Ohio Administrative Code|Rule 4755-3-15 | Military provisions related to licensure.

                                                
(A) Definitions.
(1) "Armed
			 forces" means:
(a) The armed forces of the United States, including the
				army, navy, air force, marine corps, and coast guard;
(b) A reserve component of the armed forces listed in
				paragraph (A)(1)(a) of this rule;
(c) The national guard, including the Ohio national guard
				or the national guard of any other state;
(d) The commissioned corps of the United States public
				health service;
(e) The merchant marine service during wartime;
				or
(f) The Ohio organized militia when engaged in full-time
				national guard duty for a period of more than thirty days.
(2) "Member"
			 means any person who is serving in the armed forces.
(3) "Military
			 duty" includes service in the uniformed services on active duty, in the
			 active guard and reserve, and as a military technician dual status under 10
			 U.S.C. 10216.
(4) "Veteran" means any person
			 who has completed service in the armed forces, who has been discharged under
			 honorable conditions or who has been transferred to the reserve with evidence
			 of satisfactory service.
(B) Temporary military licensure when the
		  eligible person has a license in another state.
(1) In accordance with
			 section 4743.041 of the Revised Code, a person who presents the following
			 qualifications is eligible for a temporary military license to practice as a
			 occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant in Ohio.
(a) The person holds a valid license to practice as a
				occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant issued by another
				state; 
(b) The person is in good standing in all states of
				licensure; 
(c) The person presents adequate proof to the occupational
				therapy section that the person or the person's spouse is on military duty
				in the state of Ohio; and
(d) The person complies with the criminal records check
				requirements in section 4755.70 of the Revised Code. The results of the
				criminal records check must be received by the board prior to the issuance of a
				military license to practice as a occupational therapist or occupational
				therapy assistant.
(2) The occupational
			 therapy section must abide by the timelines set forth in division (D) of
			 section 4743.041 of the Revised Code in granting a temporary military
			 license.
(3) An application for a
			 temporary military license must include the following:
(a) Proof of either of the following:
(i) That the applicant is
				  on military duty and is stationed in Ohio; or
(ii) That the applicant
				  is married to a person on military duty who is stationed in Ohio.
(b) Proof that the applicant holds a valid unrestricted
				license to practice as a occupational therapist or occupational therapy
				assistant in another state; 
(c) Attestation that the applicant has complied with the
				criminal records check in section 4755.70 of the Revised Code.
(d) Attestation that the applicant is aware that the
				temporary military license will be revoked in accordance with Chapter 119. of
				the Revised Code if:
(i) The person's
				  licensed issued by another state expires or is revoked, or the person is not in
				  good standing;
(ii) For a person who is
				  a military spouse, six months have elapsed since the divorce, dissolution, or
				  annulment of the marriage to a person on military duty; 
(iii) The person is
				  disqualified from obtaining a license because of a conviction, judicial finding
				  of guilt, or plea of guilty to a disqualifying criminal offense specified on
				  the list the board has made available pursuant to division (C) of section 9.78
				  of the Revised Code.
(4) A temporary military
			 license expires six years after the date of issuance. A person may apply for a
			 non-military license by endorsement while the temporary military license is
			 active.
(5) The occupational
			 therapy section must waive all fees associated with a temporary military
			 license.
(6) A person holding a
			 temporary military license must practice within the scope of practice for
			 occupational therapy for the state of Ohio and may not exceed the person's
			 education or training.
(C) Military programs of training which may be accepted for
		  members of the military who do not have an out of state license.
In accordance with section 5903.03 of the Revised
		  Code, the following military programs of training, military primary
		  specialties, and lengths of service are substantially equivalent to or exceed
		  the educational and experience requirements for licensure as an:
(1) Occupational
			 therapist.
(a) Military programs of training.
There are no military programs of training
				that are substantially equivalent to or exceed the educational and experience
				requirements for licensure as an occupational therapist. A person serving in a
				military primary specialty listed in paragraph (C)(1)(b) of this rule must be a
				graduate of an occupational therapy program accredited by the accreditation
				council for occupational therapy education (ACOTE) to serve in that
				specialty.
(b) Military primary specialties.
(i) Army: occupational
				  therapist (AOC 65A)
(ii) Navy: occupational
				  therapy (NOBC 0874)
(iii) Air force:
				  occupational therapist (AFSC 42T3)
