Georgia LMFT & LAMFT Continuing Education Requirements
Georgia marriage and family therapists must complete 35 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LMFT / LAMFT license, including 5 hours of professional ethics and 15 hours of MFT core.
35
total hours / 2 years
5
professional ethics hours
15
MFT core hours
Biennial renewal · calculating the next statewide deadline
Georgia LMFT & LAMFT requirements
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| Total continuing education | 35 hours every 2 years. |
| Renewal | Biennial cycle: CE due by September 30 of even years. |
| Professional Ethics | 5 hours required each cycle. |
| MFT Core | 15 hours required each cycle. |
| Format limits | Up to 10 hours may be completed through home study / self-study. |
| New licensees | First renewal is different: new licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements (proration and/or first-cycle-only rules), which we apply automatically. |
| Approved providers | Qualifying CE may be offered or sponsored by national professional association, state professional association, accredited university, state licensing board, licensing board other jurisdiction, national certifying body, governmental agency, and licensed hospital and recognized associations in mft, counseling, social work, psychology, psychiatry, and psychiatric nursing. |
| Recordkeeping | Keep CE documentation for 4 years after each course's completion date. |
| Board audit | The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance. |
| Provisional renewal | The board allows a provisional/conditional renewal for up to 6 months before full compliance is required. If a Board audit reveals insufficient CE, the license is renewed under the condition that the licensee obtains the required hours within 6 months of the notice of deficiency. Failure to cure may subject the license to discipline. |
Limits on how the hours are earned
Board caps and floors on where the 35 hours can come from.
- relatedmax 15 hrs
- home study / self-studymax 10 hrs
- independent studymax 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
- At least 25 of the 35 hours must be synchronous (live, real-time interactive such as in-person seminars, live webinars, or video conferences). A maximum of 10 hours per two-year cycle may be obtained asynchronously (recorded / on-demand, non-interactive). Live-interactive webinars count as synchronous.
- The required 5 ethics hours must be obtained through synchronous activities only; self-paced ethics courses do not count.
- A maximum of 5 hours per cycle may come from independent study (reading professional books/journals, preparing presentations or publications, research). Ethics hours and core specialty hours cannot be earned via independent study. Independent study hours must be attested by affidavit if audited. Independent study is the only credit that does not need to come from a Rule 135-9-.01 sponsor category — all other hours must.
- No more than 20 hours may be claimed from any single continuing education activity or course, regardless of delivery format. This does not apply to multi-session professional conferences offering numerous distinct presentations (each session is a separate activity). Academic coursework converts at 1 semester hour = 15 CE hours, 1 quarter hour = 10 CE hours, capped at 20 hours per course; graduate courses must be offered by an academic department in the license's specialty at an accredited institution.
- Related (non-specialty) hours: of the 30 hours beyond ethics, at least 15 must be core MFT content; no more than 15 of the 35 total hours may be "related hours" from the allied mental health professions (counseling, social work, psychology, psychiatry, psychiatric nursing).
- Activities approved by another state's licensure or certification board are acceptable only if that board regulates the same specialty as the Georgia license (marriage and family therapy for LMFT/LAMFT). Where the other jurisdiction has a composite board, the activity must be approved specifically in the MFT specialty category.
- Instructor / presentation credit is counted under the Independent Study category and is therefore capped at 5 hours per cycle combined with all other independent study activities. Teaching or presenting the same course multiple times in a cycle does not yield credit beyond the 5-hour independent study cap. Repeating the same course as an attendee within a cycle generally yields credit only once (not codified, but duplicate hours are likely to be disqualified on audit).
- Inactive status: full licensees (LMFT) may place a license inactive for up to 5 years, during which no renewal or CE is required. Associate licensees (LAMFT) cannot go inactive. To reactivate, the licensee must submit evidence of 35 CE hours (following the normal ethics/core distribution per Rule 135-9) obtained within the 2 years prior to the reactivation application. Inactive longer than 5 years requires reinstatement under Rule 135-6-.04, which requires 35 hours for each missed cycle.
- Dual-license holders under the Composite Board (e.g. LMFT and LPC) may apply a single CE hour toward more than one specialty's renewal provided it meets that specialty's content requirements. The engine evaluates one license at a time; this is informational.
- A licensee found deficient on audit may have the license renewed conditionally, requiring completion of the missing hours within 6 months of the notice of deficiency. This is not renewable or extendable; failure to cure may result in discipline.
We turn every category, format limit, and one-time rule on this page into a live checklist on your Georgia LMFT / LAMFT record, and reapply board changes automatically as they happen.
Track Georgia LMFT / LAMFT CE free →Georgia LMFT & LAMFT CE: frequently asked questions
How many CE hours do Georgia LMFT / LAMFT licensees need?
Georgia requires 35 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LMFT / LAMFT license. Biennial cycle: CE due by September 30 of even years.
How many ethics hours are required for Georgia LMFT / LAMFT licensees?
Of the total, 5 hours must be in professional ethics.
How often do Georgia LMFT / LAMFT licensees renew?
Biennial cycle: CE due by September 30 of even years.
Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Georgia LMFT / LAMFT licensees?
Yes. In addition to ethics, Georgia requires 15 hours of MFT core.
Can Georgia LMFT / LAMFT licensees complete CE online or by home study?
Up to 10 hours may be completed through home study / self-study.
Is the first renewal different for new Georgia LMFT / LAMFT licensees?
First renewal is different: new licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements (proration and/or first-cycle-only rules), which we apply automatically.
Sources & verification
- State source
- Georgia board rule
- Last verified
- July 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.2
Reviewed against the Georgia 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.
Georgia mental health workforce data
27,494 active providers, or 243.3 per 100,000 residents, ranked 49 of 51. County density map and free CSV downloads.