Updated for 2026

Minnesota LPC & LPCC Continuing Education Requirements

Minnesota counselors must complete 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LPC / LPCC license, including 4 hours of cultural competency.

40hours every 2 years
Topic minimums, counted within the 40
4cultural competency

The renewal cycle is biennial and is counted from your license anniversary.

What the board saysMinnesota board rule
each licensee shall also complete in the first four years of licensure a minimum of 40 hours of continuing education activities approved by the board … Thereafter, at the time of renewal, each licensee shall provide evidence satisfactory to the board that the licensee has completed during each two-year period at least the equivalent of 40 clock hours1 of professional postdegree continuing education in programs approved by the board … (b) At least four of the required 402 continuing education clock hours must be on increasing the knowledge, understanding, self-awareness, and practice skills that enable a licensed professional counselor and licensed professional clinical counselor to serve clients from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds2.
What it means
  1. Then 40 hours every two years
  2. 4 hours on serving clients from diverse backgrounds
Minn. Stat. 148B.54, subd. 2Last verified September 2026Ruleset 2026.4How we verify
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Requirements

Minnesota LPC & LPCC requirements

Total

40 hoursYou need 40 hours every 2 years. The renewal cycle is biennial and is counted from your license anniversary.

Topic minimums, counted within the 40

The remaining 36 hours are not tied to a topic minimum.
Cultural Competency
4
You need 4 hours each cycle.

Limits on how the hours are earned

Professional board service
max 20 hrs
Individually designed activity
max 10 hrs
Carryover
max 10 hrs

Up to 10 unused hours can carry into the next cycle.

Cycle and record rules

Renewal
The renewal cycle is biennial and is counted from your license anniversary.
New licensees
Your first reporting period runs four years from the date your license was issued. In that time the Board expects 40 hours of approved continuing education, including 4 hours on serving clients from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. The Board also asks for 12 additional postgraduate semester credits in counseling by the end of those four years unless you already hold 60 graduate semester credits; graduate coursework can count toward both. This app tracks the 40 hours; check the graduate-credit component against your transcript.
Approved providers
CE must be earned from a board-approved provider.
Recordkeeping
Keep CE documentation for 5 years after each renewal.
Board audit
The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
Provisional renewal
The board allows a provisional/conditional renewal for up to 12 months (renewable) before full compliance is required. BBHT may grant one 6-month CE variance and one additional 6-month variance. Late fees still apply, and failure to complete CE within the variance can result in administrative suspension.

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 your renewal.

Your result appears here as you enter hours.

Open the full LPC CE hours calculator

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

Full board policy details
  • The license renews every year (Minn. R. 2150.0050: valid for one year, expiring on the last day of the month preceding the month of original licensure). Continuing education is reported on a longer clock: at the end of the first four years of licensure, then every two years.
  • At the end of the first four years, a licensee must document 40 CE hours and any graduate-credit shortfall needed to reach 60 graduate semester credits (12 additional credits, or fewer if already at 60). Graduate coursework also counts toward CE at 15 hours per semester credit or 10 per quarter credit. The engine enforces the 40-hour component; the individualized graduate-credit shortfall remains manual.
  • After the initial four-year period, 40 counseling-related CE hours are reported every 2 years. Up to 10 excess hours may carry into the next reporting period.
  • At least 4 of the 40 hours in every reporting period must address serving clients from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds (Minn. Stat. 148B.54 subd. 2(b)).
  • Automatic approval is limited to activities approved by ACA, CACREP, AASCB, NBCC, or another national organization the Board determines qualifies. Other sponsors and individual activities require Board approval.
  • Individually designed activities require individual Board approval and are capped at 10 hours. This is an activity category, not a synonym for self-study delivery.
  • Actual meeting time for service on a professional board, committee, or chair is capped at 20 hours. This is an activity category independent of delivery format.
  • Home-study activities may count when they include an independently graded test. Minnesota does not impose a general online, self-paced, or live-format cap.
  • Teaching counts only for the first time a course is taught. Authorship uses fixed awards (30 hours for a book, 25 for a chapter or peer-reviewed article, 20 for editing a book, and 2 per manuscript review), not an aggregate publication cap.
  • Presentation credit is limited to first delivery. Rule 2150.2580 contains internally inconsistent presentation-development wording, so the state-specific award conversion remains a manual Board documentation check rather than a fabricated aggregate cap.
  • Inactive licenses remain subject to renewal and CE. Relicensure after termination instead requires 20 CE hours for each year or portion of a year out of licensure for up to 4 years; because generic reactivation context cannot distinguish these statuses, no structured catch-up proxy is applied.

Minnesota LPC & LPCC CE: frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do Minnesota LPC / LPCC licensees need?

Minnesota requires 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LPC / LPCC license. The renewal cycle is biennial and is counted from your license anniversary.

How often do Minnesota LPC / LPCC licensees renew?

The renewal cycle is biennial and is counted from your license anniversary.

Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Minnesota LPC / LPCC licensees?

Yes. Minnesota requires 4 hours of cultural competency.

Is the first renewal different for new Minnesota LPC / LPCC licensees?

Your first reporting period runs four years from the date your license was issued. In that time the Board expects 40 hours of approved continuing education, including 4 hours on serving clients from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. The Board also asks for 12 additional postgraduate semester credits in counseling by the end of those four years unless you already hold 60 graduate semester credits; graduate coursework can count toward both. This app tracks the 40 hours; check the graduate-credit component against your transcript.

Sources and verification

State source
Minnesota board rule
Profession source
NBCC continuing education guidance
Last verified
September 2026
Ruleset version
2026.4

We reviewed this page against the Minnesota 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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Minnesota 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.Minnesota mental health workforce data →25,965 active providers, or 445.3 per 100,000 residents, ranked 24 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.

Other Minnesota CE requirement pages

Minnesota LMFTMinnesota LCSWMinnesota PsychologistMinnesota Addiction CounselorMinnesota PMHNP

LPC CE requirements in other states