Montana LMFT Continuing Education Requirements
Montana marriage and family therapists must complete 20 continuing education hours per year to renew their LMFT license.
20
total hours / year
Annual renewal · calculating the next statewide deadline
Montana LMFT requirements
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| Total continuing education | 20 hours per year. |
| Renewal | Annual cycle: CE due by December 31 each year. |
| Carryover | Up to 20 unused hours can carry into the next cycle. |
| New licensees | The 20-hour annual continuing-education requirement does not apply until after the licensee's first renewal. The separate 2-hour suicide-prevention obligation begins at the first renewal and recurs every 24 months. |
| Recordkeeping | Keep CE documentation for 3 years after each course's completion date. |
| Board audit | The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance. |
| Late renewal | A late renewal allows a late fee. |
| Other mandates | Complete 2 hours of suicide-prevention training for the first renewal and every 24 months thereafter. The first-renewal training starts the recurring biennial schedule; it is not a one-time substitute for that schedule. |
Limits on how the hours are earned
Board caps and floors on where the 20 hours can come from.
- new course or publication preparationmax 10 hrs
- publicationmax 10 hrs
- carryovermax 20 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.
Montana LMFTrequired trainings & mandates
Beyond the 20-hour CE total, Montana requires specific trainings — some once around initial licensure, some on their own recurring schedule.
Recurring mandates outside the 1 year cycle
- Complete 2 hours of suicide-prevention training for the first renewal and every 24 months thereafter. The first-renewal training starts the recurring biennial schedule; it is not a one-time substitute for that schedule.
Full board policy details
- No delivery-method quotas. All 20 hours may be completed via online, asynchronous, or home-study courses. No in-person or live minimum, and no per-day or per-course hour caps.
- Teaching/publishing cap: a maximum of 10 hours per renewal period may be earned for first-time preparation of a new course, in-service training, workshop, or seminar, OR for author preparation time on a paper published for the first time.
- Course repeat restrictions: instructor/author credit is one-time only — credit is granted only for first-time preparation of new material. Repeating the same course or republishing the same work earns no additional CE. Montana does not prohibit a licensee from attending the same CE course more than once, though duplicate attendance may be questioned on audit for not expanding professional knowledge.
- License status rules: inactive licensees are exempt from the annual CE requirement and may not practice. To reactivate, a licensee must complete 10 hours of CE per year of inactive status within the 24 months immediately prior to converting to active status, and may not have been out of active practice for more than five years. There is no separate retired status; retirement is handled via inactivation or lapse. A hardship exemption/extension may be requested from the board before renewal, granted case-by-case.
- Multi-license CE: a licensee holding more than one license under the Board of Behavioral Health must demonstrate completion of 20 hours of CE for EACH license. Content may overlap if relevant to both scopes, but the board expects a full complement of hours logged per credential.
- Provider approval: the board does not pre-approve CE providers or courses. CE may be obtained from any reputable source (professional associations, accredited universities, governmental agencies, online CE companies) provided the content protects public health/safety and contributes to the licensee's professional knowledge and competence under ARM 24.219.435(6). No percentage of hours must come from any particular provider type.
We turn every category, format limit, and one-time rule on this page into a live checklist on your Montana LMFT record, and reapply board changes automatically as they happen.
Track Montana LMFT CE free →Montana LMFT CE: frequently asked questions
How many CE hours do Montana LMFT licensees need?
Montana requires 20 continuing education hours per year to renew a LMFT license. Annual cycle: CE due by December 31 each year.
How often do Montana LMFT licensees renew?
Annual cycle: CE due by December 31 each year.
Is the first renewal different for new Montana LMFT licensees?
The 20-hour annual continuing-education requirement does not apply until after the licensee's first renewal. The separate 2-hour suicide-prevention obligation begins at the first renewal and recurs every 24 months.
Sources & verification
- State source
- Montana board rule
- Last verified
- July 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.3
Reviewed against the Montana 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.
Montana mental health workforce data
5,566 active providers, or 486.2 per 100,000 residents, ranked 20 of 51. County density map and free CSV downloads.