I recently finished verifying CE requirements across all 50 states for counselors, social workers, and MFTs... and I want to share what I found, because whether you're a licensee trying to stay compliant or a therapist thinking about teaching CEs someday, this landscape is more interesting than it looks.
The Short Answer: 30 to 40 Hours Every 2 Years (Usually)
The most common structure in the US is 30-40 CE hours per 2-year renewal cycle, with 3 to 6 of those hours required in ethics.
But the exceptions are where it gets fun.
Wyoming requires 45 hours.
Maine counselors need 55.
Connecticut runs on an annual 15-hour clock.
And two groups of licensees currently have NO general CE requirement at all: Hawaii mental health counselors and Michigan counselors and MFTs. (Michigan folks, you still have your one-time human trafficking training and implicit bias hours... but no, you're not imagining it, there's no CE number hanging over your head.)
The Mandatory Topics States Are Adding
3 topics keep showing up in state requirements:
Suicide prevention and assessment is the fastest-growing mandate in the US. Alaska, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming all require explicit suicide-related hours. Several put it on a recurring clock: Washington every 6 years, Tennessee every 4, Montana every 2.
Cultural competency and diversity hours are expanding fast too: Connecticut requires it annually, Oregon requires 4 to 6 hours depending on your license, and Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, and Rhode Island all have explicit requirements.
And here's one most people haven't noticed yet: veterans mental health. Connecticut and West Virginia both mandate hours on mental health conditions common to veterans and their families. Watch this one spread.
The Format Rules That Surprise People
Not all CE hours are created equal. Some states have live and synchronous requirements that catch licensees (and online CE providers) off guard:
Alabama counselors must complete 75% of their hours live or real-time interactive.
Georgia requires your 5 ethics hours to be live or synchronous, with a cap of 10 asynchronous hours total.
Tennessee wants at least half your hours live-interactive.
Connecticut social workers need a minimum of 5 live hours.
New Jersey MFTs need 20 of their 40 hours live or synchronous.
If you've been assuming you can knock out every requirement with self-paced courses at midnight in your pajamas: it depends entirely on your state.
When Everyone Renews at Once
Here's a detail I find interesting for both licensees and CE providers: some states put every licensee on the same renewal deadline. Massachusetts social workers all renew on the same even-odd year cycle.
Florida runs everyone through March of odd years.
Georgia: September 30 of even years.
Nebraska: September 1 of even years.
Pennsylvania: February of odd years.
Iowa, Alaska, and Hawaii have fixed cycles too.
If you're a licensee in one of those states, you already know the scramble.
If you're a therapist who teaches CE trainings (or want to be)... those deadlines are essentially a schedule of when your entire market goes shopping.
CE Requirements by State
One Big Caveat
Requirements change constantly: boards update rules, legislatures add mandates, and first-renewal exceptions vary. Always confirm directly with your board before making decisions about your license. Consider this your well-researched starting point, not your compliance department.
If You're a Therapist Who Wants to Be on the OTHER Side of These Requirements
Every requirement on this page is a training someone has to take... which means it's a training someone gets to teach. If you've got expertise and you've ever wondered what it takes to become an approved CE provider, that's exactly what I help therapists do.
