Dry Needling Initiative

GOTA is continuing to pursue HB 809 in the 2025 Legislative Session. 

To recap, the major components of HB 809  are:

• Defines “dry needling” and makes it a part of the definition of physical agent modalities
•  Establishes the following requirements for an OT to perform dry needling:
•  Must be certified to use physical agent modalities
• Must have a minimum of three years clinical experience (with some exceptions)
• Must complete coursework on dry needling, some of which may be done in an approved OT program, but with a minimum of 26 hours of postgraduate instruction (20 of which must be in-person) for upper extremities, with an additional 20 hours for dry needling on lower extremities
•  Obtaining and documenting informed consent from the patient 

Stay tuned in 2025 as GOTA works towards this initiative. Please see the licensure board website for current details for dry needling within Georgia.