Updated for 2026

California Psychologist Continuing Education Requirements

California psychologists must complete 36 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their Psychologist license, including 4 hours of law & ethics and 4 hours of cultural diversity and social justice.

36hours every 2 years
Topic minimums, counted within the 36
4law & ethics
4cultural diversity and social justice

The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

What the board saysCalifornia board rule
A psychologist renewing their license shall certify under penalty of perjury on the application for license renewal that the licensee has engaged in a minimum of four (4) hours of training in the subject of laws and ethics1, as they apply to the practice of psychology in California for each renewal period. … The four (4) hours shall be considered part of the 36-hour CPD requirement2. … a minimum of four (4) hours3 of training for each renewal period pertinent to Cultural Diversity and/or Social Justice3 issues … A maximum of six (6) hours4 shall be credited in "Self-Directed Learning4". … A maximum of 27 hours5 shall be credited in "Sponsored Continuing Education5"
What it means
  1. 4 hours of law and ethics
  2. 36 hours each renewal period
  3. 4 hours on cultural diversity or social justice
  4. No more than 6 hours of self-directed learning
  5. No more than 27 hours of sponsored CE
16 CCR 1397.61.1Last verified August 2026Ruleset 2026.4How we verify
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Requirements

California Psychologist requirements

Total

36 hoursYou need 36 hours every 2 years. The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

Topic minimums, counted within the 36

The remaining 28 hours are not tied to a topic minimum.
Law & Ethics
4
You need 4 hours each cycle.
Cultural Diversity and Social Justice
4
You need 4 hours each cycle.

Limits on how the hours are earned

Peer consultation
max 18 hrs
Practice outcome monitoring
max 9 hrs
Professional service
max 12 hrs
Conference convention attendance
max 6 hrs
Examination functions
max 12 hrs
Expert review consultation
max 12 hrs
Board meeting attendance
max 8 hrs
Academic coursework
max 18 hrs
Academic instruction
max 18 hrs
Supervision
max 18 hrs
Publications
max 9 hrs
Self directed learning
max 6 hrs
Sponsored continuing education
max 27 hrs

Cycle and record rules

Renewal
The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.
Renewal fee
Renewal fees by license status
Status / feeAmount and conditions
Active renewal$825. Biennial total including mandatory surcharges.
Board fee schedule
Delinquency surcharge$397.5. Additional charge, not the renewal total.
Board fee schedule

CE course costs are separate. Late renewal does not authorize practice on an expired license.

We verified these fees on 2026-09-30. Board fee schedule.

Approved providers
For sponsored continuing education, qualifying CE may be offered or sponsored by national professional association, state professional association, apa approved provider, and accme accredited provider.
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 adds a $397.5 late fee.

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 Psychologist CE hours calculator

Also hold a California LPC license? Each board runs its own CE cycle. See the California LPC requirements.

California Psychologist required trainings and mandates

Beyond the 36-hour CE total, California requires specific trainings. Some are due once around initial licensure, and others run on their own recurring schedule.

