North Carolina LMFT & LMFTA Continuing Education Requirements
North Carolina marriage and family therapists must complete 20 continuing education hours per year to renew their LMFT / LMFTA license, including 3 hours of ethics.
20
total hours / year
3
ethics hours
Annual renewal · calculating the next statewide deadline
North Carolina LMFT & LMFTA requirements
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| Total continuing education | 20 hours per year. |
| Renewal | Annual cycle: CE due by June 30 each year. |
| Ethics | 3 hours required 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 20 hours can come from.
- presentermax 5 hrs
- professional servicemax 12 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
- No delivery-format cap. There is no restriction on the number of hours obtained on-line or in person; both live and on-line courses are accepted. There is no live-vs.-self-study distinction in the MFT rule. However, CE credit shall not be accepted for independent learning undertaken without peer or other guidance, review, input, supervision, or monitoring.
- Presenting a CE course or teaching a course at a recognized educational institution is capped at 5 hours per renewal.
- Ongoing supervision by an AAMFT approved supervisor or AAMFT supervisor candidate may be utilized by the supervisee for up to 12 hours of continuing education per renewal.
- Graduate-coursework conversion: a 3 semester-hour graduate course = 45 contact hours, a 1 semester-hour graduate course = 15 contact hours, and a 1 quarter-hour graduate course = 10 credit hours. Evidence of completion for graduate coursework is a transcript verifying course completion.
- Non-admissible categories: credit shall not be accepted for (1) regular work activities, administrative staff meetings, case staffing, or reporting; (2) membership in, holding office in, or participation on boards/committees, business meetings of professional organizations, or banquet speeches; (3) independent learning without peer or other guidance/review/input/supervision/monitoring; (4) training related to agency policies and procedures; or (5) non-therapy content programs such as finance or business management.
- COURSE REPEAT RESTRICTIONS: The rule does not separately address repeating the same course within a cycle. All presenting/teaching credit, regardless of how many times a course is taught, is capped at 5 hours per renewal.
- LICENSE STATUS RULES: While a license is on inactive status, no renewal fee or CE is due, and there is no time limit on inactive status as long as the annual $50 inactive maintenance fee is submitted by July 1 of each year. There is no retired status. To reactivate from inactive status, the licensee must submit the renewal request, document the required CE for the most current two-year period, and pay the $200 reactivation fee; the Board considers requests for return to active status on an individual basis. A license expired for nonpayment or CE noncompliance may be reinstated within two years of expiration by paying the $200 reinstatement fee and documenting CE equal to the hours required had the license not expired. A license expired for more than two years shall not be reinstated; the person must reapply, paying the applicable license application fees and meeting the licensing requirements under Sections .0200 and .0300 of the Chapter. Undue-hardship CE waivers up to 12 months, waivers for licensees on active military duty (including active-duty service members or their spouses deployed outside the United States, for any renewal year), and armed-forces federal-tax-extension waivers are available on request.
We turn every category, format limit, and one-time rule on this page into a live checklist on your North Carolina LMFT / LMFTA record, and reapply board changes automatically as they happen.
Track North Carolina LMFT / LMFTA CE free →North Carolina LMFT & LMFTA CE: frequently asked questions
How many CE hours do North Carolina LMFT / LMFTA licensees need?
North Carolina requires 20 continuing education hours per year to renew a LMFT / LMFTA license. Annual cycle: CE due by June 30 each year.
How many ethics hours are required for North Carolina LMFT / LMFTA licensees?
Of the total, 3 hours must be in ethics.
How often do North Carolina LMFT / LMFTA licensees renew?
Annual cycle: CE due by June 30 each year.
Sources & verification
- State source
- North Carolina board rule
- Last verified
- July 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.2
Reviewed against the North Carolina 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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