Alabama LPC Continuing Education Requirements
Alabama counselors must complete 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LPC license, including 6 hours of ethics.
The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.
All Licensed Professional Counselor licenses expire biennially1 … A minimum of forty (40) formal contact clock hours1 of relevant professional and continued education experience shall be required for renewal of LPC license. The forty (40) hours of continuing education required for licensure renewal must … contain a minimum of six (6) clock hours of continuing education devoted to ethical concerns2. … Of the forty (40) formal contact clock hours required for renewal of LPC, ten (10) hours may be obtained3 by supplying documentation of two (2) of the activities listed below … A minimum of seventy-five percent (75%)4 of the continuing education activities required for any licensure renewal period must consist of real-time interactive participation4
- 40 hours every two years
- 6 hours of ethics
- Up to 10 hours from presenting, publishing, or professional service
- At least 75% real-time, so no more than 25% home study
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Alabama LPC requirements
Total
Topic minimums, counted within the 40
- Ethics
- 6
- You need 6 hours each cycle.
Limits on how the hours are earned
- Home study / self-study
- max 25%
- Professional contribution
- max 10 hrs
At most 25% of hours may be home study / self-study.
Cycle and record rules
- Renewal
- The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.
- 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
- Qualifying CE may be offered or sponsored by nbcc approved provider, crcc approved provider, naadac approved provider, asca approved provider, alabama department of mental health, and apa approved provider and recognized associations in counseling.
- Recordkeeping
- Keep CE documentation for 3 years after the end of each cycle.
- Board audit
- The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
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.
Check where you stand
Enter the hours you have completed this cycle to see what is left before your renewal.
Your result appears here as you enter hours.
Open the full LPC CE hours calculatorAlso hold a Alabama LMFT or LCSW license? Each board runs its own CE cycle. See the Alabama LMFT and Alabama LCSW requirements.
Full board policy details
- At least 75% of the 40 hours must be real-time interactive. In-person attendance and synchronous interactive technology qualify; recorded, reading, and other asynchronous activities are limited to 25%.
- Up to 10 hours may be earned from documented presenting, peer-reviewed publication, or qualifying board/commission/professional-office service. The rule also requires documentation from two of those activity types; that cross-category condition remains manual.
- LPC-S renewal requires five hours devoted to supervision during the accompanying LPC cycle. The hours count within the 40-hour total and cannot be hours awarded merely for providing supervision.
- ABEC accepts NBCC- or CRCC-approved activities and activities provided and sponsored by NAADAC, ASCA, the Alabama Department of Mental Health, or APA under the policy revised November 17, 2024.
- A short initial LPC term is prorated at 1.67 hours for each month or part of a month, rounded up, with at least six ethics hours. This requires manual review because the engine cannot model the part-month ceiling.
Alabama LPC CE: frequently asked questions
How many CE hours do Alabama LPC licensees need?
Alabama requires 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LPC license. The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.
How many ethics hours are required for Alabama LPC licensees?
Of the total, 6 hours must be in ethics.
How often do Alabama LPC licensees renew?
The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.
Can Alabama LPC licensees complete CE online or by home study?
At most 25% of hours may be home study / self-study.
Is the first renewal different for new Alabama LPC 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
- Alabama board rule
- Profession source
- NBCC continuing education guidance
- Last verified
- August 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.3
We reviewed this page against the Alabama 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
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Alabama guides & data
Other Alabama CE requirement pages
LPC CE requirements in other states
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming