- Overview: What "Requirements" Means for MD-JAM
- Who Must Complete the MD-JAM
- Who Is Exempt From the MD-JAM
- Registration, Fees & Purchase Mechanics
- Exam Format & Passing Requirement
- The Six Content Domains You Must Master
- From Purchase to Completion: The 96-Hour Clock
- Requirement Scenarios at a Glance
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The MD JAM is required for initial licensure by exam or endorsement, reinstatement after a 3+ year lapse, and an initial Compact privilege.
- It is not required for compact-privilege renewal or a Maryland license non-renewed for less than three years.
- The assessment has 35 questions, a 90-minute limit, and a 90% passing requirement, with unlimited attempts allowed.
- Once purchased, you have 96 hours to complete the module, so timing your attempt matters.
Overview: What "Requirements" Means for MD-JAM
The Maryland Physical Therapy Jurisprudence Assessment Module (MD JAM) is not a clinical competency exam - it's a regulatory checkpoint. Approved by the Maryland Board of Physical Therapy Examiners and administered online through FSBPT, it exists to confirm that a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant understands the specific laws, board rules, and practice standards that govern PT practice in Maryland. Because it's tied to licensing rather than continuing education credit, "requirements" here means something precise: who must take it, when, under what conditions, and what score clears the bar.
This guide breaks down every eligibility scenario, the registration and fee mechanics, the exam's format, and the content areas you'll be tested on. If you want a deeper walkthrough of the material itself, pair this with our MD-JAM Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 6 Content Areas.
Who Must Complete the MD-JAM
The Maryland Board of Physical Therapy Examiners requires the MD JAM in three specific circumstances:
- Initial licensure by examination - candidates applying for a Maryland PT or PTA license for the first time after completing the NPTE or NPTAE pathway.
- Initial licensure by endorsement - practitioners already licensed in another state who are seeking a Maryland license for the first time.
- Reinstatement after a lapse of more than three years - if your Maryland license expired and stayed expired for longer than three years, the module is required again before reinstatement.
- Initial Maryland PT Compact privilege - clinicians using the PT Compact to practice in Maryland for the first time must complete the MD JAM as part of establishing that privilege.
Who Is Exempt From the MD-JAM
Not every licensing action triggers the requirement. Two common exemptions matter for practitioners planning their 2026 licensing timeline:
- Short non-renewal lapses. If your Maryland license was previously active and simply went non-renewed for less than three years, you are not required to retake the MD JAM to bring it current.
- Compact-privilege renewal. Once you've established an initial Maryland PT Compact privilege and completed the MD JAM for that purpose, renewing that privilege does not require completing the module again.
These exemptions are narrow, so read them literally: the three-year clock and the word "initial" both do real work in the Board's requirement language. If you're unsure which category applies to your situation, it's worth confirming directly with the Board before assuming you're exempt.
Registration, Fees & Purchase Mechanics
The MD JAM is purchased and completed online through FSBPT rather than scheduled at a testing center. There's no appointment to book and no travel involved - the entire process happens on-demand.
Cost Structure
The module costs $65, plus a 1.6% processing fee that is rounded up to the nearest dollar. There are no hidden retake fees baked into the base price, but because unlimited attempts are allowed, you should plan your first attempt carefully rather than treating the exam as low-stakes.
- Base fee: $65
- Processing fee: 1.6%, rounded up to the nearest dollar
- Payment and access are both handled online at time of purchase
For a full breakdown of how this fee compares across licensing scenarios - and what "unlimited attempts" actually means for your wallet if you need a second try - see MD-JAM Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Exam Format & Passing Requirement
The MD JAM is deliberately compact. It consists of 35 questions delivered in a single online session, with a 90-minute time limit. That works out to roughly 2.5 minutes per question on average, which is generous for straightforward recall items but tight if you get stuck second-guessing a scenario-based question.
- Passing score: 90% - meaning you can only afford a small handful of misses out of 35 questions.
- Attempts: Unlimited, so a failed attempt does not end your eligibility, though it does cost time and another round of preparation.
- Scoring: Detailed score reporting is provided immediately after submission, broken down so you can see where you lost points.
- Completion window: Once purchased, the module must be completed within 96 hours.
Key Takeaway
A 90% passing requirement on only 35 questions means the margin for error is small - treat this like a high-stakes checkpoint, not a formality, even though attempts are unlimited. For a full discussion of what that score threshold means in practice, read MD-JAM Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
The Six Content Domains You Must Master
The current official content outline - the 2024 MD JAM Test Content Outline - organizes the exam into six domains of unequal weight. Understanding the weighting is essential because it tells you exactly where to invest study time before you start the clock.
