Utah LMFT & AMFT Continuing Education Requirements
Utah marriage and family therapists must complete 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LMFT / AMFT license, including 6 hours of ethics law or technology and 2 hours of suicide prevention.
40
total hours / 2 years
6
ethics law or technology hours
2
suicide prevention hours
Biennial renewal · calculating the next statewide deadline
Utah LMFT & AMFT requirements
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| Total continuing education | 40 hours every 2 years. |
| Renewal | Biennial cycle: CE due by September 30 of even years. |
| Ethics Law or Technology | 6 hours required each cycle. |
| Suicide Prevention | 2 hours required each cycle. |
| Format limits | Up to 10 hours may be completed through home study / self-study. |
| Carryover | Up to 10 unused hours can carry into the next cycle. |
| New licensees | First renewal is different: new licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements (proration and/or first-cycle-only rules), which we apply automatically. |
Limits on how the hours are earned
Board caps and floors on where the 40 hours can come from.
- home study / self-studymax 10 hrs
- lecture or instructionmax 5 hrs
- certifiable clinical readingmax 10 hrs
- direct clinical supervision providedmax 10 hrs
- professional leadership servicemax 6 hrs
- volunteer mental health servicemax 10 hrs
- peer case consultationmax 10 hrs
- peer direct observationmax 10 hrs
- carryovermax 10 hrs
Full board policy details
- CE must be approved, conducted, or under the sponsorship of an accredited institution of higher education; a county, state, or federal agency; a professional association or similar body involved in clinical mental health therapy or substance use disorder treatment; or a mental health agency that provides clinical mental health services or substance use disorder treatment (R156-60e-402.1(3)(a)). Utah publishes no board-approved provider list. The sponsor categories are the only provider restriction: the rule does NOT limit CE to particular disciplines. Hours in any subject qualify so long as they are prepared and presented by a qualified individual and are relevant to the licensee's scope of practice (R156-60e-402.1(3)(c)-(d)) — a scope-of-practice filter the engine cannot evaluate, so it is recorded here rather than as an enforceable restriction.
- Asynchronous (self-paced, non-interactive) distance learning is capped at 10 hours per two-year cycle. Synchronous, real-time interactive distance learning counts as live and does NOT draw from the 10-hour asynchronous cap. There is no minimum number of in-person hours and no per-day (24-hour) cap.
- Per-activity limits within the 40-hour total: college/university lecture and discussion up to 3 CE hours per semester hour (1.5 per quarter hour); lecture or instruction up to 5 hours; certifiable clinical readings up to 10 hours; direct clinical supervision of a licensee working toward advanced licensure up to 10 hours; volunteer service on a board, committee, or leadership role up to 6 hours (may count toward the ethics requirement); volunteer service providing mental health services up to 10 hours; peer case consultation up to 10 hours; peer direct observation up to 10 hours.
- COURSE REPEAT RESTRICTIONS: An instructor may claim credit for a given lecture or course a maximum of two times, for a combined total of 5 CE hours of teaching per cycle. No general 'same course, same cycle' prohibition applies to attendees.
- LICENSE STATUS RULES: A license may remain on inactive status indefinitely, and an inactive licensee does not complete biennial CE while inactive. To reactivate, the licensee submits a verified application for activation together with documentation of meeting current renewal requirements, which in practice means the 40-hour R156-60e-402.1 requirement for the current cycle. Utah does not maintain a distinct retired MFT tier. The Division may defer or waive CE under R156-1-308d for a medical or related condition, humanitarian or ecclesiastical service, extended presence in an area where CE is unavailable, or other reasonable cause; the request must be submitted no later than the CE deadline, the licensee bears the burden of proof, and the Division may condition the waiver.
- REINSTATEMENT: A license expired 2-5 years may require meeting with the Behavioral Health Board advisory committee and completing a plan of supervised practice or up to 40 hours of CE in subjects the committee determines. A license expired more than 5 years is governed by Utah Code 58-1-308(6) and R156-1-308g.
- CARRY-OVER: a licensee who completes more than the required number of ongoing professional development hours in a two-year renewal cycle may carry the excess into the next two-year cycle, capped by the educational degree used for licensure — 10 hours for a master's degree or higher, 5 hours at the bachelor's or associate level (R156-60e-402.1). Every Utah MFT and AMFT holds a master's minimum, so the 10-hour tier is the one that applies to this rule. The predecessor MFT rule R156-60b-304 stated the same allowance without the degree tier ('may carry over up to ten hours of excess to the next two-year renewal cycle'), so the unified rule carried it forward rather than repealing it. NOTE FOR QA: this provision is absent from the research document behind this rule; two faithfulness runs (2026-08-03, 2026-08-04) flagged it as unsupported on that basis. It is supported by the rule itself and by the Utah DOPL-facing summaries that cite R156-60e-402.1, and it is modeled identically in rules/lpc/ut-cmhc-lpc.yaml. Do not remove it to clear the finding — acknowledge the finding instead. Separately, and not to be confused with it, R156-60e-402.1(5) bars carrying PRE-LICENSURE hours into the first renewal: only hours completed after the license was initially granted may be carried forward.
We turn every category, format limit, and one-time rule on this page into a live checklist on your Utah LMFT / AMFT record, and reapply board changes automatically as they happen.
Track Utah LMFT / AMFT CE free →Utah LMFT & AMFT CE: frequently asked questions
How many CE hours do Utah LMFT / AMFT licensees need?
Utah requires 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LMFT / AMFT license. Biennial cycle: CE due by September 30 of even years.
How many ethics hours are required for Utah LMFT / AMFT licensees?
Of the total, 6 hours must be in ethics law or technology.
How often do Utah LMFT / AMFT licensees renew?
Biennial cycle: CE due by September 30 of even years.
Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Utah LMFT / AMFT licensees?
Yes. In addition to ethics, Utah requires 2 hours of suicide prevention.
Can Utah LMFT / AMFT 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 Utah LMFT / AMFT 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
- Utah board rule
- Last verified
- August 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.1
Reviewed against the Utah 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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