Recertification FAQs

Applying for Recertification

Before you can complete the Recertification Application, you must first enter and have all your professional development and work hours approved. Once approved, you will be able to complete the recertification application in "For CHTs". No handbook is required.

To complete the application:

  • Log into "For CHTs"
  • On the landing page, select "Apply for Recertification"
  • Fill in your State Licence/Registration information
  • Complete the online signature of consent form
  • Complete the payment page

You will receive confirmation of your payment. Please print for your records.

Log into "For CHTs" to enter and track hours or to complete the application

All deployed therapists will be given an automatic two-year extension for their recertification upon written request. Please contact HTCC to request the extension and provide a copy of your orders. You may make the request at any time during the recertification cycle and HTCC will attach it to your record, so that in the year recertification is due, two years will be added automatically. This allows a total of seven years for accrual of professional development hours for deployed personnel.

There are two options for renewing your CHT credential, if the general eligibility requirements have been met. If the general eligibility requirements have not been met you may choose to become Inactive. Click on each category below for more information. Since the requirements for Recertification by Professional Development are different the first time you recertify, you should click on the link that best describes your situation.

  1. Recertification by Professional Development
    • First Time Recertifying: A CHT may recertify with 2,000 hours of work experience in hand therapy (1,000 hours must be in hand therapy clinical practice) and 80 professional development hours.
    • Recertified Once or More: A CHT may recertify with 2,000 hours of work experience in hand therapy (there are no hand therapy clinical practice requirements) and 80 professional development hours.
  2. Recertify by Examination
    • Any CHT may recertify by taking the examination, but it is the only option available to CHTs who have let their certification expire.

Inactive Status: Inactive Status is available for up to five years to CHTs who do not meet recertification requirements, do not want to take the exam, and do not want to lose their CHT status permanently. It must be renewed annually.

Download the brochure for Recertification Requirements.

 You will need to take the exam in order to recertify. Since you have been a CHT in the past, you only need to have a current license to practice to qualify.

HTCC generates revenue through examination fees and recertification fees. Over the past five years, this income has been used to administer the Hand Therapy Certification Examination through a professional testing service, develop international testing, perform a practice analysis survey, develop hundreds of new test questions, perform salary surveys (with results provided at no charge to CHTs, although organizations such as AOTA charge for salary survey results), develop the self-assessment process, and develop the Hand Therapist Peer Mentoring Manual. In addition, HTCC provides services to CHTs such as online tracking of CE and work hours at no charge (other organizations charge extra for this service), and email notifications of action needed regarding Medicare and other issues that impact hand therapy. We have a small office and staff, which works more efficiently for cost containment and allows more money for additional projects. The board of directors takes its fiduciary responsibility very seriously and has maintained the fees with very few increases since its inception in 1991. Many membership organizations charge more than the $90 per year that CHTs pay in recertification fees and provide fewer services. We hope that you will see this investment in the credential as being valuable.

Recertification by Professional Development

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.

Yes, a percentage of recertification applications will randomly be flagged for audit, all other applications will be automatically approved. If audited, staff will either approve the hours that were uploaded or reject the submission and request more information for the applications under audit. If the audit is passed the recertification application is approved. If the audit is failed, the CHT will have until the end of their recertification cycle (November 15th) to resubmit the requested documentation and will remain on the audit list.


Accrual Cycles

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 15th in the year that you are due. November 15th 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.

Inactive Status

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 5th 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 1st five years prior and end on November 15th 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 1st.

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 1st of the next year.
  • Each year the CHT is Inactive, the accrual cycle for work and professional development activities advances one year.