Updated for 2026

South Dakota LAC Continuing Education Requirements

South Dakota addiction counselors must complete 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LAC license, including 4 hours of ethics.

40hours every 2 years
Topic minimums, counted within the 40
4ethics

Next deadline: November 30, 2027The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by November 30 of odd years.

Where this comes from
State source
South Dakota board rule
Last verified
October 2026
Ruleset version
2026.2

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

South Dakota LAC requirements

Total

40 hoursYou need 40 hours every 2 years. The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by November 30 of odd years.

Topic minimums, counted within the 40

The remaining 36 hours are not tied to a topic minimum.
Ethics
4
You need 4 hours each cycle.

Limits on how the hours are earned

In-house program
max 8 hrs

Cycle and record rules

Renewal
The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by November 30 of odd years.
Renewal fee
The board renewal fee is $400 every 2 years, and a late (delinquent) renewal adds a $150 fee.
New licensees
Licensed during months 7-12 of the cycle (June 1 through November 30 of the even year): the Board prorates the requirement to 30 hours, including 3 ethics hours (ARSD 20:80:08:15; BAPP continuing professional training page).
Approved providers
The Board accepts programs "accredited, approved, or presented by" the organizations listed in ARSD 20:80:08:19 or their state affiliates (the Addiction Technology Transfer Center, NAADAC, IC&RC, the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, SAMHSA, ACA, APA, NASW, NBCC, AMA, the South Dakota counselor, psychologist and social work boards, the state Departments of Health, Human Services and Social Services, and the addiction or prevention licensing board of another state, among others). Any other program needs Board approval on the Continuing Education Approval Form. Hours must fall inside the December 1 to November 30 odd-year cycle.
Recordkeeping
Keep CE documentation for 4 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 $150 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 November 30, 2027.

Your result appears here as you enter hours.

