---
title: O.C.G.A. § 43-28-8. License requirements for therapy techniques involving physical agent modalities.
collection: code
id: 43-28-8
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 43-28-8 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/43-28-8
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/43-28-8.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/43-28-8/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t43-ch1-32-(v30)-2022-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=921d056f_0#page=885
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: PROFESSIONS AND BUSINESSES / OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS / GEORGIA OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY PRACTICE
---

# O.C.G.A. § 43-28-8. License requirements for therapy techniques involving physical agent modalities.

(a) No person shall utilize occupational therapy techniques involving physical agent modalities unless such person:

(1) Is licensed according to this article; and

(2) Has successfully completed a minimum of 90 hours of instruction or training approved by the board which covers the following subjects:

(A) Principles of physics related to specific properties of light, water, temperature, sound, or electricity, as indicated by selected modality;

(B) Physiological, neurophysiological, and electrophysiological, as indicated, changes which occur as a result of the application of the selected modality;

(C) The response of normal and abnormal tissue to the application of the modality;

(D) Indications and contraindications related to the selection and application of the modality;

(E) Guidelines for treatment or administration of the modality within the philosophical framework of occupational therapy;

(F) Appropriate selection and practical application of physical agent modalities, including determining treatment parameters based on existing pathology, impairments, functional limitations, and expected outcomes;

(G) Guidelines for educating the patient, including instructing the patient as to the process and possible outcomes of treatment, including risks and benefits;

(H) Safety rules and precautions related to the selected modality;

(I) Methods for documenting the effectiveness of immediate and long-term effects of treatment; and

(J) Characteristics of the equipment, including safe operation, adjustment, and care of the equipment.

(b) The board shall promulgate rules and regulations specifically pertaining to the use of physical agent modalities by a person licensed under this article.

## History

Code 1981, § 43-28-8.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1991, p. 379, § 4; Ga. L. 1994, p. 97, § 43; Code 1981, § 43-28-8, as redesignated by Ga. L. 2019, p. 745, § 1/HB 253; Ga. L. 2021, p. 710, § 4/HB 268.

The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, substituted “this article” for “this chapter” near the end of paragraph (a)(1), and at the end of subsection (b).