Updated for 2026

North Dakota LAC, LCAC & LMAC Continuing Education Requirements

North Dakota addiction counselors must complete 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LAC / LCAC / LMAC license, including 6 hours of ethics.

40hours every 2 years
Topic minimums, counted within the 40
6ethics

Next deadline: December 1, 2027The renewal cycle is biennial. You file your renewal by December 1 of odd years, and the license expires December 31.

Where this comes from
State source
North Dakota board rule
Last verified
October 2026
Ruleset version
2026.3

Every figure on this page is read from this rule, and the page refreshes when the ruleset changes. How we verify

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Requirements

North Dakota LAC, LCAC & LMAC requirements

Total

40 hoursYou need 40 hours every 2 years. The renewal cycle is biennial. You file your renewal by December 1 of odd years, and the license expires December 31.

Topic minimums, counted within the 40

The remaining 34 hours are not tied to a topic minimum.
Ethics
6
You need 6 hours each cycle.

Limits on how the hours are earned

Home study / self-study
max 30 hrs
Home study / self-study
max 25 hrs per activity
Academic coursework
max 35 hrs
Teaching
max 30 hrs
Board service
max 20 hrs
In-service training
max 7 hrs
Administration management
max 20 hrs

Up to 30 hours may be completed through home study / self-study.

Up to 25 hours may be completed through home study / self-study.

Cycle and record rules

Renewal
The renewal cycle is biennial. You file your renewal by December 1 of odd years, and the license expires December 31.
Renewal fee
The board renewal fee is $300 every 2 years, and a late (delinquent) renewal adds a $200 fee.
New licensees
Licensed between January 1 and June 30 of the odd-numbered year? The board asks for 20 approved continuing education hours at the December 31 renewal instead of 40 (N.D. Admin. Code 4.5-02.1-02-02(1)(a)).
Approved providers
Programs "sponsored or approved by" NAADAC, SAMHSA, the Addiction Technology Transfer Centers, the North Dakota Addiction Counselor's Association, the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the North Dakota Department of Human Services' Division of Behavioral Health, or the National Institute on Drug Abuse "are automatically approved"; every other program applies to the board for approval, and a licensee may ask the board to approve credits from any other source if the content relates to addiction counseling, behavioral mental health or best-practice techniques and can increase the licensee's proficiency (N.D. Admin. Code 4.5-02.1-02-02(2)-(3)). Because any relevant training can be approved on request, no provider gate is enforced; keep the certificates and use the board's CE Broker course search for pre-approved programs.
Recordkeeping
Keep CE documentation for 2 years after each renewal.
Board audit
The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
Late renewal
The board allows a 30-day grace period after expiration. A late renewal adds a $200 late fee.

To keep your proof in order, see what to keep for a CE audit, which covers every state’s retention period and what the audit notice asks for.

Your hours

Check where you stand

Enter the hours you have completed this cycle to see what is left before December 1, 2027.

Your result appears here as you enter hours.

