Updated for 2026

Texas LCDC Continuing Education Requirements

Texas addiction counselors must complete 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LCDC license, including 3 hours of ethics and 6 hours of HIV hepatitis C std.

40hours every 2 years
Topic minimums, counted within the 40
6HIV hepatitis C std
3ethics

The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

Where this comes from
State source
Texas board rule
Last verified
October 2026
Ruleset version
2026.1

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

Texas LCDC requirements

Total

40 hoursYou need 40 hours every 2 years. The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

Topic minimums, counted within the 40

The remaining 31 hours are not tied to a topic minimum.
HIV Hepatitis C Std
6
You need 6 hours each cycle.
Ethics
3
You need 3 hours each cycle.

Limits on how the hours are earned

Teaching
max 20 hrs

Cycle and record rules

Renewal
The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.
Renewal fee
The board renewal fee is $125 every 2 years.
Approved providers
HHSC does not pre-approve LCDC continuing education. "Subject to department review", it accepts hours approved by recognized state boards (the Texas social work, marriage and family therapy and professional counselor boards are named), NAADAC, and the Texas Certification Board for Addiction Professionals (26 TAC 562.18(b)); hours from an accredited college or university (562.18(g)); and may accept hours approved by other state or federal agencies (562.18(d)). "Hours that do not meet these criteria may be evaluated on a case-by-case basis" (562.18(a)). Every hour "must be specific to substance use disorders and their treatment, or related to chemical dependency counseling" (562.18(c)). Hours must fall in the two-year period being renewed, and extra hours do not carry over.
Board audit
The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
Late renewal
The board allows a 365-day grace period after expiration. A late renewal adds a 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 your renewal.

Your result appears here as you enter hours.

Open the full Addiction Counselor CE hours calculator

Texas LCDC required trainings and mandates

Beyond the 40-hour CE total, Texas requires specific trainings. Some are due once around initial licensure, and others run on their own recurring schedule.

