Pennsylvania State Characteristics of Licensure Law

The information below is collected from state licensure boards or regulatory agencies responsible for regulating the professions of SLP and/or AUD. It is intended for informational use only, and should not be construed as legal advice.

Contact the state's licensure board or regulatory agency for exact licensure, certification, or registration requirements in your jurisdiction.

Initial Licensure Requirements

1. Master's degree or equivalent
   Note: For this section, "equivalent" is defined as holding a bachelor's degree and completion of a program of study comprising 39 graduate semester hours with specific distribution requirements; graduate semester hours in practicum may not be counted toward satisfying the 39 semester-hour requirement.
2. Three hundred fifty hour clinical practicum
3. Completion of 1 year of supervised professional experience
4. Passage of an examination

Exemptions

1. Physicians and their employees/supervisees
2. Hearing aid fitters
3. Credentialed employees of public or state schools
4. Students appropriately designated as such
5. State employees
6. Federal employees

Reciprocity

The Board may waive the education, experience, and examination requirements for:

1. Applicants licensed in another jurisdiction with equivalent standards who has submitted an application to the Board
2. CCC holders

Interim Practice/Temporary Licensure

Individuals who meet the state requirements for licensure or are licensed in another state with equivalent standards may provide services for no more than 5 days in any calendar year in cooperation with a state-licensed practitioner.

Continuing Education for Licensure Renewal

Twenty clock hours of continuing education per biennial renewal period.

Hearing Aid Dispensing

Audiologists who dispense hearing aids must obtain an HAD license.

Support Personnel

(licensee must file a list of names of support personnel)

1. Prior to the use of an assistant (speech-language pathology or audiology), the licensee must obtain evidence of ONE of the following: (a) completion of 30 semester hours or the equivalent from an accredited institution of higher education in the area of speech-language and hearing as specified for a CCC; (b) the individual has practiced as an assistant in the area of speech-language and hearing since at least June 8, 1989, under the supervision of a licensed speech-language pathologist or audiologist; (c) the individual has practiced as an assistant since at least June 8, 1989, under the supervision of a speech-language pathologist or audiologist licensed in another state that has requirements for assistants substantially equivalent to in-state requirements.
2. Prior to assigning a duty to an assistant, a licensee shall perform a task analysis of the expected duties of each assistant the licensee supervises and shall then train the assistant, with an emphasis on competency-based skill acquisition; a minimum of 20 hours of practical training for each duty is required.
3. A licensee is not required to file with the Board a list of support personnel who do not engage in activities requiring formal education or training in the field of speech-language and hearing.

Note

• The abbreviation SLP or SP stands for Speech Language Pathology or Pathologist, as appropriate, the abbreviation AUD stands for Audiology or Audiologist, as appropriate, and the abbreviation HAD stands for Hearing Aid Dealer.
• All jurisdictions require applicants to achieve a passing score on a national exam, and all but Nevada, North Dakota, and Virginia require applicants to complete a post graduate professional experience requirement.
• The term "clinical fellow," used throughout, means a person completing the post graduate professional experience requirement.

Questions concerning data contained in this document can be addressed by calling 800-498-2071 and asking to speak to someone on the State Policy Team.