LCSW Continuing Education Requirements and License Renewal, by State
Every state asks licensed clinical social workers to complete continuing education each renewal cycle: a set number of hours, usually some ethics, and often state-specific categories. Here is what each state requires, sourced from the board itself.
Marcus Reyes, LCSW
Licensed Clinical Social Worker · Alabama
cycle
2026 – 2028
earned
19.0 hrs
needed
11.0 hrs
deadline
Jun 14, 2028
pace toward deadline
50
states covered
15–45
CE hours per cycle (range)
42
states with an ethics minimum
2026
most recent board check
01Built for LCSW board rules
We know exactly what your board requires.
Three examples below: the actual rules from California, Texas, and Ohio, including every category, every one-time requirement, and every approved-provider constraint. We track each one as a named requirement you have either satisfied or not, against your real deadline.
Rules updated continuously from board sourcesLast verified · BBS-CA Aug 2026 · BHEC-TX Jul 2026 · CODES-OH Aug 2026
California
CA · LCSWBoard · BBS·Renews · Every 2 yrs
Total
36 hrs
Cycle
2-yr
Law & Ethics
REQUIRED EVERY RENEWAL CYCLE
6 hrs
EACH CYCLE
Clinical Supervision
WHEN APPLICABLE
6 hrs
IF APPLICABLE
Suicide Risk Assessment
ONE-TIME REQUIREMENT
6 hrs
ONE-TIME
Telehealth
ONE-TIME REQUIREMENT
3 hrs
ONE-TIME
HIV/AIDS
FIRST RENEWAL ONLY
7 hrs
FIRST CYCLE
Renewal
TIED TO YOUR RENEWAL DATE
License date
RENEWAL
Provider rule
Hours must come from a BBS-approved CE provider, an accredited college, or an approved professional association.
Texas
TX · LCSWBoard · BHEC·Renews · Every 2 yrs
Total
30 hrs
Cycle
2-yr
Ethics
REQUIRED EVERY RENEWAL CYCLE
6 hrs
EACH CYCLE
Cultural Diversity / Competency
EACH RENEWAL CYCLE
3 hrs
EACH CYCLE
Human Trafficking
EACH RENEWAL CYCLE
1 hr
EACH CYCLE
Supervision
WHEN APPLICABLE
6 hrs
IF APPLICABLE
Self-study / home study
PER RENEWAL CYCLE
≤1 hr
MAXIMUM
Renewal
RENEWS END OF YOUR BIRTH MONTH
Birth month
RENEWAL
Provider rule
At least 50% of hours must come from BHEC-listed provider types; the remainder may come from any provider.
Ohio
OH · LISWBoard · CODES·Renews · Every 2 yrs
Total
30 hrs
Cycle
2-yr
Ethics
REQUIRED EVERY RENEWAL CYCLE
3 hrs
EACH CYCLE
Supervision
LISW-S ONLY
3 hrs
IF APPLICABLE
General practice content
ANY BOARD-APPROVED CE
27 hrs
REMAINDER
Renewal
COUNTED FROM YOUR ISSUE DATE
License anniversary
RENEWAL
Provider rule
Hours must come from a CODES-approved CE provider, an accredited college, or an approved professional association.
Board rules change. Categories get added, hour totals shift, and one-time requirements get retired or replaced. We track every change as it happens and reapply the new rules to your record automatically. If a board adds a one-hour requirement next year, your cycle progress updates the same week, and we’ll tell you what (if anything) you need to do.
LCSW CE requirements in every state we cover
Add a LCSW license in any of the highlighted states and the rules apply automatically, including license-abbreviation differences (LCSW, LISW, LCSW-C, LICSW, LMSW), board-approved provider lists, and state-specific one-time requirements.
Add your license and we’ll show you what’s left.
Setup takes about two minutes. Drop in any certificates you already have and the record builds itself. Free to start, no credit card required.
How tracking works for clinical social workers
Log every hour
Add each course as you complete it. Drag in the certificate and it is dated, tagged to a category, and linked to its source.
Pace toward renewal
Every requirement (total, ethics, and each category minimum) gets its own bar against your LCSW deadline.
Renew with confidence
Confirm you are complete before you submit. Your full record is ready whenever your board asks for it.
LCSW continuing education: frequently asked
How often do clinical social workers renew their license?
It varies by state. Most LCSW licenses renew every two years (biennial), but some states are annual or triennial. Each state page above shows the exact cadence and due date.
How many CE hours do clinical social workers need?
Across the 50 states we cover, LCSW continuing education requirements range from 15 to 45 hours per renewal cycle. Open your state above for its exact total.
Do all states require ethics CE for LCSWs?
Most do. 42 of the 50 states we cover set a specific ethics-hours minimum for LCSW renewal; the rest fold ethics into general hours. Your state page lists the exact figure.
What counts as continuing education?
Board-approved courses, workshops, and (within limits) home-study or on-demand programs typically count, along with activities like teaching or publishing in some states. Many boards cap how much can be self-study and require provider approval. Details are on each state page.
Does certification.app have a free tier?
Yes. The Free plan tracks one active license with full rules + dashboard, manual CE logging, 10 AI extractions to start (then 2/month), and 10 vault documents. No card required. Pro ($89/yr) unlocks up to 10 licenses, cross-license views, unlimited AI extraction, unlimited vault, and the full audit-ready export.
How LCSW requirements compare across states
The state pages above cover one board at a time. For the cross-state picture — who requires the most hours, where ethics minimums apply, and which boards cap online CE — see the comparison analyses built from the same board-verified rulesets.
State of Mental Health CE Requirements 2026 →
The annual report: CE-burden rankings by state, ethics-minimum coverage, online caps, and one-time mandates.
Ethics CE by state →
Every state's explicit ethics minimum for LCSW licensees (and the neighboring professions), in one table.
Online CE limits by state →
The states that still cap self-study or recorded CE, with each board's exact hour or percentage limit.
What to keep for a CE audit →
What boards ask clinical social workers for in an audit, how long each state says to keep certificates, and a printable checklist.
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