{"data":{"id":"us-sd/sdcl-36-31-6","jurisdiction":"us-sd","citation":"SDCL § 36-31-6","heading":"Application for licensure--Requirements.","body":"Any applicant applying for a license as an occupational therapist or as an occupational therapy assistant shall file a written application provided by the board, showing to the satisfaction of the board that he meets the following requirements:\n(1) Residence: Applicant need not be a resident of this state;\n(2) Character: Applicant shall be of good moral character;\n(3) Education: Applicant shall present evidence satisfactory to the board of having successfully completed the academic requirements of an educational program in occupational therapy recognized by the board:\n(a) The occupational therapy educational program must be accredited by the committee on allied health education and accreditation/American Medical Association in collaboration with the American Occupational Therapy Association;\n(b) The occupational therapy assistant educational program must be approved by the American Occupational Therapy Association.\n(4) Experience: Applicant shall submit to the board evidence of having successfully completed a period of supervised fieldwork experience arranged by the recognized educational institution where he met the academic requirements or by the nationally recognized professional association:\n(a) For an occupational therapist, a minimum of six months of supervised fieldwork experience is required;\n(b) For an occupational therapy assistant, a minimum of two months of supervised fieldwork experience is required.\n(5) Examination: An applicant for licensure as an occupational therapist or as an occupational therapy assistant shall pass an examination approved by the board upon recommendation by the occupational therapy committee;\n(6) Certification: In order to apply physical agent modalities as defined in § 36-31-1, an occupational therapist or occupational therapist assistant is qualified pursuant to this subdivision, as follows:\n(a) Has successfully completed twenty-five hours of American Occupational Therapy Association or American Physical Therapy Association approved education covering physical agent modalities and completed a supervised mentorship to include five case studies on each class of modality to be incorporated into patient care;\n(b) Is certified as a hand therapist by the Hand Therapy Certification commission or other equivalent entity recognized by the board; or\n(c) Has completed education during a basic occupational therapy educational program that included demonstration of competencies on each class of the physical agent modalities.\nA supervising therapist or mentor may be a physical therapist, a certified hand therapist, or an occupational therapist who has completed a supervised mentorship and has five years of clinical experience utilizing each class of physical agent modalities; or an occupational therapist who has graduated from an occupational therapy program whose curriculum includes physical agent modality education.","path":["TITLE 36. PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS","CHAPTER 36-31. OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS"],"source_url":"https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/36-31-6","current_through":"2026-08-31","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-03T15:18:57Z","sha256":"1a6293e4b9933b34c613e2a1a31d4fe9c21c248c8f5718abfe29466961707466","source_id":"us-sd","stale":true,"prev":"us-sd/sdcl-36-31-5","next":"us-sd/sdcl-36-31-6.1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}