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Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists

Continuing Education Requirements
GUIDELINES
For Continuing Education Requirements in License Renewal
For a summary of the continuing education requirements:
CEU Guidelines 
 
The Board administrative rules provide more detail.

Licensed Professional Counselors and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists
You must complete forty (40) clock hours of continuing education every 2 years.  Six of those 40 hours must be ethics training.
 
Your reporting period is from your license renewal in one even-numbered year to the next license renewal in the subsequent even-numbered year.  For example, if your birth month is June, your CEU reporting period would be from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2012.  You would report when you renew your license in June, 2012.
 
If you received your initial license less than 2 years before CEUs are due, please contact the Board to find out the number of hours required.
 
OBTAINING CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR LICENSE RENEWAL
________________________________________________
 
You must complete at least 6 clock hours of ethics training
during each two-year reporting period.
________________________________________________
 
You may obtain the 40 clock hours in a variety of ways:
  • Attending college or university courses -- 15 clock hours per semester credit or 10 clock hours per quarter credit.
  • Seminars, workshops, conferences and/or trainings.
  • Distance learning trainings must be offered or approved by a provider acceptable to the Board, e.g., NBCC
  • Home study from approved providers must be offered or approved by a provider acceptable to the Board, e.g., NBCC
  • Supervision (maximum of 10 hours)
 
You can obtain a maximum of 20 CEUs within a 2 year period through professional presentations, publication activities.  Please review the Board's administrative rules for the allowable number of credits allowed through these methods.
 
 
Specifics About Education/Training Content
 
Not all workshops, seminars, or courses may count!
 
In order to complete the continuing education requirements, education/training experiences must be in one or more of the following program areas:
 
  • Counseling or marital and family therapy theory and techniques
  • Human development and family studies
  • Social and cultural foundations
  • The helping relationship
  • Group dynamics
  • Lifestyle and career development
  • DSM diagnosis assessment
  • Research and evaluation
  • Professional orientation and ethics
  • Professional supervision training
  • Disability and life transitions
  • Substance abuse
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders
 
 
Courses in personal growth, computers, administration, management, marketing, or other business classes will NOT count.
 
Other CEU Requirements
 
Approved programs include:
  1. academic courses offered by accredited degree counseling or marriage and family programs;
  2. presentations sponsored by:
    1. departments of accredited educational institutions;
    2. national, regional, state, or local professional organizations or associations;
    3. public or private human services agencies or organizations;
    4. private consultants.
 
Accepted presentations, seminars or workshops must be at least one hour in length and
  1. offered by individuals with appropriate academic training, professional licensure or certification, or professionally recognized experience and with identifiable involvement in human services;
  2. oriented towards preparing the licensee to better meet counseling/therapeutic needs of clientele;
  3. offered in places accessible to persons with disabilities (except for non-classroom distance learning programs).
 
Other program requirements will be approved by the Board if approved for continuing education by NASW, NBCC, OPA, CRCC, AATA, AAMFT, and ACA.
 
Distance learning programs must include mechanisms for evaluation, measurement, or confirmation of exchange of information.
 
Clock hours exclude refreshment breaks, receptions or other social gatherings, and meals that do not include an approved program.
 
You may count only those clock hours completed during your reporting period.  You may not carry CEUs from one reporting period to the next. 
 
DOCUMENTING CONTINUING EDUCATION
 
KEEP in your records information about the program and any other documentation that shows you have completed continuing education hours. Obtain proof of completion as soon as possible after attending the course or workshop. (Canceled checks merely show that you paid, not that you attended.)
 
Documentation showing completion may include:
  • Transcripts from accredited education institution;
  • Dated certificates with number of CEUs granted (originals or copies) documenting completion of training;
  • Program/activity descriptions, including written verification of professional services, copies of published works or other proof of publication, letter from president/director of organization in which professional activity was conducted.
  • Signed statement of professional supervision by the individual providing the supervision.
 
 
BOARD AUDIT
 
Each reporting year, the Board conducts an audit to check compliance of its continuing education requirements. The audit process includes:
  • random selection of 10% of LPCs and LMFTs for audit; 
  • notification of selected licensees by mail, including request for copies of documentation; review of documentation for compliance and accuracy of summary list submitted with license renewal; 
  • discrepancies reported to the Board; 
  • Board determines if discrepancy means non-compliance. 
  • Board determines if non-compliance results in discipline. 
 
IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE 10% SELECTED FOR AUDIT, YOU MUST PROVIDE:
  1. PROOF OF COMPLETION OF 40 CLOCK HOURS INCLUDING 6 HOURS OF ETHICS TRAINING; and
  2. EVIDENCE THAT THE EDUCATION/TRAINING MET THE REQUIREMENTS.
 
SUBMITTING CONTINUING EDUCATION
 
At the time of annual renewal on even-numbered years you must certify that you have met the continuing education requirements. You do this by listing a summary of continuing education courses, or courses and supervision, which you have completed. A form for the continuing education summary is provided with your license renewal notice.
 
 
WAIVERS:
 
The Board may grant waivers for serious illness or disability orfor licensees who will not be practicing for extended periods and agree to make up provisions prior to resuming practice.  Contact the Board office for details.  The waiver request forms are available on the board's website.
 
These guidelines are designed to assist licensed professional counselors and licensed marriage and family therapists in meeting the continuing education requirements for license renewal. 
 
Failure to document the required hours may result in non-renewal civil penalties or, possible suspension of license
 
Please do not wait until the last minute to renew or to request a waiver.
 
You have a grace period to submit fees and other necessary papers, but there is no grace period for completing the continuing education requirements.  There are civil penalties for not meeting the requirements.