An Act to regulate the practice of physical therapy in the District of Columbia.
PL 87-280 (S.1762), enacted 09/22/1961

578 
PUBLIC LAW 87-280-SEPT. 22, 1961 
[75 ST A T , 
Public Law 87-280 
September 22, 1961 
A N 
A C T 
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To regulate the practice of physical therapy in the District of Columbia. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
pTstl^v^TeI\Vcl U'^^i^d States of America in Congress assembled^ That this Act may 
Act. 
be cited as the "Physical Therapists Practice Act". 
D, 
139. 
C. 
C o d e 
DEFINITIONS 
SEC. 2. As used in this Act— 
(a) The term "Commissioners" means the Commissioners of the 
District of Columbia sitting as a board, or their authorized agent or 
agents. 
(b) The word "she" and the derivatives thereof shall be construed 
to include the word "he" and the derivatives thereof. 
(c) The term "physical therapy" means the treatment of human 
disability, injury, or disease by supervised therapeutic procedures 
embracing the specific scientific application of physical measures to 
secure the functional rehabilitation of the human body. 
Nothing in 
this Act shall be construed as authorizing a physical therapist, whether 
registered or not, to practice medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic, 
naturopathy, or any other form or method of healing. 
(d) The term "physical therapist" means a person who practices 
physical therapy under the prescription, supervision, and direction of 
a person licensed to practice under the Healing Arts Practice Act of 
2- the District of Columbia, approved February 27,1929 (45 Stat. 1326), 
as amended. 
(e) The word "State" or "States" shall be deemed to include any 
territory of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 
EXEMPTION TROM REGISTRATION 
SEC. 3. This Act shall not apply to any person employed in the 
District of Columbia by the Federal Government or any agency thereof 
while such person is acting in the discharge of her official duties. 
REGISTRATION 
SEC. 4. (a) No person shall practice physical therapy in the District 
of Columbia unless (1) she is duly registered in accordance with the 
provisions of this Act, or (2) is exempted from such registration by 
the terms of this Act. 
(b) No person not registered in accordance with the provisions of 
this Act, unless exempted from registration by the terms of this Act, 
shall, directly or indirectly, (1) represent herself to be so registered or 
(2) represent herself to be certified, licensed, or authorized to practice 
physical therapy. 
(c) No person shall use in connection with her name the words 
"physical therapist", "physiotherapist", "physical therapy technician", 
or use the initials "P.T.", "P.T.T.", "R.P.T.", or any other letters, 
words, abbreviations, or insignia indicating or implying that she is a 
registered physical therapist, unless such person is a holder of a valid 
registration under this Act. 
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit any person duly licensed 
or registered in the District of Columbia under any other Act from 
engaging in the practice for which she is duly registered or licensed. 
(e) Nothing in this Act shall apply to any person licensed under the 
45 Stat. 1326. 
Healing: Arts Practice Act of the District of Columbia, nor to any 
D. C. C o d e 2- 
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139. 
75 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 87-280-SEPT. 22, 1961 
579 
employee of any such person working under his immediate supervision 
and direction in his private office, provided no such employee shall 
hold herself out, or otherwise represent herself to be a physical 
therapist. 
POWERS o r COMMISSIONERS 
SEC. 5. The Commissioners are hereby vested with full power and 
authority to delegate, from time to time, to their designated agent or 
agents, any of the functions vested in them by this Act. 
ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARD 
SEC. 6. The Commissioners may establish a physical therapists 
examining board to perform anv of the functions vested in the Com-
missioners bv this Act, and, if so established, such board shall be 
composed oi such persons posssessing such qualifications as the 
Commissioners shall determine. The Commissioners are authorized to 
prescribe the terms of office of members of such board and to fix the 
compensation of such members. The Commissioners may appoint as 
members of such board. Federal and District government employees, 
and such members shall not be entitled to receive compensation as 
board members, and any such member shall not be debarred by such 
membership from employment in the Federal or District governments 
not inconsistent with her duties as a board member. Any board 
member may receive her compensation as a board member as well as 
any retirement pay, retirement compensation, or annuity to which she 
may be entitled on account of previous service rendered to the United 
States or the District of Columbia governments. 