(c) Lengths of service.
There are no minimal lengths of service that
				would be substantially equivalent to or exceed the educational and experience
				requirements for licensure as an occupational therapist.
(2) Occupational therapy
			 assistant.
(a) Military programs of training.
The occupational therapy assistant program at
				the medical education and training campus at fort Sam Houston, Texas, is
				substantially equivalent to the educational requirements for licensure as an
				occupational therapy assistant.
(i) Army: school 083;
				  course 303-68L10 (course 303-N3 prior to 2014).
(ii) Navy: school 083;
				  course B-303-0152.
(b) Military primary specialties.
(i) Army: occupational
				  therapy specialist (MOS 68L).
(ii) Navy: occupational
				  therapy assistant (NEC HM-8467).
(c) Lengths of service.
There are no minimal lengths of service that
				would be substantially equivalent to or exceed the educational and experience
				requirements for licensure as an occupational therapy assistant.
(D) License renewal for active members of the
		  military.
(1) In accordance with
			 section 5903.10 of the Revised Code, a license holder whose license expired due
			 to the license holder's service in the armed forces is eligible for
			 renewal of the expired license in accordance with section 4755.10 of the
			 Revised Code and rules 4755-3-10 and 4755-5-05 of the Administrative Code, if
			 the following conditions are met:
(a) The license holder presents the board with satisfactory
				evidence that, not more than six months prior to the date the evidence is
				submitted to the board, the license holder was honorably discharged or
				separated under honorable conditions;
(b) The license holder is not suffering a mental or
				physical illness, including physical deterioration that adversely affects
				cognitive, motor, or perception skills, that affect the license holder's
				ability to practice according to acceptable and prevailing standards of care;
				and
(c) The license holder meets the requirements for license
				renewal required by section 4755.10 of the Revised Code and rules 4755-3-10 and
				4755-5-05 of the Administrative Code.
(2) The provisions of
			 paragraph (D) of this rule also apply if the license holder's spouse
			 served in the armed forces and the spouse's service resulted in the
			 license holder's absence from this state.
(E) Continuing education for active members of the
		  military.
(1) In accordance with
			 section 5903.12 of the Revised Code, the provisions of this paragraph apply to
			 a license holder who has been a member of the armed forces who has served on
			 active duty for a period in excess of thirty-one days.
(2) A license holder who
			 meets the provisions contained in paragraph (E)(1) of this rule may submit an
			 application to the board requesting an extension of the current continuing
			 education reporting period.
(a) The license holder must submit proper documentation
				certifying the active duty service and the length of that active duty
				service.
(b) Upon receiving the application and proper
				documentation, the board must extend the current continuing education reporting
				period by an amount of time equal to the total number of months that the
				license holder spent on active duty during the current continuing education
				reporting period. Any portion of a month served must be considered one full
				month.
(F) Determining fulfillment of continuing education for
		  active members of the military.
(1) In accordance with
			 section 5903.121 of the Revised Code, the board must consider relevant
			 education, training, or service completed by a license holder as a member of
			 the armed forces in determining whether a license holder has met the continuing
			 education requirements needed to renew the license.
(2) For the board to
			 consider relevant education, training, or service completed by the license
			 holder in accordance with paragraph (F) of this rule, the license holder must
			 submit a request for consideration and documentation of the education,
			 training, or service to the board at least ninety days prior to the expiration
			 of the license.
(G) The application fee must be waived for an applicant who
		  is a current member of the armed forces for the following application
		  types:
(1) Initial licensure by
			 examination, outlined in rule 4755-5-01 of the Administrative Code;
			 
(2) Initial licensure by
			 endorsement, outlined in rule 4755-5-01 of the Administrative
			 Code;
(3) Reinstatement of an
			 expired license, outlined in rule 4755-5-08 of the Administrative Code;
			 and
(4) Restoration of a
			 license in escrow, outlined in rule 4755-5-09 of the Administrative
			 Code.
(H) Application process.
(1) The board's
			 applications must include a question to identify if the applicant is a member
			 of the armed forces, a veteran, or a spouse or surviving spouse of a member of
			 the armed forces or veteran. This status must be stored in the licensing
			 system.
(2) When the board
			 receives an application from a person identified in paragraph (H)(1) of this
			 rule, the processing of that application must be prioritized, with a goal of
			 ensuring that a license is issued the same day that the application is
			 complete.


Last updated April 8, 2021 at 12:20 PM