The specialist certification program was established to provide formal recognition for physical therapists with advanced clinical knowledge, experience, and skills in a special area of practice and to assist consumers and the health care community in identifying these physical therapists.

The ABPTS model for certification focuses on continuing competence of the physical therapist specialist.

Leverage your certification to advance your career.

ABPTS coordinates and oversees the specialist certification process, is the governing body for certification and recertification of clinical specialists.

APTA published content, including APTA.org and other APTA websites, is copyright protected and requires prior written approval from APTA for its use, unless otherwise noted. For information on how to obtain reprint permission, please follow the below instructions. Permissions requests must be in writing.

The following Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Policy and all other stated rules govern the use by you of APTA's websites.

The information APTA provides on the website and Forums is provided for informational purposes only. While APTA makes every effort to present accurate and reliable information, APTA does not represent, warrant, endorse, approve or certify any information displayed, uploaded, downloaded or distributed

APTA's Commitment to Privacy Last Updated: July 1, 2025

DSPs serve as the basis for the specialist certification exams and are valuable aids in determining your readiness for specialist certification.

Feb 2, 2022/Event

~~All dates and times subject to change.~~ To further promote the specialist certification and residency/fellowship programs and to formally recognize our newly certified and recertified specialists, we welcome all board-certified specialists to attend the ABPTS Certification Recognition Reception taking