South Dakota Codified Laws
Chapter 31 - Occupational Therapists
Section 36-31-6 - Application for licensure--Requirements.

36-31-6. Application for licensure--Requirements.
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:
(1)Residence: Applicant need not be a resident of this state;
(2)Character: Applicant shall be of good moral character;
(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:
(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;
(b)The occupational therapy assistant educational program must be approved by the American Occupational Therapy Association.
(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:
(a)For an occupational therapist, a minimum of six months of supervised fieldwork experience is required;
(b)For an occupational therapy assistant, a minimum of two months of supervised fieldwork experience is required.
(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;
(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:
(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;
(b)Is certified as a hand therapist by the Hand Therapy Certification commission or other equivalent entity recognized by the board; or
(c)Has completed education during a basic occupational therapy educational program that included demonstration of competencies on each class of the physical agent modalities.
A 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.

Source: SL 1986, ch 323, §6; SL 2005, ch 205, §2; SL 2021, ch 175, § 8.