Recurring mandates outside the 2-year cycle

  • HHSC-approved human trafficking prevention course each renewal period. "A health care practitioner, other than a physician or nurse, within the time prescribed by commission rule shall successfully complete a training course approved by the executive commissioner on identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking" (Tex. Occ. Code 116.002(a)), required "as a condition for renewal of a license issued to the health care practitioner under this title" (116.003). A "health care practitioner" holds a license "issued under this title to engage in a health care profession and who provides direct patient care" (116.001(3)); chapter 504 sits in Title 3. HHSC's LCDC continuing education page lists it as a "Required Human Trafficking Prevention Course" each renewal period. No hour figure is set, so any logged completion tagged human trafficking satisfies it.
Full board policy details
  • Cadence: the license "expires on the second anniversary of the date of issuance" and the executive commissioner adopts "a system under which licenses expire on various dates during the year" (Tex. Occ. Code 504.201(a)); the licence "is valid until the expiration date printed on the license, which is calculated on a two-year renewal cycle from the date of original licensure" (26 TAC 562.17(a)). The hours are owed "during each two-year licensure period" (562.17(i)). HHSC mails a notice not later than the 31st day before expiration that states "any continuing education required to renew the license" (504.202), but "failure to receive notice from the department does not waive or extend renewal deadlines" (562.17(a)).
  • Degree-based total: 24 hours for "An LCDC who holds a master's degree or more advanced degree" (26 TAC 562.17(i)), 40 for everyone else (562.17(j)); the statute frames the same split as "40 hours if the license holder holds an associate's or bachelor's degree" and "24 hours if the license holder holds a master's degree or a more advanced degree" (Occ. Code 504.205(b)). The tracker shows 24 automatically when you also hold a Texas LPC, LPC Associate, LMFT, LMFT Associate, LMSW, LCSW or psychologist license; an LCDC with a master's degree and no such license owes 24 but is shown 40 until the degree can be recorded.
  • Content: "All continuing education hours must be specific to substance use disorders and their treatment, or related to chemical dependency counseling, as defined by the KSA dimensions. Related education hours may include psychology, sociology, counseling, mental health, behavioral science, psychiatric nursing, ethics, and rehabilitation counseling" (26 TAC 562.18(c)). Every hour must meet this, so a course outside these subjects does not count toward the 24 or 40.
  • Required courses inside the total: "at least three hours of ethics training and a total of at least six hours of training in HIV, Hepatitis C, and sexually transmitted diseases" (26 TAC 562.17(k)), and "three hours of clinical supervision training" when "an individual's job duties include clinical supervision" (562.17(l)). The HIV, hepatitis C and STD hours must address the three subjects "in the context of chemical dependency counseling" (Occ. Code 504.206(c)). Tag those hours HIV hepatitis C std.
  • Teaching credit: an LCDC who teaches a qualifying course receives "the same number of hours as students attending the course", "Only one set of hours can be accrued for a single curriculum", and teaching may supply "no more than one half of the required amount of hours" (26 TAC 562.17(m)): 20 of 40, or 12 of 24. Tag hours earned by teaching `teaching`.
  • Academic coursework: "The department will accept education hours from an accredited college or university." Transcripts "must contain the official seal of the college and the signature of the registrar", and "One semester hour of college credit is equivalent to 15 continuing education hours. One quarter hour of college credit is equivalent to 10 continuing education hours" (26 TAC 562.18(g)). Log the converted hours.
  • Independent study and distance learning count without a cap, but the course "must be guided and monitored by the instructor and include an evaluation of performance and/or participation verification", and students must have "access to faculty or instructors for questions and assistance" (26 TAC 562.18(h)).
  • Certificates must show the licensee's name and license number, the completion date, the hours assigned to each course, the course title, the provider name and number, the approving agency, and the name and signature of the instructor or coordinator (26 TAC 562.18(f)).
  • No carryover: "You may not carry over any continuing education hours you submit over the required amount" to the next renewal period (HHSC LCDC continuing education page).
  • Dual licensure: an LCDC who is "also licensed as" a licensed master social worker, licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed professional counselor, physician or psychologist owes "at least 24 hours" (Tex. Occ. Code 504.205(c)), and the commission "may not adopt a rule ... that distinguishes between the continuing education requirements" of the two groups "Except for the number of hours required" (504.205(d)), so the ethics, HIV/hepatitis C/STD and supervision courses still apply. HHSC "will accept continuing education credits approved by" the Texas social work, marriage and family therapy and professional counselor boards (26 TAC 562.18(b)(1)), so a course approved for the other license can serve both when it also meets the substance-use content rule in 562.18(c). Neither the statute nor the rule requires a separate attestation.
  • Military: a military service member "is entitled to two years of additional time beyond the expiration date of the license to complete: (1) any continuing education requirements; and (2) any other requirement related to the renewal" (26 TAC 562.33(f)), and HHSC waives the late fee when the failure to renew was caused by military service (562.33(e)).
  • Inactive status: requested in writing with the $50 fee before the license expires; it "shall not exceed two years and is not renewable", and an inactive license "will automatically expire at the end of the two-year inactive period" (26 TAC 562.19(a), (c), (e)). Returning to active status takes 20 hours "obtained within the inactive status period" including the 562.17(k) courses (562.19(d)), modeled as the reactivation conditional.

Texas LCDC CE: frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do Texas LCDC licensees need?

Texas requires 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LCDC license. The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

How many ethics hours are required for Texas LCDC licensees?

Of the total, 3 hours must be in ethics.

How often do Texas LCDC licensees renew?

The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

How much does Texas LCDC license renewal cost?

The board's renewal fee is $125 every 2 years, per the Texas board fee schedule. CE course costs are separate and set by course providers.

Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Texas LCDC licensees?

Yes. In addition to ethics, Texas requires 6 hours of HIV hepatitis C std.

Sources and verification

State source
Texas board rule
Fee schedule
Texas board fee schedule
Last verified
October 2026
Ruleset version
2026.1

We reviewed this page against the Texas 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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Texas 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.Texas mental health workforce data →68,626 active providers, or 216.4 per 100,000 residents, ranked 50 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.

Other Texas CE requirement pages

Texas LPCTexas LMFTTexas LCSWTexas Psychologist

Addiction Counselor CE requirements in other states