Burn Therapist Certified (BT-C) Frequently Asked Questions

• Offers professional recognition and validation for advanced specialty knowledge, skills, and experience in burn rehabilitation.
• Establishes a foundation for continuing education, professional development, and career advancement opportunities.
• Provides a focused and meaningful professional development goal based on competency standards.
• Demonstrates commitment to the practice of burn therapy and to the rehabilitation of burn survivors.
• Provides access to a network of professionals with similar interest and expertise in burn rehabilitation.

Application Requirements

• Possess an occupational therapy or physical therapy license in good standing with the state/territory/country licensing agency.
• Graduated from a World Federation of Occupational Therapists or World Confederation for Physical Therapy recognized educational program.
• Have worked with the burn injured population for a minimum of 2 years.
• Have worked 4,000 hours in direct patient care with the burn population in the 5 years prior to application date.

Certification Requirements

• Demonstrate that you meet defined standards and objectives for at least THREE domains of burn rehabilitation practice.

If you are interested in using the Direct Patient Care Exception to apply, please contact the ABA Central Office at certification@ameriburn.org.

1. Submit a nonrefundable, $50 processing fee. You will be prompted to then complete a registration form including an employment verification form.
2. The registration form will be verified by the ABA Central Office. If verified, you will be sent links to the Portfolio Application and Portfolio Payment link (a nonrefundable fee).
3. You will have 8 weeks to submit the full Portfolio Application and Portfolio Payment. Be sure to reference our resources while preparing your application.
4. Once submitted, the reviewers will review your Portfolio Application and you will receive a response approximately eight weeks after you submit the portfolio and the payment is received.

• Valid for 5 years from certification date.
• Renewal of certification requires:
  • Current license
  • 2,000 hours of work experience within the last 5 years
  • 50 hours of professional development activities related to burn rehabilitation within the previous 5 years