Updated for 2026

Vermont LMFT Continuing Education Requirements

Vermont marriage and family therapists must complete 20 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LMFT license, including 4 hours of professional ethics and 1 hour of systematic oppression.

20hours every 2 years
Topic minimums, counted within the 20
4professional ethics
1systematic oppression

Next deadline: January 31, 2027The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by January 31 of odd years.

What the board saysVermont board rule
With the first renewal application after two years of licensure, and with each subsequent renewal application, documentation of completion of 20 hours of continuing education1 is required. Only continuing education taken within two years of the renewal date is counted1. (c) Continuing Education, Ethics Requirement A minimum of four of the 20 hours must be specifically designated as continuing education in professional ethics2 … Individualized Learning Activities: No more than 10 of the 20 hours may be accrued in this category3. Home study programs including online or interactive training … (c) Instructing: No more than five hours of continuing education consisting of activities as an instructor or presenter4 in the field of marriage and family therapy … may be counted.
What it means
  1. 20 hours every 2 years
  2. 4 hours of professional ethics
  3. No more than 10 hours of home study and other individualized learning
  4. No more than 5 hours for teaching or presenting
Allied Mental Health Rules 4.28, 4.32Last verified October 2026Ruleset 2026.4How we verify
Start free trialExplore the demo →

It's free for 30 days, and you don't need a card.

Requirements

Vermont LMFT requirements

Total

20 hoursYou need 20 hours every 2 years. The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by January 31 of odd years.

Topic minimums, counted within the 20

The remaining 15 hours are not tied to a topic minimum.
Professional Ethics
4
You need 4 hours each cycle.
Systematic Oppression
1
You need 1 hour each cycle.

Limits on how the hours are earned

Home study / self-study
max 10 hrs
Teaching
max 5 hrs

Up to 10 hours may be completed through home study / self-study.

Cycle and record rules

Renewal
The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by January 31 of odd years.
New licensees
The first renewal is different. New licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements, such as prorated hours or first-cycle-only rules, and we apply them automatically.
Approved providers
All 20 hours must be continuing education approved by the Board. CE provided or approved by NBCC, the American Counseling Association, AMHCA, APA, or AAMFT is accepted without prior Board review; for a course not previously approved in Vermont, or when you are unsure whether it meets the rule, you may ask the Office of Professional Regulation to review the course and determine whether it qualifies. Course objectives must relate directly to counseling theory or its application, or clearly relate to maintaining skills for the safe and competent clinical practice of marriage and family therapy — a course that merely relates to the field is not enough.
Board audit
The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
Provisional renewal
The board allows a provisional/conditional renewal for up to 3 months before full compliance is required. Under 3 V.S.A. section 129(k) the Board may give licensees 90 days to develop and complete a corrective plan to cure CE deficiencies identified on audit (rule 4.30(d)). Courses taken under a corrective plan count only for the licensing period being audited (rule 4.30(e)). Failure to comply with a corrective plan may result in discipline (rule 4.30(f)). A separate hardship extension of Board-discretionary duration may be granted only in cases of extreme hardship (rule 4.31).

To keep your proof in order, see what to keep for a CE audit, which covers every state’s retention period and what the audit notice asks for.

Your hours

Check where you stand

Enter the hours you have completed this cycle to see what is left before January 31, 2027.

Your result appears here as you enter hours.

Open the full LMFT CE hours calculator

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

Full board policy details
  • No more than 10 of the 20 hours may be Individualized Learning Activities (home study, including online or interactive/asynchronous training) per rule section 4.32(b). At least 10 hours must therefore be formal activities (graduate courses; board-approved institutes, workshops, seminars, conferences).
  • Synchronous virtual continuing education credits are approvable and accepted as live in-person training (26 V.S.A. section 4040(a)(1), effective 2023-07-01). Asynchronous online/home study remains inside the 10-hour individualized-learning cap.
  • Instructor/presenter credit is capped at 5 hours of the 20 per cycle. Continuing education credit will be allowed only one time per subject taught, and will not be granted for teaching a program within the licensee's regular employment; credit is for actual presentation time, not preparation time (rule 4.32(c)). Credit for attendance is granted only for actual time spent as a learner (breaks and lunches excluded), and only for CE taken within the two years preceding the renewal (rules 4.28(b), 4.28(f)). The rule does not prohibit a learner from re-taking the same course within a cycle.
  • CREDIT ADMISSIBILITY, Every counted hour must be continuing education approved by the Board (26 V.S.A. section 4040(a)). Continuing education provided by or approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors, the American Counseling Association, the American Mental Health Counseling Association, the American Psychological Association, or the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy is approved without prior review by the Board (rule 4.33(c)). For a course that has not been previously approved in Vermont, or when the licensee is unsure whether the course meets the rule requirements for continuing education, the licensee may ask the Office of Professional Regulation to review the course and determine whether it qualifies for continuing education credit. Accepted courses must have objectives relating directly to counseling theory or its application, or clearly relating to maintaining skills for the safe and competent clinical practice of marriage and family therapy (rules 4.32(a), 4.33(a)); it is not sufficient that a course merely relate to the field of counseling or marriage and family therapy. Accepted provider types describe who may sponsor or approve CE; every individual activity must still satisfy the course-objectives standard above. Presenting, teaching, and academic coursework are NOT exempt from the approval requirement, where no auto-approved sponsor under rule 4.33(c) is involved, they qualify through OPR individual review.
  • LICENSE STATUS RULES, Vermont has no formal mid-cycle inactive election for LMFTs; a licensee inactivates by letting the license expire at cycle end, and a lapsed license carries no CE obligation while lapsed. Retired status is not addressed. Reinstatement of an expired license requires paying the reinstatement penalty and renewal fee and completing the CE for the applicable licensing period (rule 4.37(a)). If lapsed more than five years without practice under another U.S./Canadian license, reinstatement additionally requires re-registering on the roster, completing six months / no fewer than 750 hours of supervised practice, and passing the Vermont statutes-and-rules examination (rule 4.37(b)). A hardship extension may be granted by the Board only in cases of extreme hardship (rule 4.31, 3 V.S.A. section 129(k)).
  • Cross-profession CE crediting: a licensee who also holds another Vermont mental-health license (e.g. LCMHC) may count CE completed for one profession toward the other (26 V.S.A. section 4040(a)(2)). Informational only; the engine evaluates one license at a time.

Vermont LMFT CE: frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do Vermont LMFT licensees need?

Vermont requires 20 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LMFT license. The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by January 31 of odd years.

How many ethics hours are required for Vermont LMFT licensees?

Of the total, 4 hours must be in professional ethics.

How often do Vermont LMFT licensees renew?

The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by January 31 of odd years.

Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Vermont LMFT licensees?

Yes. In addition to ethics, Vermont requires 1 hour of systematic oppression.

Can Vermont LMFT 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 Vermont LMFT licensees?

The first renewal is different. New licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements, such as prorated hours or first-cycle-only rules, and we apply them automatically.

Sources and verification

State source
Vermont board rule
Last verified
October 2026
Ruleset version
2026.4

We reviewed this page against the Vermont 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

Make your next renewal easier.

Add your Vermont LMFT license and every requirement on this page becomes a checklist on your record.

Start free trialExplore the demo

30 days free, no credit card.

Vermont 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.Vermont mental health workforce data →4,623 active providers, or 717.1 per 100,000 residents, ranked 5 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.

Other Vermont CE requirement pages

Vermont LPCVermont LCSWVermont PsychologistVermont Addiction CounselorVermont PMHNP

LMFT CE requirements in other states