the PT Compact Commission's words, to buy one:

• Hold a current, valid PT or PTA license in your home state, as defined in Commission Rules.
• Your home state must be a member of the PT Compact and actively issuing compact privileges.

And: “You cannot practice in your home state through a compact privilege.” Work in your home state is always on your home-state license.

Which states are issuing privileges, and the steps: licensing by discipline.

Credentialing

Facilities commonly ask for license verification for the assignment state, immunization and TB screening records, a background check, a drug screen, professional references, CPR/BLS certification and skills checklists. Each facility sets its own list and no single official source publishes one, so treat this as a starting point and ask for the facility's list early. No official source gives a credentialing time either, so none is given here.

Your tax home

Non-taxable stipends depend on traveling away from your tax home. IRS Publication 463 (2025): “Generally, your tax home is your regular place of business or post of duty, regardless of where you maintain your family home. It includes the entire city or general area in which your business or work is located.”

And on how long an assignment can last: “Generally, a temporary assignment in a single location is one that is realistically expected to last (and does in fact last) for 1 year or less.” (IRS Publication 463 (2025))

Contract length and housing

13 weeks is the usual contract length, an industry convention rather than a rule: no official body sets it, and each contract states its own. For housing there are two arrangements: you can take a housing stipend and arrange your own housing, or take housing the agency arranges.

Facts checked October 10, 2026 (FSBPT, IRS) and November 2, 2026 (PT Compact Commission).