Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 914
By the Committee on Health Policy; and Senator Calatayud
588-02423-26 2026914c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to dry needling; amending s. 468.203,
3 F.S.; defining the terms “dry needling” and
4 “myofascial trigger point”; creating s. 468.222, F.S.;
5 requiring the Board of Occupational Therapy to
6 establish minimum standards of practice for the
7 performance of dry needling by occupational
8 therapists, including specified standards; requiring
9 the board, if it deems it necessary for patient
10 safety, to adopt additional supervision and training
11 requirements for occupational therapists to perform
12 dry needling on specified areas; requiring the
13 Department of Health to submit a report of specified
14 information to the Legislature by a specified date;
15 providing construction; providing an effective date.
16
17 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
18
19 Section 1. Present subsections (3) through (8) of section
20 468.203, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (5)
21 through (10), respectively, and new subsections (3) and (4) are
22 added to that section, to read:
23 468.203 Definitions.—As used in this act, the term:
24 (3) “Dry needling” means a skilled intervention, based on
25 Western medicine, that uses filiform needles and other apparatus
26 or equipment to stimulate a myofascial trigger point for the
27 evaluation and management of neuromusculoskeletal conditions,
28 pain, movement impairments, and disabilities.
29 (4) “Myofascial trigger point” means an irritable section
30 of soft tissue often associated with palpable nodules in taut
31 bands of muscle fibers.
32 Section 2. Section 468.222, Florida Statutes, is created to
33 read:
34 468.222 Dry needling.—
35 (1) The board shall establish minimum standards of practice
36 for the performance of dry needling by occupational therapists,
37 including, at a minimum, all of the following:
38 (a) Completion of 2 years of licensed practice as an
39 occupational therapist.
40 (b) Completion of 50 hours of face-to-face continuing
41 education from an entity approved by the board on the topic of
42 dry needling. To satisfy this requirement, the instructor of the
43 continuing education must make a determination that the
44 occupational therapist demonstrates the requisite psychomotor
45 skills to safely perform dry needling. The continuing education
46 must include instruction in all of the following areas:
47 1. Theory of dry needling.
48 2. Selection and safe handling of needles and other
49 apparatus or equipment used in dry needling, including
50 instruction on the proper handling of biohazardous waste.
51 3. Indications and contraindications for dry needling.
52 4. Psychomotor skills needed to safely perform dry
53 needling.
54 5. Postintervention care, including care for adverse
55 responses, adverse incident recordkeeping, and any reporting
56 obligations.
57 (c)1. Completion of at least 25 patient sessions of dry
58 needling performed under the supervision of an occupational
59 therapist, a physical therapist, or a chiropractic physician who
60 holds an active license to practice in any state or the District
61 of Columbia and has actively performed dry needling for at least
62 1 year. The supervising practitioner must document that the
63 occupational therapist under his or her supervision has met the
64 supervision and competency requirements specified by board rule
65 and does not need additional supervised sessions to safely
66 perform dry needling; or
67 2. Completion of 25 patient sessions of dry needling
68 performed as an occupational therapist, physical therapist, or
69 chiropractic physician licensed in another state or in the
70 United States Armed Forces.
71 (d) A requirement that dry needling be performed only if
72 the patient consents to the treatment and it is part of the
73 patient’s documented plan of care.
74 (e) A requirement prohibiting the delegation of dry
75 needling to any person other than an occupational therapist who
76 is authorized to perform dry needling under this part.
77 (2) The board shall establish additional supervision and
78 training requirements that an occupational therapist must meet
79 before performing dry needling on the head, neck, or torso if
80 the board deems such requirements necessary for patient safety.
81 (3) The Department of Health shall, within existing
82 resources, submit a report to the President of the Senate and
83 the Speaker of the House of Representatives on or before
84 December 31, 2028, detailing the total number of occupational
85 therapists licensed in this state, the number of occupational
86 therapists who perform dry needling in this state, any increases
87 or decreases in the number of occupational therapists in this
88 state by geographic area, and the number of any adverse
89 incidents, as defined by board rule, involving the performance
90 of dry needling by occupational therapists in this state.
91 (4) The performance of dry needling in the practice of
92 occupational therapy may not be construed to limit the scope of
93 practice of other licensed health care practitioners not
94 governed by this chapter.
95 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.