Continuing Education

California CE Requirements by License

Continuing-education / CPD renewal requirements for behavioral and mental health licenses in California — hours or CPD model per cycle, mandated topics, live/interactive rules, and home-study limits. Pick a license for the full breakdown.

California requirements at a glance

License	Profession	CE / CPD	Ethics	Live / interactive
LCSW	Social Work	36 h / 2yr	6 h	—
LPCC	Counseling	36 h / 2yr	6 h	—
Licensed Psychologist	Psychology	36 h / 2yr	4 h	—
LMFT	Marriage & Family Therapy	36 h / 2yr	6 h	—
BCBA	Behavior Analysis	32 h / 2yr	4 h	—

Requirements by license

Verified

California

LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker)

36hours / 2-year renewal cycle

No live / interactive hours required — all hours may be self-study

Mandated topics

Law and Ethics — 6 hRequired every renewal period.
Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention — 6 hOne-time requirement for licensees renewing/reactivating after Jan 1, 2021; may be coursework or supervised applied experience; counts toward the 36 in the cycle taken.
Telehealth — 3 hOne-time requirement for renewals/reactivations after July 1, 2023; must cover the provision of mental health services via telehealth (incl. law and ethics of telehealth).
HIV/AIDS — 7 hOne-time requirement completed during the FIRST renewal period only (new licensees).

Home study: No limit on self-study/home-study when taken from a BBS-approved CE provider; no live or in-person hours are mandated.

Board notes: Regulated by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS). 36 hrs/2-yr cycle with 6 hrs Law & Ethics every cycle. Suicide (6 hr) and telehealth (3 hr) are one-time requirements, waived if proof was submitted at licensure. HIV/AIDS 7-hr course is required only at the first renewal. Teaching CE courses is capped at 18 hrs/renewal (after 7/1/2023).

bbs.ca.gov ↗bbs.ca.gov ↗

View full LCSW requirements →

Verified

California

LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor)

36hours / 2-year renewal cycle

No live / interactive hours required — all hours may be self-study

Mandated topics

Law and Ethics — 6 hRequired every renewal period.
Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention — 6 hOne-time requirement for renewals/reactivations after Jan 1, 2021; coursework or supervised applied experience; counts toward the 36 if not submitted at licensure.
Telehealth — 3 hOne-time requirement for renewals/reactivations after July 1, 2023; counts toward the 36.
HIV/AIDS — 7 hOne-time requirement completed during the FIRST renewal period only (new licensees).

Home study: No limit on self-study/home-study from a BBS-approved CE provider; no live or in-person hours are mandated.

Board notes: Regulated by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS). 36 hrs/2-yr cycle with 6 hrs Law & Ethics every cycle. One-time 6-hr suicide and 3-hr telehealth requirements count toward the 36. New LPCCs must also complete a one-time 7-hr HIV/AIDS course at first renewal. First renewal still requires the full 36 hours.

bbs.ca.gov ↗bbs.ca.gov ↗calpcc.org ↗

View full LPCC requirements →

Verified

California

Licensed Psychologist (PSY)

36hours / 2-year renewal cycle

No live / interactive hours required — all hours may be self-study

Mandated topics

Laws and Ethics — 4 hMinimum 4 hrs each renewal; part of the 36; cannot be double-counted with cultural diversity.
Cultural Diversity and/or Social Justice — 4 hMinimum 4 hrs each renewal; part of the 36; cannot be double-counted with laws/ethics.
Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention — 6 hOne-time requirement attested at first renewal after Jan 1, 2020; coursework OR applied experience; if satisfied by a CE course it counts toward the 36 only in the cycle taken.

Home study: Continuing Professional Development (CPD) model with 4 activity categories. Sponsored/structured CE (incl. APA-approved online/self-study) capped at 27 hrs/renewal; Professional Activity capped at 18 hrs; Academic capped at 18 hrs; Self-Directed Learning (within Academic) capped at 6 hrs. ABPP board certification can satisfy all 36. No mandated live/in-person hours.

Board notes: Regulated by the Board of Psychology. Effective Jan 1, 2023 the board replaced traditional CE with a 36-hour biennial CPD framework across four activity categories. The 6-hour suicide training is a one-time attestation (AB 89), not recurring. As of July 2026 the 36-hr/2-yr CPD structure and the 4-hr law/ethics and 4-hr cultural diversity minimums remain current; no live/interactive minimum is imposed.

psychology.ca.gov ↗psychology.ca.gov ↗psychology.ca.gov ↗

View full Licensed Psychologist requirements →

Verified

California

LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist)

36hours / 2-year renewal cycle

No live / interactive hours required — all hours may be self-study

Mandated topics

Law and Ethics — 6 hRequired every renewal period.
Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention — 6 hOne-time requirement for renewals/reactivations after Jan 1, 2021; coursework or supervised applied experience.
Telehealth (incl. law and ethics of telehealth) — 3 hOne-time requirement for renewals/reactivations after July 1, 2023.
HIV/AIDS — 7 hOne-time requirement completed during the FIRST renewal period only (new licensees).

Home study: No overall cap on home/self-study from a BBS-approved CE provider; coursework must be from a BBS-approved CE provider. No live or in-person hours are mandated.

Board notes: Regulated by the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS). 36 hrs/2-yr cycle with 6 hrs Law & Ethics every cycle. Suicide (6 hr) and telehealth (3 hr) are one-time requirements not repeated each cycle. New LMFTs must also complete a one-time 7-hr HIV/AIDS course at first renewal.

bbs.ca.gov ↗bbs.ca.gov ↗

View full LMFT requirements →

Verified

California

BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) - national certification; no separate California state license

32hours / 2-year renewal cycle

No live / interactive hours required — all hours may be self-study

Mandated topics

Ethics — 4 hMinimum 4 ethics CEUs per 2-year recertification cycle.
Supervision — 3 hMinimum 3 supervision CEUs per cycle, required only for BCBAs who supervise trainees or provide BACB supervision.

Home study: Recorded/online BACB ACE-provider CEUs are broadly allowed; the BACB sets no live/in-person minimum and California imposes no state cap.

Board notes: California does NOT license behavior analysts separately; practice is authorized through regional-center vendorization and insurance credentialing rather than a state license. CE is therefore governed solely by the national BACB standard: 32 CEUs per 2-year recertification cycle, including at least 4 ethics CEUs and (for supervisors) 3 supervision CEUs. No live/interactive hours are mandated.

bacb.com ↗bacb.com ↗

View full BCBA requirements →

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Frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do behavioral health licenses require in California?

In California, hour-based licenses require 32 to 36 continuing-education hours per renewal cycle depending on the license type; some credentials follow a CPD model instead. See the table above for each credential.

Do CE requirements differ by license type in California?

Yes. Social work, counseling, psychology, marriage & family therapy, and behavior-analysis credentials each have their own requirements, mandated topics, and renewal cycles in California. This page lists each one separately.

Does California require ethics CE?

California requires dedicated ethics continuing education for: BCBA, LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, Licensed Psychologist. Exact hour counts are on each license's page.

CE requirements in other states

Updated July 2026 from official licensing-board, regulatory-college, and government sources. CE / CPD requirements change often — always confirm current rules directly with your licensing board or regulator before you renew. Informational only, not legal advice.