POWERS AND DUTIES 
SEC. 7. (a) The Commissioners are authorized to adopt from time i^^^l^g' ®
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to time and prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary 
to enable them to carry into effect the provisions of this Act. The 
Commissioners shall maintain a register of all persons registered as Register, 
physical therapists. The Commissioners shall maintain a register 
of approved schools which they deem afford adequate training in 
physical therapy. 
(b) The Commissioners may make such studies and investigations, 
and obtain or require the furnishing of such information under oath 
or affirmation or otherwise, as they deem necessary or proper to assist 
them in prescribing any regulation or order under this Act, or in 
the administration and enforcement of this Act, and regulations and 
orders thereunder. For such purposes, the Commissioners may ad-
minister oaths and affirmations, may require by subpena or otherwise 
the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the pix>duction of docu-
ments at any designated place. In the event of contumacy or refusal 
to obey any such subpena or req^uirement under this section, the 
Commissioners may make application to the municipal court for the 
District of Columbia for an order rejquiring obedience thereto. There-
upon the court, with or without notice and hearing, as it in its discre-
tion may decide, shall make such order as is proper and may punish 
as a contempt any failure to comply with such order in accordance 
with the provisions of subsection (c), section 5, of the Act of April 
1, 1942 (56 Stat. 193, chapter 207; sec. 11-756(c), D.C. Code, 1951 
edition). 
Studie 8 and in-
vestigations. 
580 
PUBLIC LAW 87-280-SEPT. 22, 1961 
[75 ST A T . 
Issuance of cer-
tificate. 
REGISTRATION 
SEC. 8. The Commissioners shall register as physical therapists all 
applicants who prove to the satisfaction of the Commissioners their 
iitness for registration under the terms of this Act. 
The Commis-
sioners shall issue to each person registered a certificate of registra-
tion, which shall be prima facie evidence of the right of the person 
to whom it is issued to represent herself as a registered physical 
therapist, and authorized to practice as such under this Act. 
Application date. 
REGISTRATION W^ITHOUT EXAMINATION 
SEC. 9. The Commissioners shall register as a physical therapist, 
without examination, any physical therapist who is at least twenty 
years of age and of good moral character and who presents evidence 
satisfactory to the Commissioners that she was, prior to the effective 
date of this Act, practicing physical therapy in the District of Colum-
bia for a period of two years immediately preceding the effective 
date of this Act, and that she (1) has graduated from an approved 
school of physical therapy listed in the register of approved schools 
or (2) received comparable training or experience in the practice of 
physical therapy as determined by the Commissioners. 
Application 
for registration under this section shall be made on or before the 
expiration of one year from the effective date of this Act, 
E l i g i b i l i t y re-
quirements. 
REGISTRATION AFTER EXAMINATION 
SEC. 10. The Commissioners shall pass upon the qualifications of 
applicants for registration, provide for and conduct all examinations, 
determine which applicants have successfully passed the examination 
and duly register such applicants. 
To be eligible to be examined for 
registration as a physical therapist, an applicant must meet the 
following requirements: 
(a) Be at least twenty years old. 
(b) Be of good moral character. 
(c) Be in good physical and mental health, as certified by a physician 
licensed to practice in the District of Columbia. 
(d) Be a graduate of an approved school of physical therapy listed 
in the register of approved schools; or possess comparable educational 
qualifications as determined by the Commissioners. 
The examinations specified in this section shall be conducted at such 
times and places as the Commissioners may determine, and notice of 
time and place of such examination shall be published not less than 
thirty days before the first day of each examination in one or more 
newspapers of local circulation. 
The examination shall embrace such coverage of the following 
subjects to determine the applicant's qualification: The applied 
sciences of anatomy, neuroanatomy, kinesiology, physiology, pathol-
ogy, physics; "physical therapy" as defined in this Act, applied to 
medicine, neurology, orthopedics, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery; 
medical ethics; technical procedures in the practice of "physical 
therapy" as defined in this Act. 
