Updated for 2026

Missouri LPC Continuing Education Requirements

Missouri counselors must complete 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LPC license, including 2 hours of suicide assessment.

total hours / 2 years

suicide assessment hours

live hours minimum

home study / self-study hours cap

Biennial · renewal date varies by licensee.

Missouri LPC requirements

Requirement	Notes
Total continuing education	40 hours every 2 years.
Renewal	Biennial cycle: tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.
Suicide Assessment	2 hours required each cycle.
Format limits	Up to 20 hours may be completed through home study / self-study.
Format limits	At least 20 hours must be earned live.
Approved providers	Qualifying CE may be offered or sponsored by national professional association, regional professional association, state professional association, accredited university, and national certifying body and recognized associations in counseling, mft, social work, psychology, psychiatry, and medicine.
Recordkeeping	Keep CE documentation for 4 years after each renewal.
Board audit	The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
Late renewal	A late renewal allows a late fee.
Provisional renewal	The board allows a provisional/conditional renewal for up to 24 months before full compliance is required. Missouri does not offer a true conditional renewal for CE-deficient licensees. The licensee must either complete CE by the deadline or obtain a hardship extension/waiver in advance (request must be filed at least 30 days before expiration). If the license lapses, reinstatement is available within 24 months upon application, renewal fee, and a delinquency fee.

Full board policy details

Acceptable providers include the American Medical Association (AMA) and its chapters or divisions. CE sponsored or approved by the AMA and its constituent/component bodies qualifies; accordingly, medicine is an accepted provider discipline alongside counseling, marriage and family therapy, social work, psychology, and psychiatry.
At least 20 of the 40 hours each cycle must be formal CE (structured activities such as academic courses, workshops, seminars, conferences with verification of attendance). No more than 20 hours may be self-study (independent reading, videos, talk preparation, etc.).
Live-interactive online training (webinars, online courses from approved providers with documentation of completion) is treated as formal CE — there is no in-person attendance requirement. The distinction is formal-vs-self-study, not physical presence.
Conference/meeting attendance without broken-out verified CE sessions is capped at 3 hours of credit per full day of attendance.
Academic credit conversion: 1 semester credit hour from a regionally accredited college/university = 15 CE hours.
Publication credit: refereed journal article = 6 hours; editing a book = 10 hours; authoring a book = 15 hours. Each unique publication may be claimed only once.
Teaching/presentation activities: faculty teaching counseling courses may claim up to 20 hours per year; teaching CE workshops capped at 4 hours per cycle. No credit shall be granted for any subsequent presentation on the same subject matter during the same renewal period (instructor repeat restriction).
No double-counting of presentation preparation: time spent preparing for a presentation, workshop, or course that is claimed as formal (teaching) CE may not ALSO be counted as self-study CE. Talk preparation counts toward the self-study allowance only when the presentation itself is not credited as formal CE — a single activity cannot yield both formal and self-study hours.
COURSE REPEAT RESTRICTIONS: No credit for subsequent presentation of the same subject matter during the same renewal period. Each publication may be counted only once. Repeating identical course content within the same cycle does not earn additional credit — distinct learning experiences are expected.
LICENSE STATUS RULES: Missouri does not have a formal inactive or retired license category. An unrenewed license simply expires; while expired the licensee cannot practice but is not accruing CE. Reinstatement is available within 2 years of expiration upon written application, renewal fee, and a delinquency fee — the committee may request documentation of CE that should have been completed during the lapsed period. After 2 years lapsed, a person must re-apply for licensure as a new applicant. Hardship extensions or waivers (illness, military service, other circumstances beyond control) may be requested at least 30 days before expiration; the committee has sole discretion.

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Missouri LPC CE: frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do Missouri LPC licensees need?

Missouri requires 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LPC license. Biennial cycle: tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

How often do Missouri LPC licensees renew?

Biennial cycle: tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Missouri LPC licensees?

Yes. In addition to ethics, Missouri requires 2 hours of suicide assessment.

Can Missouri LPC licensees complete CE online or by home study?

Up to 20 hours may be completed through home study / self-study. At least 20 hours must be earned live.

Sources & verification

State source: Missouri board rule
Profession source: NBCC continuing education guidance
Last verified: May 2026
Ruleset version: 2026.1

Reviewed against the Missouri board source and refreshed from the compiled ruleset above. Methodology and disclaimer. Compliance data is informational only and not legal or board advice. Always verify requirements with your licensing board before you renew. See something wrong? Report it →

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Other Missouri CE requirement pages

Missouri LCSW