Hiring guideRead at source, 29 September 2026

How to Recruit Occupational Therapy Assistants (COTAs)

To recruit occupational therapy assistants, go where new graduates train and where employed COTAs scroll: host fieldwork students from ACOTE-accredited OTA programs, welcome new graduates where your state allows, and run social ads that name the setting, caseload, schedule and pay in the first two lines. State the license requirement exactly, ask three or four questions on a mobile form with no resume upload, and call back the same day.

Who you are actually hiring

An occupational therapy assistant carries out the treatment plan an occupational therapist designs: therapeutic activities, daily-living training such as dressing and bathing, adaptive equipment and home programs, and the documentation that goes with them. How much an OTA may do, and how closely the OT supervises, is set by each state's practice act, so requirements vary by state.

It is a small occupation that is growing quickly. BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 count 52,200 occupational therapy assistants in 2025 and project 63,400 in 2035, growth of 21.5%, with about 8,100 openings a year. The May 2025 median annual wage was $72,300. According to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, the largest employers are offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists and audiologists (39%), nursing care facilities (19%) and hospitals (17%).

Do not confuse the role with an occupational therapy aide. BLS lists a high school diploma and short-term on-the-job training as the typical entry route for occupational therapy aides, versus an associate's degree for OTAs, and aides had a May 2025 median of $39,160. Recruit them with a separate posting.

The credential facts your ad has to get right

• Education. BLS says OTAs typically need an associate's degree from an accredited program, generally two years of full-time study plus several months of fieldwork.
• National exam. NBCOT states that COTA candidates must graduate from an ACOTE-accredited occupational therapy assistant program. BLS notes OTAs must pass the exam to use the title Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) and need continuing education to keep it.
• State license. BLS says OTAs usually need a state-issued license. Check your state OT board for the exact rules. Some states let new graduates work on a temporary credential while awaiting results: the Oregon Occupational Therapy Licensing Board issues a 90-day limited permit that requires supervision by a licensed OT, and the Florida Board of Occupational Therapy grants a one-time temporary permit to applicants scheduled to take the exam for the first time. Both end if the candidate fails the exam.
• CPR and BLS. BLS notes these certifications may be needed. Name them if you require them.

Where to find occupational therapy assistants

• OTA programs and fieldwork. Every student in an ACOTE-accredited program completes fieldwork. Being a fieldwork site is the most reliable pipeline you can build: students who trained with your team apply to your team.
• New graduates. Where your state allows a temporary license, say "new graduates welcome" and describe the mentorship. In an occupation this size, graduates are a large share of the people actually available.
• COTAs in other settings. School-based COTAs, SNF COTAs tired of productivity targets and outpatient COTAs who want home health pay all move between settings. Skills overlap more than postings suggest.
• Your own aides and rehab techs. Tuition help toward an OTA program turns a current employee into a future COTA who already knows your building.
• Professional associations. The AOTA and state OT associations run job boards and events that reach practicing COTAs.
• Facebook and Instagram. Most COTAs are employed and not searching job boards. Social ads reach them between visits, which is why the ad and the form matter so much.

What to pay occupational therapy assistants

Pay differs sharply by setting, and candidates know it. Our occupational therapy assistant job description has the wage section by industry. Put a range in the ad, and if you pay per visit in home health, say so with mileage. A posting without pay competes badly with one that has it.

How to write an occupational therapy assistant job ad

A COTA reading your ad is comparing it with a job they already have. Answer the four things they check first:

• Setting and patient mix: SNF short-term rehab, outpatient hand therapy, pediatric school caseload, home health territory
• Caseload or productivity, stated as a number
• Schedule: weekdays only, weekend rotation, school calendar, PRN minimums
• Pay: range, per-visit rate, sign-on, CEU budget

Employment ads on Meta run in the Employment special ad category, so targeting cannot use age, gender or ZIP code and needs at least a 15-mile radius.

Screening questions for OTA applicants

• Do you hold, or are you eligible for, an OTA license in our state? Knockout, because the job legally requires it. Include "new graduate awaiting exam" as an option if your state permits it.
• Which settings have you worked in? Multiple choice, not a knockout.
• Full-time, part-time or PRN?
• When could you start?

Collect the license number, transcripts and references after the first call. A licensed clinician who meets a resume upload and a portal account on a phone usually leaves.

Speed and follow-up

Call or text within the same day. Employed COTAs apply in a spare minute and forget by the evening. A first message from the rehab director that names the caseload and offers a short call beats an automated "thank you for applying". Our therapy staffing page covers what the agency alternative costs if the role stays open.

What it costs to recruit occupational therapy assistants on social

OTA hiring falls in the Therapy (PT / OT / SLP) family in Boostpoint's 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark, a family that covers therapy roles broadly rather than OTAs alone. It is the most expensive family in the report: median $74.62 per applicant, middle half $44.85 to $171.40, blended $64.12 and a 5% apply rate. The report-wide median was $13.88.

The 5% apply rate is the lever. Across the benchmark the apply experience explained 70% of the cost variation between campaigns, and campaigns in the 5-10% apply-rate band paid $23.13 per applicant against $53.77 under 5%. A shorter form is the fastest way to move. Figures are advertising cost only and cost per applicant is not cost per hire. See the benchmark.

Hiring the whole rehab team? See our guides to hiring occupational therapists and recruiting physical therapist assistants, and healthcare recruiting.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Occupational Therapy Assistants and Aides; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35; BLS, May 2025 median annual wage; NBCOT exam eligibility; Oregon Occupational Therapy Licensing Board, limited permits; Florida Board of Occupational Therapy, temporary permit FAQ; Boostpoint occupational therapy assistant job description; Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark. Read at source 29 September 2026.