Colorado LMFT Continuing Education Requirements
Colorado marriage and family therapists must complete 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LMFT license.
40
total hours / 2 years
Biennial renewal · calculating the next statewide deadline
Colorado LMFT requirements
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| Total continuing education | 40 hours every 2 years. |
| Renewal | Biennial cycle: CE due by August 31 of odd years. |
| Carryover | Up to 5 unused hours can carry into the next cycle. |
| New licensees | An LMFT first licensed during a renewal cycle accrues 1.66 PDH for each month or portion of a month licensed in that cycle. |
| Recordkeeping | Keep CE documentation for 5 years after the end of each cycle. |
| Board audit | The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance. |
Limits on how the hours are earned
Board caps and floors on where the 40 hours can come from.
- carryovermax 5 hrs
Keeping the proof in order: what to keep for a CE audit, with every state’s retention period and what the audit notice asks for.
Full board policy details
- The fixed biennial renewal cycle runs from September 1 of an odd-numbered year through August 31 of the next odd-numbered year. The next cycle begins September 1 immediately after the August 31 expiration.
- No more than 20 PDH in any single Professional Development Activity (PDA) may be credited in one renewal cycle. Board-approved PDA types are volunteering, mentoring, presenting, supervision, publishing, coursework, independent learning, and group learning. This is one general per-PDA limit; the LMFT rule does not state separate teaching or publication caps.
- A creditable activity must enhance, improve, or maintain LMFT competence. The licensee must be able to show or describe how it provided new knowledge or skills, or sharpened existing skills through synthesis of new knowledge. The Board may deny PDH that do not satisfy this substantive standard.
- Colorado does not pre-approve individual CE providers or courses. A licensee may choose any source when the activity fits a Board-approved PDA type and satisfies the professional-competence standard. The LMFT rule does not restrict credit to enumerated provider types or disciplines.
- Presenting and publishing are eligible PDA types, but the LMFT regulation does not establish a 3-to-1 workshop-presentation multiplier, a 10-PDH academic-credit teaching multiplier, or a first-presentation-only rule. Service on a federal, state, or municipal board or commission is ineligible.
- The regulation does not impose a categorical repeat-course ban. Each claimed activity must nevertheless satisfy the new-knowledge or skill-enhancement standard, and the Board may deny credit when it does not.
- Original, reinstated, and reactivated licenses issued during a renewal cycle accrue 1.66 PDH for each month or portion of a month licensed in the current cycle. Reactivation does not create a prorated 40-hour makeup requirement for prior inactive cycles.
- Up to 5 excess PDH may carry to the next cycle when earned within three months before license expiration. The carried hours must exceed the 40 PDH required for the cycle in which they were earned.
- Continuing professional competency is demonstrated through the required assessment, learning plan, activities, and documentation. It does not require retaking the examination used for initial LMFT licensure, and an examination does not substitute for the cycle's required PDH.
We turn every category, format limit, and one-time rule on this page into a live checklist on your Colorado LMFT record, and reapply board changes automatically as they happen.
Track Colorado LMFT CE free →Colorado LMFT CE: frequently asked questions
How many CE hours do Colorado LMFT licensees need?
Colorado requires 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LMFT license. Biennial cycle: CE due by August 31 of odd years.
How often do Colorado LMFT licensees renew?
Biennial cycle: CE due by August 31 of odd years.
Is the first renewal different for new Colorado LMFT licensees?
An LMFT first licensed during a renewal cycle accrues 1.66 PDH for each month or portion of a month licensed in that cycle.
Sources & verification
- State source
- Colorado board rule
- Last verified
- July 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.2
Reviewed against the Colorado board source and refreshed 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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What to keep for a CE audit
What boards ask for in a CE audit, how long each state says to keep certificates, what the notice looks like, and a printable checklist.
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