Domain 4: Patient Care Management (34.3%)
The single largest domain, covering the rules and standards that govern how PTs and PTAs manage patient care within Maryland's legal framework - supervision requirements, documentation obligations, scope-of-practice boundaries, and delegation rules.
- PT/PTA supervision ratios and responsibilities
- Documentation and record-keeping standards
- Scope of practice and delegation limits
Domain 3: Licensure & Examination (25.7%)
Covers the mechanics of becoming and staying licensed in Maryland - application pathways, renewal cycles, and the conditions under which licenses lapse or must be reinstated.
- Licensure by examination vs. endorsement pathways
- Renewal timing and lapse consequences
Domain 5: Disciplinary Actions; Unlawful Practice (25.7%)
Focuses on what constitutes unlawful or unprofessional conduct, and the disciplinary process the Board follows when violations occur.
- Grounds for disciplinary action
- Reporting obligations and unlawful practice definitions
Domain 1: Legislative Intent & Definitions (8.6%)
Establishes the foundational language and purpose behind Maryland's PT practice act - the definitions that everything else in the law builds on.
Domain 2: Board of Physical Therapy Powers & Duties (2.9%)
Covers the Board's authority - what it can regulate, investigate, and enforce.
Domain 6: Consumer Advocacy (2.9%)
Covers protections and disclosures owed to patients as consumers of PT services.
Together, Domains 3, 4, and 5 account for roughly 86% of the exam, so a study plan that spends proportional time there - rather than splitting effort evenly across all six domains - is the more efficient approach. For a question-by-question breakdown of what each domain actually tests, see MD-JAM Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 6 Content Areas.
From Purchase to Completion: The 96-Hour Clock
One requirement candidates frequently underestimate: once you purchase the MD JAM, you have 96 hours to complete it. That's not a scheduling window where you pick a date within four days - it's a hard countdown that starts at purchase. Because the format is online and on-demand, the practical implication is simple: don't buy the module until your study plan is essentially finished.
Build your foundation
- Review Domain 4 (Patient Care Management) and Domain 3 (Licensure & Examination) in depth, since together they cover roughly 60% of the exam
- Work through Domain 5 (Disciplinary Actions; Unlawful Practice) scenarios, since violation-based questions tend to be the most nuanced
Tighten the smaller domains
- Confirm recall on Domains 1, 2, and 6 - lower-weighted but still scored, and easy points if the definitions are fresh
- Run a full practice pass at 90-minute pace to confirm timing
Start the 96-hour window
- Purchase only when you're ready to sit the assessment within the next day or two
- Complete the 35-question session in one sitting; immediate score reporting tells you right away if a retake is needed
If you'd like a structured week-by-week study approach built specifically around this domain weighting, our MD-JAM Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt walks through it in more detail, and How Hard Is the MD-JAM Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 covers what makes the 90% threshold harder than it looks on paper.
Requirement Scenarios at a Glance
| Situation | MD JAM Required? |
|---|---|
| First-time Maryland license by examination | Yes |
| First-time Maryland license by endorsement | Yes |
| Reinstating a Maryland license lapsed more than 3 years | Yes |
| Establishing an initial Maryland PT Compact privilege | Yes |
| Maryland license non-renewed for less than 3 years | No |
| Renewing an existing Compact privilege | No |
This table is a quick reference, not a substitute for confirming your specific situation with the Board. If you're still deciding whether pursuing licensure in Maryland - and the jurisprudence step that comes with it - is worth the time investment, Is the MD-JAM Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 looks at that question directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Licensure by endorsement into Maryland is one of the three situations that requires completing the MD JAM, regardless of how long you've held your out-of-state license.
The completion window is fixed at 96 hours from the time of purchase, so the module should only be purchased once you're prepared to sit for it within that window.
Unlimited attempts are allowed, so a failed attempt does not disqualify you, though each attempt requires paying the fee again and investing additional preparation time before retesting.
The requirement is tied to specific licensing actions - initial licensure, reinstatement after a lapse of more than three years, or an initial Compact privilege - rather than a recurring renewal cycle, so it does not need to be repeated for routine renewals.
Patient Care Management (34.3%), Licensure & Examination (25.7%), and Disciplinary Actions; Unlawful Practice (25.7%) together make up the bulk of the exam, so prioritizing those three domains covers the majority of scored content.
Understanding exactly who needs the MD JAM - and under what timeline - is the first real step toward Maryland licensure. Once you've confirmed your eligibility scenario, the next move is building a study plan around the domain weights above and testing your readiness with realistic practice questions at mdjamexam.com before you start the purchase clock.