Open the full Addiction Counselor CE hours calculator
Full board policy details
  • Cycle: "All licenses issued by the board expire on December thirty-first of every odd-numbered year" and "A license may be renewed by payment of the renewal fee and completion of the continuing education requirements set by the board" (N.D.C.C. 43-45-07). The forty hours are "for the two-year licensing period" (4.5-02.1-02-02(1)), which the board's CE Guidelines fix as "a two-year period beginning January 1st of even-numbered years". Renewal applications "are due each licensing year by December 1" (board License Renewal page).
  • Approved sponsors: "Continuing education programs sponsored or approved by the national association for alcoholism and drug abuse counselors, substance abuse and mental health services administration, the addiction technology transfer centers, the North Dakota addiction counselor's association, the American society of addiction medicine, the North Dakota department of human service's division of behavioral health, or the national institute of drug abuse are automatically approved. All other programs shall submit an application on a form provided by the board, and request the board to approve the program" (4.5-02.1-02-02(2)). Approved providers renew annually and must issue completion certificates and monitor attendance (4.5-02.1-02-02(8)-(9)).
  • Individual credit approval: "All individuals seeking approval of continuing education credits earned from a person other than those listed in this section shall submit a request to the board for approval of continuing education credits. Continuing education, workshops, webinars, and seminars must: a. Be related to the practice of addiction counseling, behavioral mental health, or best practice techniques. b. Have the potential to increase the licensee's proficiency in addiction counseling" (4.5-02.1-02-02(3)). The board's Guidelines list topics it will not accept: those "contrary to the NAADAC code of ethics", "Marketing, business, personal enrichment, time management, supervisory sessions, technology enhancement, staff orientation, agency, or other meetings regarding procedural issues", "CPR classes" and "Computer-related workshops".
  • Self-study means a formal, pre-approved home-study course that issues a completion certificate: "Formal self-study course pre-approved by an organization such as NAADAC, medical associations, or national or state health organizations with a completion certificate. A maximum of 30 hours will be allowed in the home study area, however, no single course can exceed twenty-five hours" (board CE Guidelines). Live webinars with an instructor are workshops or seminars, not self-study.
  • Activity ceilings in the board's CE Guidelines, each per two-year cycle and each inside the forty: in-service training at addiction facilities 7 hours; personnel-management or administration workshops 20 hours, "The other 20 hours of continuing education must be clinical in nature"; presentations 30 hours at two hours of preparation per hour presented, each presentation counted once; formal academic coursework 35 hours at 15 hours per semester credit; board members 20 hours for board service, of which 5 may count as clinical supervisory hours. Authored publications earn "Hours to be determined by the Board", so no figure is encoded for them.
  • Registered clinical supervisors: "at least three of the forty continuing education hours contain materials related to clinical supervision techniques and skills" (4.5-02.1-02-02(7)). Registration itself requires twenty contact hours of continuing education in clinical supervision and, for an LAC, three years and 6,000 hours of supervised experience plus two references from registered clinical supervisors (4.5-02.1-04-04). Lowered from ten hours per cycle by the July 1, 2018 amendment (board FAQ: "Supervision - 3 hours are now required (Lowered from 10 CEUs, per cycle)").
  • Private practice: "To be eligible for registration to provide private practice, an individual must be licensed as a licensed clinical addiction counselor or a licensed master addiction counselor" (4.5-02.1-04-02(1)); "A person may not engage in the private practice of addiction counseling unless that person is an individual registered with the board" (N.D.C.C. 43-45-05.3). An LAC practices without a supervision requirement but in a licensed program or agency setting, not as a self-employed private practitioner. Private-practice registration carries no separate CE requirement; its renewal section (4.5-02.1-04-03) is repealed.
  • Dual licensure: the addiction rule does not mention counselor, social-work or marriage-and-family licenses held with another North Dakota board, grants no reduced or combined total, and requires no separate attestation beyond its own reporting form. A course that "relate[s] to the practice of addiction counseling, behavioral mental health, or best practice techniques" (4.5-02.1-02-02(3)) can be claimed here and, if that board accepts it, toward the other license as well; each board's requirement is met independently.
  • Lapsed license: "Applicants who were previously licensed in North Dakota but whose license lapsed for a period of less than five years shall complete forty continuing education hours, at least six of which must be on the topic of professional ethics, within the two years prior to application" (4.5-02.1-02-02(1)(e)); after five years or more the same forty hours apply and "The board may require such an applicant to take a written examination approved by the board" (1)(f). Both equal the standard cycle requirement, so no reactivation block is modeled.

North Dakota LAC, LCAC & LMAC CE: frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do North Dakota LAC / LCAC / LMAC licensees need?

North Dakota requires 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LAC / LCAC / LMAC license. The renewal cycle is biennial. You file your renewal by December 1 of odd years, and the license expires December 31.

How many ethics hours are required for North Dakota LAC / LCAC / LMAC licensees?

Of the total, 6 hours must be in ethics.

How often do North Dakota LAC / LCAC / LMAC licensees renew?

The renewal cycle is biennial. You file your renewal by December 1 of odd years, and the license expires December 31.

How much does North Dakota LAC / LCAC / LMAC license renewal cost?

The board's renewal fee is $300 every 2 years, per the North Dakota board fee schedule. Renewing late adds a $200 delinquency fee on top. CE course costs are separate and set by course providers.

Can North Dakota LAC / LCAC / LMAC licensees complete CE online or by home study?

Up to 30 hours may be completed through home study / self-study. Up to 25 hours may be completed through home study / self-study.

Is the first renewal different for new North Dakota LAC / LCAC / LMAC licensees?

Licensed between January 1 and June 30 of the odd-numbered year? The board asks for 20 approved continuing education hours at the December 31 renewal instead of 40 (N.D. Admin. Code 4.5-02.1-02-02(1)(a)).

Sources and verification

State source
North Dakota board rule
Fee schedule
North Dakota board fee schedule
Last verified
October 2026
Ruleset version
2026.3

We reviewed this page against the North Dakota board source, and we refresh it from the compiled ruleset above. Methodology and disclaimer. Compliance data is for guidance only, not legal or board advice. Always confirm requirements with your licensing board before renewing. See something wrong? Report it

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North Dakota guides & data

What to keep for a CE audit →Learn what boards ask for in a CE audit, how long each state says to keep certificates, and what the notice looks like, then use the printable checklist.North Dakota mental health workforce data →3,482 active providers, or 435.6 per 100,000 residents, ranked 26 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.

Other North Dakota CE requirement pages

North Dakota LPCNorth Dakota LMFTNorth Dakota LCSWNorth Dakota Psychologist

Addiction Counselor CE requirements in other states