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United States · Licensing exam

NPTE test questions: what they look like and official samples

The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) publishes free sample questions for the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) in its Candidate Handbook and in a free online demo that uses the real exam screens. Its paid Practice Exam and Assessment Tool (PEAT) adds full-length timed exams. Other NPTE test questions are written by review companies, and FSBPT warns against studying from recalled questions or questions of unknown origin.

  • 30Sample questions in FSBPT’s free demo
  • 2 to 5Questions that share one scenario
  • FreeSample questions in the Candidate Handbook
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Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

What do NPTE test questions look like?

Every question is multiple choice with one correct answer. Some stand alone, and some of those include a graphic or a video. Others are scenario-based: two to five questions share one clinical case, and these sets come at the end of each 45-question section. The physical therapist (PT) exam can have up to 40 scenario-based questions and the physical therapist assistant (PTA) exam up to 35.

Questions in a scenario are independent. They don’t build on each other, you can answer them in any order, and getting one wrong doesn’t make you more likely to miss another. FSBPT says most scenario boxes use the same headings, though some are added or left out.

  • Setting, sex and age
  • Presenting problem or current condition
  • Medical history and other information
  • Physical therapy examination and plan of care

Free NPTE sample questions from FSBPT

  • The NPTE Demonstration Examination, online: the security agreement, a tutorial on the exam software, 12 sample PTA questions, 12 sample PT questions, and a PTA scenario and a PT scenario with three questions each. It isn’t scored, and FSBPT posts the answers on the demo page.
  • The Candidate Handbook’s Sample Questions section, with examples for both the PT and PTA exams.

Both are free and show FSBPT’s own style. For a full-length timed exam with scoring and rationales, FSBPT’s option is PEAT. Review companies sell their own question banks and practice exams, compared on the study options page.

PEAT, FSBPT’s practice exam →NPTE prep courses and question banks →

Recalled questions and question dumps

FSBPT owns the NPTE, and its questions are protected by contract, trade secret and federal copyright law. Sharing anything about a question you remember, or asking someone who has taken the exam to share one, is illegal. FSBPT says it has prosecuted people for this, reports them to licensing jurisdictions, and can stop someone it suspects from testing until an investigation clears them.

It also says the NPTE doesn’t reuse items very often, that recalling questions breaks the NPTE Security Agreement, and that studying from questions of unknown origin can narrow your knowledge and get your score held for review.

Sources: FSBPT and 5 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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