Updated for 2026

Kentucky LMFT & LMFT-A Continuing Education Requirements

Kentucky marriage and family therapists must complete 15 continuing education hours per year to renew their LMFT / LMFT-A license, including 3 hours of ethics.

15hours per year
Topic minimums, counted within the 15
3ethics

The renewal cycle is annual and is counted from your license anniversary.

What the board saysKentucky board rule
Effective January 1, 2017, a minimum of fifteen (15) approved continuing education hours shall be accrued by each licensee and a minimum of ten (10) approved continuing education hours shall be accrued by each associate during each one (1) year renewal period. … Three (3) hours1 of the hours required by subsection (1) of this section for licensees and associates shall be accrued in the field of professional marriage and family therapy ethics1.
What it means
  1. 3 hours of marriage and family therapy ethics
201 KAR 32:060Last verified July 2026Ruleset 2026.3How we verify
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Requirements

Kentucky LMFT & LMFT-A requirements

Total

15 hoursYou need 15 hours per year. The renewal cycle is annual and is counted from your license anniversary.

Topic minimums, counted within the 15

The remaining 12 hours are not tied to a topic minimum.
Ethics
3
You need 3 hours each cycle.

Limits on how the hours are earned

Teaching
max 7.5 hrs
Publication
max 7.5 hrs

Cycle and record rules

Renewal
The renewal cycle is annual and is counted from your license anniversary.
Approved providers
Qualifying CE may be offered or sponsored by national professional association, state professional association, and accredited university and recognized associations in mft.
Late renewal
The board allows a 90-day grace period after expiration. A late renewal adds a late fee.
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 LMFT CE hours calculator

Also hold a Kentucky LPC or LCSW license? Each board runs its own CE cycle. See the Kentucky LPC and Kentucky LCSW requirements.

Kentucky LMFT & LMFT-A required trainings and mandates

Beyond the 15-hour CE total, Kentucky requires specific trainings. Some are due once around initial licensure, and others run on their own recurring schedule.

Recurring mandates outside the 1-year cycle

  • One-time 3-hour training covering domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, required by state law (KRS 194A.540), typically within the first three years of licensure. If board-approved for CE, the hours may also count toward the annual CE total in the year taken.
  • You need 6 hours of suicide assessment every 6 years.
Full board policy details
  • Provider approval: CE provided or approved by AAMFT and its state affiliates, CE offered by a COAMFTE-accredited educational institution, and relevant graduate-level academic courses from an accredited institution are automatically accepted without further board review (201 KAR 32:060 Section 1). Any other CE activity is not automatically creditable, it must be submitted to the board for review and may be determined relevant and subsequently approved before credit is granted. No category of activity is exempt from this approval requirement; all hours must be approved continuing education hours.
  • No minimum number of live/in-person hours. All 15 hours (10 for associates) may be completed via approved online study, distance learning, or face-to-face workshops. Live-online interactive webinars are accepted as equivalent to live courses. There is no per-day or per-course hour cap.
  • Teaching/presenting: full CE credit per contact hour of instruction, not to exceed one-half of the CE requirement per cycle (max 7.5 hours for a licensee, 5 for an associate). The course or instruction itself must be board-approved or from an automatically accepted source, teaching is not exempt from the approval requirement. Credit shall not be issued for repeated instruction of the same course within a renewal period. Teaching the same course in different years may count in each year, but not twice in one cycle.
  • Relevant publications in a professionally recognized (peer-reviewed) journal may count for one-half of the required hours (7.5 hours for a licensee, 5 for an associate). No more than one publication may be counted during each renewal period. Publications must be in professionally recognized journals, they are not exempt from board recognition of the source.
  • Course repeat restrictions: credit is not awarded for duplicate content within the same renewal cycle. Each unique CE activity counts only once. Attending or teaching the identical program more than once in one cycle yields a single credit event.
  • License status rules: LMFTs and associates may request inactive licensure status under 201 KAR 32:081, during which annual CE is not required. To return to active status, the licensee must show proof of completing the required CE (generally one cycle's hours, 15 for a licensee) prior to reactivation. There is no separate retired/emeritus status; an unrenewed license lapses rather than converting to a special category. The board may grant a CE waiver or extension of up to one year for medical disability, illness, or undue hardship, requested in writing during the renewal grace period. A medical waiver request must be supported by a physician's (or similar) note; for other hardships a signed statement explaining the situation is required. The license remains active and valid during an approved CE extension. Extensions may be re-requested if the hardship persists.
  • Kentucky does not offer an exam re-take or any exam route in lieu of completing CE hours. The only remedies for CE deficiency are a board-approved hardship extension/waiver or electing inactive status.

Kentucky LMFT & LMFT-A CE: frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do Kentucky LMFT / LMFT-A licensees need?

Kentucky requires 15 continuing education hours per year to renew a LMFT / LMFT-A license. The renewal cycle is annual and is counted from your license anniversary.

How many ethics hours are required for Kentucky LMFT / LMFT-A licensees?

Of the total, 3 hours must be in ethics.

How often do Kentucky LMFT / LMFT-A licensees renew?

The renewal cycle is annual and is counted from your license anniversary.

Sources and verification

State source
Kentucky board rule
Last verified
July 2026
Ruleset version
2026.3

We reviewed this page against the Kentucky 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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Kentucky 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.Kentucky mental health workforce data →18,646 active providers, or 404.7 per 100,000 residents, ranked 29 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.

Other Kentucky CE requirement pages

Kentucky LPCKentucky LCSWKentucky PsychologistKentucky Addiction CounselorKentucky PMHNP

LMFT CE requirements in other states