RECIPROCITY 
SEC. 11. Any applicant who has practiced physical therapy and 
has been registered, certified, or licensed as such in any State may, 
upon proof of good moral character, be registered without examina-
tion, provided the applicant has graduated from a school of physical 
therapy approved by the Commissioners, or has received competent 
75 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 8 7 - 2 8 0 - S E P T . 22, 1961 
581 
comparaible training as determined by the Commissioners. It is 
intended that the standards of education and training required for 
registration under this section shall be substantially equivalent to those 
required for registration pursuant to section 10 of this Act. This 
section shall be construed to apply only to candidates from States 
which admit registered physical therapists of the District of Columbia 
without examination. 
RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION 
SEC. 12. (a) Every registered physical therapist engaged in or who 
proposes to engage in the practice of physical therapy in the District 
of Columbia is hereby required to register with the Commissioners 
annually. Any registrant who allows her registration to lapse by 
failing to renew the registration annually may be reinstated by the 
Commissioners by showing cause satisfactory to the Commissioners 
for such failure and upon payment of all required fees. The Com-
missioners are authorized, after public hearing, to change from time 
to time the period for which registration or renewal thereof may be 
issued. 
(b) Any person registered under the j)rovisions of this Act but thCTa'is's*''"'^^'* 
not so practicing in the District of Columbia shall give written notice 
of such fact to the Commissioners. Upon receipt of such notice, the 
Commissioners shall place the name of such person upon the non-
practicing list. While remaining on such list, such person shall not 
be subject to the payment of any renewal fee and shall not hold her-
self out as a registered physical therapist nor practice as such in the 
District of Columbia. Application for renewal of registration and 
payment of renewal fee for the current year shall be made to the 
Commissioners by any such person desiring to resume practice as a 
registered physical therapist. 
DENIAL, REVOCATION, AND SUSPENSION OF REGISTRATION 
SEC. 13. The Commissioners are authorized and empowered to deny, 
revoke, or suspend any registration or certificate of renewal of registra-
tion issued by the Commissioners or applied for in accordance with 
the provisions of this Act if the applicant or holder thereof— 
(1) has been guilty of fraud or deceit in procuring or attempt-
ing to procure any registration or renewal thereof provided for 
in this Act; 
(2) has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude; 
(3) is an intemperate consumer of intoxicating liquors or is 
addicted to the use of habit-forming drugs; 
(4) has been guilty of unprofessional conduct; 
(5) has willfully violated any of the provisions of this Act, or 
rules or regulations promulgated by the Commissioners pursuant 
to authority contained in this Act; 
(Q) is mentallj^ incompetent; 
(T) i
s 
is guilty of undertaking to treat ailments of human beings 
other than by physical therapy as authorized by this Act, or the 
undertaking to practice physical therapy independent of the pre-
scription and direction ot a person appropriately licensed to prac-
tice under the Healing Arts Practice Act of the District of 
Columbia; or 
(8) is otherwise professionally incapacitated. 
Provided, That such denial, revocation, or suspension shall be made 
only upon specific charges in writing. A copy of any such charges 
and at least ten days' notice of the hearing of the same shall be mailed 
to the holder of or applicant for such registration, addressed to her at 
her last known address. 
D. C, C o d e 11-
772. 
682 
PUBLIC LAW 87-280-SEPT. 22, 1961 
[75 STAT. 
COURT REVIEW 
SEC. 14. Any person aggrieved by any final decision or final order 
of the Commissioners denying, suspending, or revoking any registra-
tion, or renewal of registration, issued or applied for under this Act 
may obtain a review thereof in the municipal court of appeals for the 
District of Columbia, and may seek a review by the United States 
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit of any judg-
ment of the municipal court of appeals entered pursuant to its review 
of any such decision or order, all in accordance with subsection (f) 
of section 7 of the Act approved April 1, 1942, as added by the Act 
approved August 31, 1954 (68 Stat. 1049). 
UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF PHYSICAL THERAPY 
SEC. 15. It shall be unlawful for any person in the District of 
Columbia to— 
(a) sell or fraudulently obtain or furnish any diploma, license, 
certificate of registration, or record required by this Act, or re-
quired by the Commissioners under authority of this Act, or aid 
or abet in the selling, fraudulently obtaining, or furnishing 
thereof; 
(b) practice physical therapy under cover of any diploma, cer-
tificate of registration, or record required by this Act or required 
by the Commissioners under authority of this Act, illegally or 
fraudulently obtained or signed or issued unlawfully or under 
fraudulent registration; 
(c) use in connection with her name any designation tending 
to imply that she is a registered physical therapist unless duly 
registered under provisions of this Act; 
(d) practice physical therapy during the time her registration 
shall be suspended or revoked. 
PRACTICE OF REGISTERED PHYSICAL THERAPISTS 
SEC. 16. A person registered under this Act as a physical therapist 
shall not treat human ailments b;^ physical therapy or otherwise 
except under the prescription and direction of a person duly licensed 
or registered under the Healing Arts Practice Act of the District 
45 Stat. 1326. 
of Columbia. 
D. C. C o d e 2-
139. 
ENFORCEMENT 
SEC. 17. Any person who shall violate the provisions of section 4, 
15, or 16 of this Act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be 
punished by a fine of not exceeding $500 or by imprisonment for 
not more than one year, or both. 
CONDUCT OF PROSECUTIONS 
SEC. 18. (a) Prosecutions for violations of any provisions of section 
4, 15, or 16 of this Act shall be conducted in the name of the District 
of Columbia in the municipal court for the District of Columbia, by 
i he Corporation Counsel or any of his assistants. 
(b) It shall be necessary to prove in any prosecution or hearing 
under this Act only a single act prohibited by law or a single holding 
out or an attempt without proving a general course of conduct in 
order to constitute a violation. 
75 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 87-281-SEPT. 22, 1961 
583 
"FEES AND CHARGES 
SEC. 19. (a) The Commissioners are authorized and empowered, to^c'h^nge fe^|"^' 
after a public hearing, to fix and, from time to time increase or 
decrease, fees for any services rendered under this Act. 
The Com-
missioners shall, pursuant to this section, increase, decrease, or fix 
fees in such amounts as will, in the judgment of the Commissioners, 
approximate the costs to the District of Columbia of administering 
this Act: Provided, That no fee shall be increased, decreased, or fixed 
except after a public hearing. 
(b) Upon the change of a registration period as authorized by 
subsection (a) of section 12 the fee for registration or renewal of 
registration shall be prorated on the basis of the time covered. 
(c) All moneys collected for fees and charges made pursuant to 
authority contained in this Act shall be paid into the Treasury to the 
credit of the District of Columbia. 
SEVERABILITY 
SEC. 20. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to 
any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act, 
and the application of such provision to other persons and circum-
stances, shall not be affected thereby. 
APPROPRIATIONS 
SEC. 21. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated out of the 
revenues of the District of Columbia such sums as may be necessary 
to pay the expenses of administering and carrying out the purposes 
of this Act. 
REORGANIZATION 
SEC. 22. Nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to affect the 
authority vested in the Board of Commissioners of the District of 
Columbia by Reorganization Plan Numbered 5 of 1952 (66 Stat. 824). ^ ^'^^- <
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The performance of any function vested by this Act in the Board of 
^^^" 
Commissioners or in any office or agency under the jurisdiction and 
control of said Board of Commissioners may be delegated by said 
Board of Commissioners in accordance with section 3 of such plan. 
EFFECTIVE DATE 
SEC. 23. This Act shall take effect one hundred and twenty days 
after funds are appropriated for the purpose of administering the 
provisions of this Act. 
Approved September 22, 1961. 
Public Law 87-281 
A N A C T 
September 22, 1961 
To amend the Act entitled "An Act to regulate the height of buildings in the 
t
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District of Columbia", approved June 1, 1910, as amended. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That paragraph 3 
Sei^ht'"^'^'^^"^^' 
of section 5 of the Act entitled "An Act to regulate the height of 
buildings in the District of Columbia", approved June 1, 1910, as 
amended (36 Stat. 452; 43 Stat. 961; sec. 5-405, D.C. Code, 1951 
edition), is amended by striking "over eight stories in height or". 
Approved September 22, 1961. 
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