One-time requirements

  • One-time requirement (B&P § 2915.4): prior to first renewal, or on reactivation/reinstatement, complete a minimum of 6 hours of coursework or supervised applied experience in suicide risk assessment and intervention. Discharged if obtained in the qualifying graduate program or applied experience. Counts toward the 36-hour total only in the cycle it is first claimed as CE; the same course may not be double-counted at a later renewal. (6 hours, one time).
Full board policy details
  • Format caps (16 CCR § 1397.61.1(f)-(i)): No single global percentage cap; each activity carries its own hour ceiling. Self-Directed Learning (independent reading/podcasts/webcasts) capped at 6 hours. Sponsored Continuing Education (in-person or online, credited 1:1) capped at 27 hours. There is NO minimum live/in-person requirement, Sponsored CE has no live requirement. Peer Consultation must be conducted live/real-time.
  • Credit conversions (non-1:1): Academic coursework 1 semester unit = 6 hours, 1 quarter unit = 4.5 hours; term-long academic course (instruction) = 18 hours; Sponsor-Approved CE Instruction 1 hour = 1.5 hours credit; Publications 1 publication = 9 hours; Professional Service 1 year = 9 hours / 6 months = 4.5 hours; Conference/Convention 1 full day = 1 hour; Board of Psychology meeting 1 full day = 6 hours (meetings <= 3 hrs are 1:1); Practice Outcome Monitoring 1 patient/client = 1 hour; ABPP Board Certification = 36 hours (100%), Senior Option = 18 hours (50%). These ratios are encoded structurally in credit conversions and applied by the credit-entry conversion helper.
  • Cross-category rule: with the exception of 100% ABPP Board Certification, a licensee must accrue hours during each renewal period from at least 2 of the 4 CPD activity categories (Professional Activities; Academic; Sponsored Continuing Education; Board Certification). No activity may be claimed for credit in more than one CPD category (16 CCR § 1397.61.1(l)). No carryover of excess hours is permitted; every cap is per renewal period.
  • COURSE REPEAT RESTRICTIONS: Credit may be granted only once during a renewal cycle for each course taken (Sponsored CE). Each course taught by an instructor counts only once per renewal period. Each academic course taken counts only once per renewal period.
  • LICENSE STATUS RULES: Inactive-status psychologists are exempt from the § 2915 CE requirement but may not practice (B&P § 2988). Retired licenses are not subject to renewal/CE and holders may not practice (B&P § 2988.5). Reactivation from inactive requires 36 hours of qualifying CPD completed in the 24 months immediately preceding reactivation (16 CCR § 1397.67.1(a)). Reactivation from retired (issued < 3 years ago) requires completing the CPD required for renewal within two years of the application; retired 3+ years requires a new-license application and passing the California Psychology Law and Ethics Examination (B&P § 2988.5(d)). Renewal of an expired license within 3 years requires 36 hours of qualifying CPD for the two-year period prior to renewing (16 CCR § 1397.67.1(b)). MANUAL REVIEW: the only exemption is active military service (B&P § 114.3; 16 CCR § 1397.62.1), which prorates first post-discharge renewal at 1.5 hours/month plus the 4-hour laws/ethics and 4-hour cultural diversity minimums. A military exemption request must be filed at least 30 days before the renewal deadline; if the request is denied, the balance of the CPD must be completed within 120 days of the notice of denial.
  • SPONSORED CE PROVIDER ACCEPTANCE (16 CCR § 1397.61(c)): recognized approving agencies are the American Psychological Association (APA), the California Psychological Association (CPA), the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi), the California Medical Association (CMA), and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). The Board may additionally accept CE approved by an entity that demonstrates in writing at least a 10-year history of providing educational programming for psychologists and documented procedures for maintaining a continuing-education approval program.
  • ONE-TIME COHORT REQUIREMENTS for licensees who began graduate study before January 1, 2004: a course in spousal or partner abuse assessment, detection, and intervention strategies during the first renewal period (B&P § 2915.5), and a 3-hour course in aging and long-term care (B&P § 2915.7). NOT ENFORCED: the product does not capture graduate-study start date, and no licensee reaching a FIRST renewal today can belong to the pre-2004 cohort, documented for completeness.

California Psychologist CE: frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do California Psychologist licensees need?

California requires 36 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a Psychologist license. The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

How many ethics hours are required for California Psychologist licensees?

Of the total, 4 hours must be in law & ethics.

How often do California Psychologist licensees renew?

The renewal cycle is biennial and is tied to your license's renewal (expiration) date.

How much does California Psychologist license renewal cost?
Renewal fees by license status
Status / feeAmount and conditions
Active renewal$825. Biennial total including mandatory surcharges.
Board fee schedule
Delinquency surcharge$397.5. Additional charge, not the renewal total.
Board fee schedule

CE course costs are separate. Late renewal does not authorize practice on an expired license.

We verified these fees on 2026-09-30. Board fee schedule.

Are there subject-specific CE requirements for California Psychologist licensees?

Yes. In addition to ethics, California requires 4 hours of cultural diversity and social justice.

Sources and verification

State source
California board rule
Fee schedule
California board fee schedule
Last verified
August 2026
Ruleset version
2026.4

We reviewed this page against the California 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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California 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.California mental health workforce data →229,073 active providers, or 582.1 per 100,000 residents, ranked 12 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.

Other California CE requirement pages

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