How to Become an SLP or Audiologist in Ohio

Licenses covered

• Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)
• Audiologist (AuD)
• Hearing Aid Fitter

Speech and Hearing Professionals Board by the numbers

These figures are ours, not the board's — we computed them from the full State of Ohio licence file so you can see this board in context rather than one record at a time. Data as of September 2026.

Only 46.8% of the 25,005 licences this board has on record are currently active — the other 53.2% belong to people who retired, moved, changed careers, or simply let a credential lapse. That gap is the single best reason to verify a licence rather than assume a name in a database means somebody may practise today.

Most common licence types

When a licence from this board is not active, the most common reason recorded is closed (6,682 records), followed by expired (6,072). Our status dictionary explains what each label actually means.

1.78% of this board's licences carry a recorded board action (444 of 25,005), against about 1.6% across all Ohio professions. A board action covers everything from an administrative consent agreement to revocation, and it is cumulative over a licence's whole life — see how we measured that before reading much into it.

Computed by OhioLicenseCheck from the State of Ohio eLicense dataset (issued licences only; application records excluded). Refreshed daily.

Why choose this path

• Chronic SLP shortages in Ohio schools mean exceptional job security
• School-calendar schedules (summers off) are genuinely available
• Teletherapy has made this one of the most remote-friendly licensed clinical careers
• Master’s-level entry — no doctorate required for SLP
• Every age group is a potential caseload, from early intervention to stroke recovery

Path to the license

1. 1

   Earn a communication sciences bachelor’s (or post-bacc)

   CSD undergraduate programs are the standard feeder; career-changers use post-baccalaureate bridge coursework.

2. 2

   Complete the graduate degree

   ASHA-accredited (CAA) master’s for SLP or AuD doctorate for audiology, including supervised clinical hours.

3. 3

   Pass the Praxis and finish your clinical fellowship

   SLPs complete a clinical fellowship year (CFY) under supervision before full licensure.

4. 4

   Apply to the Ohio Speech and Hearing Professionals Board

   School-based practice also involves education credentials — verify both. Renew with CE on the Board’s cycle.

Pay and outlook

BLS medians sit in the high-$80,000s nationally for SLPs and audiologists; Ohio typically pays in the $75,000–90,000 band with school and hospital settings differing more in schedule than in salary. Teletherapy platforms have added a competitive national market on top of local employers.

SLP growth projections are among the strongest of any master’s-level occupation.

Where Ohioans train

Schools listed are well-known examples, not endorsements — always compare accreditation, cost, and outcomes.

Official links & resources

• Ohio Speech and Hearing Professionals Board (via eLicense)
• ASHA certification
• BLS Outlook: Speech-Language Pathologists
• BLS Outlook: Audiologists