What Is the South Carolina Occupational Therapy Association (SCOTA)?

SCOTA is the official membership association for occupational therapy practitioners in South Carolina. It represents occupational therapists (OTs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) at the state level, and its website (scota.net) is the hub for membership, advocacy, continuing education, events, and practice resources. If you practice OT in South Carolina — or are training to — SCOTA is the state-level body that speaks for your profession, and joining gives you a direct channel into that work.

What SCOTA does

SCOTA describes itself as advocating for practitioners across South Carolina, and it treats a state-level presence as critical across practice settings. Its stated priorities on the site include:

• Legislative and regulatory advocacy — SCOTA maintains a lobbyist and asks members and supporters to donate to keep that presence funded. The site frames this as a direct return on support: "SCOTA Legislative efforts are paying off!"
• Tracking state policy that affects billing and practice — for example, SCOTA reported that a South Carolina Medicaid policy draft affecting SLP billing codes and prior authorization would not be implemented as presented, after SCOTA engaged with SC DHHS alongside SCAPTA and SCSHA.
• Professional recognition — SCOTA Awards, including past recipients.
• Continuing education and networking — an annual conference, continuing ed listings, and district-level activity.

Membership and who it serves

The site identifies its audience as OTs, OTAs, and the broader OT community in South Carolina. Membership is the mechanism for accessing members-only content, and the site separates public pages from a "Members Only" area.

The site does not publish membership pricing on the pages reviewed here, so check the Join SCOTA page directly for current dues and categories.

Resources worth knowing about

SCOTA's quick links point to a set of documents and external standards that practitioners in South Carolina are likely to need:

• South Carolina Occupational Therapy Practice Act — the state law governing OT practice.
• AOTA's Vision 2025 — the profession's forward-looking framework.
• AOTA 2021 Standards for Continuing Competence
• AOTA 2020 Code of Ethics
• NBCOT Code of Conduct
• AOTA's Professional Certificate & Micro Credentials
• Choosing Wisely Campaign
• SCOTA Newsletters and Continuing Ed & Applications

Events and ways to get involved

• Annual Conference — SCOTA held a 2026 Annual Conference with sponsors and vendors, and registration runs through an event link on the site. A 2027 Annual Conference presenter proposal application is also posted.
• Hill Day — SCOTA Hill Day 2026 took place with member support.
• Board and committee service — the site lists open board positions and a quarterly board meeting.
• Districts — local involvement through SCOTA Districts.
• Fundraisers and donations — including the lobbyist fund.
• Sharing good news — members can submit practitioner accomplishments to [email protected].

How to decide whether to join

Join if you want state-level representation, legislative updates, and access to members-only resources and conference programming — the advocacy work described on the site (the Medicaid policy outcome, the lobbyist funding, Hill Day) is the clearest concrete argument for membership. Check the Join SCOTA page for current dues before deciding, since pricing isn't shown in the material reviewed here. If you're a student or new practitioner, look at Schools & Scholarships and district involvement as lower-commitment entry points. If you mainly need licensure information, several of those resources — the Practice Act, AOTA standards, NBCOT conduct code — are linked publicly and can be used without joining.