Maryland LCPC Continuing Education Requirements
Maryland counselors must complete 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LCPC license, including 30 hours of category A.
40
total hours / 2 years
30
category A hours
Biennial · renewal date varies by licensee.
Maryland LCPC requirements
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| Total continuing education | 40 hours every 2 years. |
| Renewal | Biennial cycle: tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date. |
| Category ACategory A sponsor approval. Programs by national, regional, and state professional associations (e.g. AAMFT, ACA, NBCC, NAADAC and affiliates), accredited universities, and governmental agencies are automatically approved for Category A. In addition, other organizations or individuals may apply to the Board to become authorized sponsors of Category A programs (COMAR 10.58.05.07). Category B activities do not require an approved sponsor. | 30 hours required each 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. |
| Approved providers | Qualifying CE may be offered or sponsored by national professional association, regional professional association, state professional association, accredited university, governmental agency, and nbcc approved provider and recognized associations in counseling, mft, addiction counseling, and art therapy. |
| Recordkeeping | Keep CE documentation for 4 years after each renewal. |
| 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 40 hours can come from.
- category Bmax 10 hrs
- teachingmax 20 hrs
- professional paper presentationmax 6 hrs per activity
- book authorshipmax 40 hrs per activity
- journal article or book chaptermax 15 hrs per activity
- book editingmax 30 hrs per activity
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.
Total hours
40 hours every 2 years.
Renewal
Biennial cycle: tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.
Category A
30 hours required each 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.
Approved providers
Qualifying CE may be offered or sponsored by national professional association, regional professional association, state professional association, accredited university, governmental agency, and nbcc approved provider and recognized associations in counseling, mft, addiction counseling, and art therapy.
Recordkeeping
Keep CE documentation for 4 years after each renewal.
Board audit
The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
Full board policy details
- Content objectives. To qualify for credit, CE content must meet at least one of the Board-specified objectives in COMAR 10.58.05.04(A): maintaining professional competency, increasing professional skills and knowledge, preparing for new roles or responsibilities in the profession, or expanding the science and theory/practice of counseling and therapy. Content must be relevant to professional practice.
- Excluded activities. Business meetings, professional committee meetings, meetings concerned with the management of a professional practice, and presentations to a lay audience do not qualify for CE credit and do not meet any required objective (COMAR 10.58.05.04(B)). Pure home study without oversight or verification is also excluded.
- Two-category system. At least 30 of the 40 hours must be Category A — formally organized programs offered by a Board-approved sponsor with attendance recorded by the sponsor (COMAR 10.58.05.05), plus other Category A activities (teaching, presenting, publications, academic coursework) that do not themselves require an approved sponsor. No more than 10 hours may be Category B. All 40 hours may be Category A.
- Self-study / distance learning limit. Informal courses, in-house colloquia, case conferences, peer supervision, and distance-learning programs are Category B, capped at 10 hours per renewal period; these do not require a Board-approved sponsor. Distance learning must include evidence of appropriateness, mastery of materials, and completion (post-test or certificate); pure home study without evaluation is excluded from credit.
- Category A sponsor approval. Programs by national, regional, and state professional associations (e.g. AAMFT, ACA, NBCC, NAADAC and affiliates), accredited universities, and governmental agencies are automatically approved for Category A. In addition, other organizations or individuals may apply to the Board to become authorized sponsors of Category A programs (COMAR 10.58.05.07). Category B activities do not require an approved sponsor. A CE committee may review non-pre-approved programs on request; organizations and individuals not on the automatic list can seek Board authorization to sponsor Category A programs.
- Teaching/presenting caps. A licensee earns up to 3 CE hours per hour taught for presenting a Category A program, with a maximum of 20 CE hours per renewal for teaching. Presenting a professional paper grants 3 hours per hour of presentation, up to 6 CE hours per paper.
- Publication caps (all Category A, credited in year of publication): authoring a book up to 40 hours; a peer-reviewed journal article or book chapter up to 15 hours; editing a book up to 30 hours; editing a professional journal up to 30 per year; reviewing a journal or book up to 10 per year.
- Academic coursework conversion: each semester hour of post-licensure graduate or undergraduate coursework equals 15 CE hours.
- Course repeat restrictions. The same program earns credit only once per renewal period, for both attendees and presenters (COMAR 10.58.05.05(A)(2)(c)). Repeating identical content — attending the same course again or teaching the same presentation again within the cycle — yields no additional credit.
- License status rules. Inactive status: a licensee may request inactive status in writing while the license is active and must pay an inactive fee (COMAR 10.58.05.10); the licensee is exempt from CE while inactive. Reactivation from inactive status of 2 years or less requires 40 hours of Category A CE; reactivation after 3 or more years of inactivity requires 80 hours of Category A CE, of which at least 40 must be earned in the 2 years immediately before reapplication. CE used for reactivation or reinstatement satisfies past requirements only and cannot be counted toward future renewals. Maryland has no formal retired-license category. Lapsed licenses require reinstatement by completing the CE for the last missed period and paying a reinstatement fee (COMAR 10.58.05.09). No excess hours may be carried forward to the next cycle.
- Hardship extension. The Board may grant a case-by-case extension of time to complete CE if the licensee requests it in writing before the license expires and the failure resulted from significant illness, procedural/technical difficulty, or other circumstances beyond the licensee's control, and the licensee reasonably attempted to comply. CE earned during an extension is credited only to the previous renewal period.
- Multi-license credit reuse. A licensee holding dual credentials under this Board (e.g. LCPC and LCMFT) may apply one set of 40 CE hours to both licenses, provided the content is relevant to both scopes. Dual holders are not required to complete 80 hours.
- Approved supervisors of graduate-level therapists must complete a one-time Board-approved supervisor training course (typically 18 hours) at the time of supervisor qualification. This is a one-time credential requirement and does not add any recurring CE hours to the renewal requirement.
We turn every category, format limit, and one-time rule on this page into a live checklist on your Maryland LCPC record, and reapply board changes automatically as they happen.
Track Maryland LCPC CE free →Maryland LCPC CE: frequently asked questions
How many CE hours do Maryland LCPC licensees need?
Maryland requires 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LCPC license. Biennial cycle: tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.
How often do Maryland LCPC licensees renew?
Biennial cycle: tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.
Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Maryland LCPC licensees?
Yes. In addition to ethics, Maryland requires 30 hours of category A.
Is the first renewal different for new Maryland LCPC 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
- Maryland board rule
- Profession source
- NBCC continuing education guidance
- Last verified
- September 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.4
Reviewed against the Maryland 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.
Maryland mental health workforce data
32,280 active providers, or 515.2 per 100,000 residents, ranked 17 of 51. County density map and free CSV downloads.
Other Maryland CE requirement pages
LPC CE requirements in other states
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