Travel PT Contracts: How Long They Last and How Long You Can Stay

What a travel PT contract covers

Each contract's length, start date, guaranteed hours and cancellation terms are set per assignment by the facility and the agency, and are written into that contract. The length you are offered is a term of that contract, not a standard, so read it there. How the weekly pay is put together, taxable wages plus stipends, is in our guide to travel therapy pay packages.

How long contracts run

13 weeks is the usual length, an industry convention rather than a rule: no statute, regulator or official body sets a travel contract's length, so contracts can be shorter or longer. No public source reports how many contracts run that long or how often they are extended, so this page gives no share or average.

Our feed lists 357 open travel PT contracts (pay data as of 2026-10-01). It records each one's state, city, setting, pay and start date. It does not record contract length, so it cannot say how long they run either.

Extensions

An extension is a new agreement: its length and rate are negotiated each time and can differ from the original contract. Our guide to contract extensions covers when to take one and how to negotiate it.

For taxes, what matters is what you expected when the work started, and when that changed. Publication 463 works through an extension in one of its examples: “The facts are the same as in Example 1, except that you realistically expected the work in Fresno to last 9 months. After 8 months, however, you were asked to remain for 7 more months (for a total actual stay of 15 months).” Its conclusion: “Initially, you realistically expected the job in Fresno to last for only 9 months. However, due to changed circumstances occurring after 8 months, it was no longer realistic for you to expect that the job in Fresno would last for 1 year or less. You can deduct only your travel expenses for the first 8 months.”

The rule behind the example: “If employment at a work location initially is realistically expected to last for 1 year or less, but at some later date the employment is realistically expected to last more than 1 year, that employment will be treated as temporary (unless there are facts and circumstances that would indicate otherwise) until your expectation changes. It won’t be treated as temporary after the date you determine it will last more than 1 year.”

How long you can stay in one place

The limit is a tax rule, not a contract term. In the words of IRS Publication 463: “Generally, a temporary assignment in a single location is one that is realistically expected to last (and does in fact last) for 1 year or less.” “An assignment or job in a single location is considered indefinite if it is realistically expected to last for more than 1 year, whether or not it actually lasts for more than 1 year.”

It is judged at the start, and again when things change: “You must determine whether your assignment is temporary or indefinite when you start work. If you expect an assignment or job to last for 1 year or less, it is temporary unless there are facts and circumstances that indicate otherwise. An assignment or job that is initially temporary may become indefinite due to changed circumstances. A series of assignments to the same location, all for short periods but that together cover a long period, may be considered an indefinite assignment.”

And the consequence: “If your assignment is indefinite, you must include in your income any amounts you receive from your employer for living expenses, even if they are called “travel allowances” and you account to your employer for them.” In short, an assignment expected to run more than 1 year is indefinite under Publication 463, which makes its allowances income.

That is the IRS's wording, quoted rather than paraphrased; a tax professional can apply it to your situation. Our travel therapy tax guide and Tax Home Checker go further (IRS Publication 463).

Your license on a long stay

A compact privilege's end date is tied to your home state license. In the PT Compact Commission's words: “All compact privileges expire on the same date as the home state license that was in effect on the date the individual purchased the compact privilege.” (Commission help article)

The Commission adds: “Compact privileges are not intended to replace the state licensure route when someone is relocating from one state to another.” (Commission help article) If you are moving to a state rather than working a contract there, our guide to PT license by endorsement covers getting that state's full license when you already hold one elsewhere. Member states and fees are in our PT Compact guide.

Between contracts

Pay stops when the work stops, unless your agreement says otherwise. In the U.S. Department of Labor's words: “The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or federal or other holidays.” “These benefits are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee's representative).” (DOL, Vacation Leave) Ask each agency, in writing, what happens to your pay and benefits between contracts.

Before you sign

The terms that decide how a contract goes are in the contract itself. Our guides cover them: contract red flags, including guaranteed hours and missed shifts; what to do when a contract is cancelled; and questions to ask an agency before signing.

Frequently asked questions

How long are travel PT contracts?

13 weeks is the usual length, an industry convention rather than a rule. Each contract's length, start date, guaranteed hours and cancellation terms are set per assignment by the facility and the agency, and are written into that contract.

Can a travel PT contract be extended?

Yes. An extension is a new agreement: its length and rate are negotiated each time and can differ from the original contract. For taxes, IRS Publication 463 adds: “An assignment or job that is initially temporary may become indefinite due to changed circumstances.”

How long can a travel PT stay in one place?

The limit is a tax rule. IRS Publication 463 says: “Generally, a temporary assignment in a single location is one that is realistically expected to last (and does in fact last) for 1 year or less.” And: “An assignment or job in a single location is considered indefinite if it is realistically expected to last for more than 1 year, whether or not it actually lasts for more than 1 year.” A tax professional can apply it to your situation.

More: the travel therapy tax guide and the Tax Home Checker.

What happens to my stipends if I extend past a year?

IRS Publication 463: “If your assignment is indefinite, you must include in your income any amounts you receive from your employer for living expenses, even if they are called “travel allowances” and you account to your employer for them.” And for an assignment that started out temporary: “If employment at a work location initially is realistically expected to last for 1 year or less, but at some later date the employment is realistically expected to last more than 1 year, that employment will be treated as temporary (unless there are facts and circumstances that would indicate otherwise) until your expectation changes. It won’t be treated as temporary after the date you determine it will last more than 1 year.”

Do back-to-back contracts at the same facility count together?

They can. IRS Publication 463: “A series of assignments to the same location, all for short periods but that together cover a long period, may be considered an indefinite assignment.”

Am I paid between travel contracts?

Not unless your agreement says so. In the U.S. Department of Labor's words: “The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations, sick leave or federal or other holidays.” “These benefits are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee's representative).”

Is there a time limit on practicing with a compact privilege?

Not a separate one. In the PT Compact Commission's words: “All compact privileges expire on the same date as the home state license that was in effect on the date the individual purchased the compact privilege.”

More: the PT Compact guide.

Open travel PT contracts

5 of the 357 travel PT contracts in our feed on October 1, 2026, highest weekly package first. A posting can fill after that date, so each one links to its state's current openings.

• Travel Physical Therapist · Craig, AK · Outpatient · $3,800/week (open jobs in Alaska)
• Travel Physical Therapist · Roswell, NM · Inpatient · $3,650/week (open jobs in New Mexico)
• Travel Physical Therapist · Alameda County, CA · Home Health · $3,360/week (open jobs in California)
• Travel Physical Therapist · King City, CA · Inpatient, Outpatient · $3,210/week (open jobs in California)
• Travel Physical Therapist · Alturas, CA · Outpatient · $3,210/week (open jobs in California)

Browse every open travel PT contract or submit a profile and a recruiter will match you.

Sources

• IRS, Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses: temporary and indefinite assignments, the extension example (read 2026-10-01).
• PT Compact Commission help center: Is there a time limit that someone can practice on a compact privilege in a remote state? and What else should I consider before purchasing a compact privilege? (read 2026-10-01).
• U.S. Department of Labor, Vacation Leave (read in a browser 2026-10-01).
• ProTherapy Staffing contract feed: the open PT contract count and the contracts listed (pay data as of 2026-10-01); method on How We Verify.