Open the full Addiction Counselor CE hours calculator
Full board policy details
  • Cycle and renewal: the continuing education cycle is "a two-year period that begins on December 1 of an odd-numbered year and ends on November 30 of the next odd-numbered year" (ARSD 20:80:08:14); the current cycle runs December 1, 2025 through November 30, 2027 and "Continuing Education is reported to the Board in odd-numbered years during the renewal period" (BAPP training page). "Licensee renewal (CAC, CPS, and LAC) will now occur every two years in odd years, beginning October 1, 2023" (BAPP renewal page); renewal opens October 1 and closes November 30 of the odd year. The cycle is statewide, not tied to the licensee's own issue date.
  • First-cycle proration: "Continuing education required for renewal of a license must be prorated in six month increments for a licensee granted an initial license during a continuing education cycle" (ARSD 20:80:08:15). The Board's published table for the 2025-2027 cycle: initial license before May 31, 2026, 40 hours and 4 ethics; June 1 through November 30, 2026, 30 and 3; December 1, 2026 through May 31, 2027, 20 and 2; June 1 through November 30, 2027, "No renewal; Valid until 2029". The first band equals the standard requirement, so only the three later bands are modeled as overrides.
  • Qualified continuing education is "an academic course, workshop, clinic, forum, lecture, program, seminar, or other educational activity delivered for the purpose of increasing or sustaining the proficiency of the licensee in the practice of addiction or prevention counseling" (ARSD 20:80:08:17). The rule sets no live, in-person or online minimum and no cap on distance delivery; only the in-house program ceiling and the per-item presentation credit are limited.
  • "No qualified continuing education may be repeated in consecutive continuing education cycles" (ARSD 20:80:08:17). The engine's same-cycle duplicate flag is left off because the rule is a cross-cycle restriction it cannot represent; the Board reads it at audit.
  • Presentation and publication credit: a licensee "who has prepared an academic addiction or prevention counseling course, an addiction or prevention counseling in-service training workshop, or an addiction or prevention counseling seminar or who has written, as first author, an addiction or prevention counseling article accepted for publication in a recognized professional journal is allowed a maximum of ten contact hours in each compliance period for each original presentation or publication" (ARSD 20:80:08:20). The ten-hour limit is per original item, not an aggregate cap, so it is recorded here rather than as a category cap; log each presentation or publication as its own credit of at most ten hours and keep the "verification of completion of the presentation or the letter of acceptance to publish".
  • In-house programs: no more than eight contact hours per cycle from programs the licensee plans and presents for staff in the same office (ARSD 20:80:08:18, 20:80:08:14(2)). Tag those credits in-house program so the cap binds.
  • Approved providers: "The board will accept qualified continuing education programs accredited, approved, or presented by the following organizations or the organization's state affiliate" (ARSD 20:80:08:19, listing the Addiction Technology Transfer Center, American Counseling Association, American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, IC&RC, NAADAC, National Association of Social Workers, National Board for Certified Counselors, the South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists, Board of Examiners of Psychologists and Board of Social Work Examiners, the South Dakota Departments of Corrections, Health, Human Services and Social Services, SAMHSA and "the state licensing board for addiction or prevention counselors of another state", among others). "The board may approve other qualified continuing education programs upon request. A licensee who desires approval of a continuing education program may apply on a form approved by the board"; the Board's FAQ says the Request for Approval of Continuing Education form "must be submitted thirty days before or after the training is held".
  • Dual credentials within the Board (CAC or LAC plus CPS): the rule defines "Licensee" as "a person licensed or certified by the Board as a CAC, LAC, or CSP" (ARSD 20:80:08:14(3)) and states one forty-hour requirement per cycle, and the Board renews dually credentialed practitioners on a single paper renewal for one dual credential fee (BAPP Renewal FAQ; ARSD 20:80:03:02(11)). One set of forty hours therefore serves both BAPP credentials. Holding an LPC, LPC-MH or LMFT from the separate Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists changes nothing in this rule: BAPP neither reduces nor combines the forty hours for counselor-board licensees, each board requires its own attestation on its own even- or odd-year cycle, and a course approved by the counselor board is acceptable here only because that board is on the 20:80:08:19 sponsor list (and ARSD 20:68:07:24 lists the Board of Addiction and Prevention Professionals in return), so the same certificate can usually be claimed to both boards.
  • Waiver: "The board may waive the continuing education requirements of this chapter upon receipt of a licensee's written request showing good cause for the waiver. Continuing education requirements may not be waived for more than one continuing education cycle" (ARSD 20:80:08:21). The rule provides no carry-forward of excess hours.
  • Inactive status: the Board "may place a certificate or license on inactive status at the request of a practitioner and upon payment of a fee"; "An inactive certificate or license expires four years after the date of issuance", and reactivation requires the renewal fee and "proof to the board of having completed at least forty hours of continuing education during the two-year period immediately preceding the reactivation request" (SDCL 36-34-13.7). That equals the standard cycle requirement, so no separate reactivation block is modeled.

South Dakota LAC CE: frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do South Dakota LAC licensees need?

South Dakota requires 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LAC license. The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by November 30 of odd years.

How many ethics hours are required for South Dakota LAC licensees?

Of the total, 4 hours must be in ethics.

How often do South Dakota LAC licensees renew?

The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by November 30 of odd years.

How much does South Dakota LAC license renewal cost?

The board's renewal fee is $400 every 2 years, per the South Dakota board fee schedule. Renewing late adds a $150 delinquency fee on top. CE course costs are separate and set by course providers.

Is the first renewal different for new South Dakota LAC licensees?

Licensed during months 7-12 of the cycle (June 1 through November 30 of the even year): the Board prorates the requirement to 30 hours, including 3 ethics hours (ARSD 20:80:08:15; BAPP continuing professional training page).

Sources and verification

State source
South Dakota board rule
Fee schedule
South Dakota board fee schedule
Last verified
October 2026
Ruleset version
2026.2

We reviewed this page against the South 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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South 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.South Dakota mental health workforce data →2,928 active providers, or 313.1 per 100,000 residents, ranked 41 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.

Other South Dakota CE requirement pages

South Dakota LPCSouth Dakota LMFTSouth Dakota LCSWSouth Dakota Psychologist

Addiction Counselor CE requirements in other states