Here is the bad news.
There is no single board that covers every therapist. Mental health professionals are licensed by their individual state licensing boards, and each board sets its own rules about which CE approvals it will accept. A counselor in Ohio, a social worker in California, and a marriage and family therapist in Tennessee are all answering to completely different licensing authorities, each with their own requirements.
On top of that, therapists often hold more than one license or credential, and each one may have different CE requirements. Ultimately, it is always between each individual provider and their own licensing board to confirm that a course counts toward their license renewal. No CE provider, including nationally approved ones, can guarantee acceptance in every state for every license type.
What I CAN tell you is which approvals tend to be accepted most broadly in each state, broken down by profession.
Use this as a starting point, always encourage your participants to verify with their own boards, and make sure your promotional materials clearly list which accrediting bodies have approved your course.
Why CE Approval Matters for Providers
Getting approved through a nationally recognized body like the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC ACEP), the American Psychological Association (APA), or the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB ACE) dramatically expands who can use your course for licensure renewal. Each state licensing board sets its own rules about which approvals it recognizes, and those rules vary significantly by profession and license type.
Knowing which states accept which CEs can help you:
Decide which approvals to pursue
Accurately represent your course on promotional materials.
Market and fill your trainings more easily.
Have honest, helpful conversations with participants who ask whether your course will count for their state.
Which States Accept CE Credits for Counselors?
APA-Approved CE Credits for Counselors
Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Maine, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming
NBCC-Approved CE Credits for Counselors
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin
ASWB ACE-Approved CE Credits for Counselors
Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
New York State CE Credits for Counselors
New York State counselors are governed by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners. See the full New York section below for important details.
Self-Submission
Activities not providing NBCC approval may be submitted to the board for individual approval prior to the event. Contact your licensing board BEFORE the activity. No retroactive approvals are granted.
Note for Hawaii and Michigan: There are no CE requirements for counselors.
Which States Accept CE Credits for Social Workers?
APA-Approved CE Credits for Social Workers
Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming
NBCC-Approved CE Credits for Social Workers
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
ASWB ACE-Approved CE Credits for Social Workers
Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming
New York State CE Credits for Social Workers
New York does not accept ASWB ACE provider or course/conference approval. New York social workers are governed by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work. See the full New York section below.
West Virginia
WV accepts ASWB ACE credits for social workers unless the activity is held live in West Virginia, in which case a separate application is required.
Self-Submission States for Social Workers
States allowing self-submission of NBCC CE credit for Social Workers: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island
Which States Accept CE Credits for Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs)?
APA-Approved CE Credits for MFTs
Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming
NBCC-Approved CE Credits for MFTs
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia
ASWB ACE-Approved CE Credits for MFTs
Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Maine, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
New York State CE Credits for MFTs
New York MFTs are governed by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners. See the full New York section below.
Note for Michigan: There are no CE requirements for MFTs.
Which States Accept CE Credits for Addiction Professionals?
APA-Approved CE Credits for Addiction Professionals
Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming
ASWB ACE-Approved CE Credits for Addiction Professionals
Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming
New York State CE Credits for Addiction Professionals
APA approval applies to activities held outside New York, including virtual, on-demand, and remote delivery. If a live activity is held inside New York state, direct addictions board approval is required, for example NAADAC.
New York is Kind of Doing Its Own Thing
New York deserves its own explanation because it genuinely works differently than most other states, and it catches a lot of CE providers off guard.
In most states, holding an APA, NBCC, or ASWB ACE approval is enough to satisfy CE requirements across most license types. New York does not work that way. The New York State Education Department runs its own approval system through separate licensing boards depending on your profession, and CE providers must be approved directly by those boards. A national NBCC or APA approval alone does not automatically satisfy New York's requirements.
Here is how it breaks down by profession:
Mental health counselors (LMHC) and marriage and family therapists (LMFT) fall under the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners. Both require 36 hours of CE every three years, with no more than 12 of those hours completed through self-study. Beginning with registration periods starting April 1, 2023, licensees must also complete three hours on appropriate professional boundaries every three years.
Licensed social workers fall under a completely separate body: the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work. CE providers must hold approval from that board specifically, not just from ASWB ACE or another national body.
What this means for you as a CE provider: if you want your course to count for New York licensees, you need to apply directly to the relevant New York State board for approval, in addition to any national approvals you hold. These are separate applications, separate provider numbers, and separate processes.
If you have a significant number of New York participants, it is absolutely worth pursuing New York approval. If you are just starting out, focus on your national approvals first, and be upfront with New York participants that they should verify with their board whether your course qualifies. Some New York licensees may still be able to use a course toward NCC recertification or self-directed learning even if it does not satisfy their New York license renewal requirement, but again, that is between them and their board.
The short version: For New York, a national approval alone is not enough.
Plan accordingly.
Tips for CE Providers: What to Do With All This
Start with NBCC if you serve counselors. NBCC approval covers the widest reach for professional counselors and is generally more accessible to obtain than APA. If counselors are your primary audience, this is your most important approval to pursue first.
Start with ASWB ACE if you serve social workers. For social workers, ASWB ACE is the gold standard and covers the vast majority of states. This one is essential if social workers make up a significant portion of your audience.
Think carefully before pursuing APA approval. APA approval is rigorous, expensive, and involves an ongoing application and renewal process that is significantly more demanding than NBCC or ASWB ACE. It is absolutely worth it if your audience includes a lot of psychologists, if your courses are research-based or academically rigorous, or if being seen as an APA-approved provider is important to your positioning. But if your audience is primarily counselors, social workers, or MFTs, NBCC and ASWB ACE will serve you better and cost you a lot less time and money.
Be transparent in your marketing. Your promotional materials should clearly list which accrediting bodies have approved your course. Participants will use this to verify with their own board before registering.
Always include a disclaimer. State regulations change. Encourage participants to verify current requirements with their licensing board. A simple note like "State licensing requirements are subject to change; please confirm with your board that this approval satisfies your renewal requirements" protects both you and your attendees.
Some states require no CE provider approval at all. A handful of states have no CE requirements for certain license types, or allow licensees to self-submit courses directly to their board. It helps to communicate this to participants who might otherwise assume your course does not count for their state.
