Washington LMHC Continuing Education Requirements
Washington counselors must complete 32 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their LMHC license, including 6 hours of law & ethics and 2 hours of professional roles and boundaries.
32
total hours / 2 years
6
law & ethics hours
2
professional roles and boundaries hours
Biennial · renewal date depends on the licensee's birth month.
Washington LMHC requirements
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| Total continuing education | 32 hours every 2 years. |
| Renewal | Biennial cycle: renews at the end of your birth month. |
| Law & Ethics | 6 hours required each cycle. |
| Professional Roles and Boundaries | 2 hours required each cycle. |
| Board audit | The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance. |
| Other mandates | Two hours of health-equity CE every 4 years. |
| Other mandates | Six hours of Department-model-list suicide assessment, treatment, and management training every 6 years. |
Limits on how the hours are earned
Board caps and floors on where the 32 hours can come from.
- agency sponsored trainingmax 26 hrs
- other learning experiencemax 6 hrs
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.
Washington LMHCrequired trainings & mandates
Beyond the 32-hour CE total, Washington requires specific trainings — some once around initial licensure, some on their own recurring schedule.
Recurring mandates outside the 2 years cycle
- Two hours of health-equity CE every 4 years.
- Six hours of Department-model-list suicide assessment, treatment, and management training every 6 years.
Full board policy details
- All CE may be completed through online distance learning. Asynchronous courses must include a comprehension test; Washington has no general distance-learning cap.
- Agency-sponsored training is an employer-training activity category capped at 26 hours, regardless of whether delivery is in person or online.
- Panels, professional boards or councils, community service, research, peer consultation, and professional publication share one 6-hour other-learning-experience cap. Credits in any subset must be tagged other_learning_experience.
- A licensee may not count the same course twice in one reporting period. Presenter credit is limited to first presentation of a topic during that period.
- Qualifying programs have an industry-recognized sponsor, instructor, speaker, panel, or institution of higher learning. The Department does not enforce a closed provider list.
- Six hours of qualifying suicide assessment, treatment, and management training are required every 6 years, and 2 hours of health-equity training every 4 years. Both count toward the 32-hour total when completed within the current CE window.
- The first suicide training is due in the first full CE period after initial licensure. A qualifying 6-hour course completed within 6 years before initial licensure can defer the first post-license course for 6 years; that historical-course exception remains a manual review.
- Inactive status requires no CE while inactive. Reactivation requires a declaration that the most recent 2 years of CE were met. Retired-active status has a different 18-hour biennium and is not represented by this active-license rule.
We turn every category, format limit, and one-time rule on this page into a live checklist on your Washington LMHC record, and reapply board changes automatically as they happen.
Track Washington LMHC CE free →Washington LMHC CE: frequently asked questions
How many CE hours do Washington LMHC licensees need?
Washington requires 32 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a LMHC license. Biennial cycle: renews at the end of your birth month.
How many ethics hours are required for Washington LMHC licensees?
Of the total, 6 hours must be in law & ethics.
How often do Washington LMHC licensees renew?
Biennial cycle: renews at the end of your birth month.
Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Washington LMHC licensees?
Yes. In addition to ethics, Washington requires 2 hours of professional roles and boundaries.
Sources & verification
- State source
- Washington board rule
- Profession source
- NBCC continuing education guidance
- Last verified
- August 2026
- Ruleset version
- 2026.3
Reviewed against the Washington 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.
Washington mental health workforce data
53,146 active providers, or 664.2 per 100,000 residents, ranked 7 of 51. County density map and free CSV downloads.