Pennsylvania LMFT Continuing Education Requirements
Pennsylvania marriage and family therapists must complete 30 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LMFT license, including 3 hours of ethics, 2 hours of child abuse recognition and reporting, and 1 hour of suicide prevention.
30
total hours / 2 years
3
ethics hours
2
child abuse recognition and reporting hours
1
suicide prevention hours
Biennial renewal · calculating the next statewide deadline
Pennsylvania LMFT requirements
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| Total continuing education | 30 hours every 2 years. |
| Renewal | Biennial cycle: CE due by February 28 of odd years. |
| Ethics | 3 hours required each cycle. |
| Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting | 2 hours required each cycle. |
| Suicide Prevention | 1 hour required each cycle. |
| Format limits | Up to 20 hours may be completed through home study / self-study. |
| New licensees | An individual licensed in Pennsylvania for the first time is exempt from the 30-hour continuing-education requirement (including the ethics and suicide-prevention minimums) for the biennial renewal period following initial licensure. The only first-renewal requirement is 2 hours of child abuse recognition and reporting training (effective March 19, 2022). |
| Approved providers | CE must come from Board-approved providers (49 Pa. Code §§ 48.35–48.36). The § 48.37 'other source' activities listed as provider exemptions here (first-time teaching, journal/book publications, preceptor/lecturer/speaker service) have no CE provider to approve and are creditable only after case-by-case Board approval — an application submitted before the event for teaching/preceptor/lecturer/speaker credit, or after publication for publication credit — not as a blanket exemption from Board oversight. |
| 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 30 hours can come from.
- home study / self-studymax 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.
Full board policy details
- Up to 20 of the required 30 clock hours may be obtained by home study; home study courses must have specific learning objectives evaluated by the provider and be marked as such on the certificate. Because home study is capped at 20, at least 10 hours must come from non-home-study formats. As of November 19, 2019, the Board no longer maintains a dedicated live-CE requirement (permanent change), though the 20-hour home-study cap remains codified. Each course must run a minimum total duration of at least 2 clock hours (hours need not be contiguous). Excess clock hours may not be carried over to the next biennium. Courses in office management or practice building are not approved.
- COURSE REPEAT RESTRICTIONS: Only first-time experience as a teacher earns credit — repeat teaching of the same material is not creditable. 'Other source' credit (clinical conferences/rounds/training under a preceptor, first-time teaching, publications, services as a preceptor/lecturer/speaker) is granted on a case-by-case basis with no fixed conversion ratios or per-activity numeric caps; teaching/preceptor/lecturer credit requires advance application, publication credit requires post-publication application. Chapter 48 contains no explicit prohibition on claiming the same course twice within one biennium (not expressly prohibited).
- APPROVED PROVIDERS: Only courses or programs offered by Board-approved providers are accepted for CE credit. Providers may be individually approved under § 48.34 or fall within the preapproved categories of § 48.36, which include graduate and postgraduate training programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE), the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and its approved providers/courses, the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) and its approved providers/courses, and the Association of Social Work Boards' Approved Continuing Education (ACE) Program. Preapproved providers listed in 49 Pa. Code § 48.36 (COAMFTE-accredited graduate/postgraduate programs, NASW, NBCC, ASWB ACE); other providers require individual approval under § 48.34.
- CHILD ABUSE TRAINING EXEMPTION RULES: The Board will NOT grant an exemption from the 2-hour child abuse recognition and reporting CE requirement based solely upon proof that children are not part of the licensee's practice — the training is required universally. A narrow exemption is available only where the licensee has already completed child abuse recognition and reporting training required by 23 Pa.C.S. § 6383(c), approved by the Department of Human Services, in an amount that equals or exceeds the required amount; documentation must be submitted to the Board.
- LICENSE STATUS RULES: No CE is required merely to remain on inactive status; CE becomes relevant upon return to active practice. No separate 'retired' CE tier is defined. A licensee reinstating an inactive or lapsed license must show proof of compliance with the CE requirement for the preceding biennium (30 hours including 3 ethics, 2 child abuse, 1 suicide). The Board may grant an extension or waive all or a portion of the CE requirement upon written request with documentation for serious illness, military service, or other demonstrated hardship, evaluated case-by-case with no fixed maximum duration.
We turn every category, format limit, and one-time rule on this page into a live checklist on your Pennsylvania LMFT record, and reapply board changes automatically as they happen.
Track Pennsylvania LMFT CE free →Pennsylvania LMFT CE: frequently asked questions
How many CE hours do Pennsylvania LMFT licensees need?
Pennsylvania requires 30 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LMFT license. Biennial cycle: CE due by February 28 of odd years.
How many ethics hours are required for Pennsylvania LMFT licensees?
Of the total, 3 hours must be in ethics.
How often do Pennsylvania LMFT licensees renew?
Biennial cycle: CE due by February 28 of odd years.
Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Pennsylvania LMFT licensees?
Yes. In addition to ethics, Pennsylvania requires 2 hours of child abuse recognition and reporting, 1 hour of suicide prevention.
Can Pennsylvania LMFT licensees complete CE online or by home study?
Up to 20 hours may be completed through home study / self-study.
Is the first renewal different for new Pennsylvania LMFT licensees?
An individual licensed in Pennsylvania for the first time is exempt from the 30-hour continuing-education requirement (including the ethics and suicide-prevention minimums) for the biennial renewal period following initial licensure. The only first-renewal requirement is 2 hours of child abuse recognition and reporting training (effective March 19, 2022).
Sources & verification
- State source
- Pennsylvania board rule
- Last verified
- July 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.2
Reviewed against the Pennsylvania 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.
Pennsylvania mental health workforce data
50,517 active providers, or 386.8 per 100,000 residents, ranked 33 of 51. County density map and free CSV downloads.