Updated for 2026

Maine Psychologist Continuing Education Requirements

Maine psychologists must complete 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew their Psychologist license, including 3 hours of ethics and 20 hours of current or anticipated areas of practice.

40hours every 2 years
Topic minimums, counted within the 40
20current or anticipated areas of practice
3ethics

Next deadline: April 30, 2028The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by April 30 of even years.

What the board saysMaine board rule
each psychologist and psychological examiner shall attest to the completion of 40 hours1 of face-to-face or indirect approved continuing professional education directly related to the practice of psychology during the preceding two years of licensure1 … A minimum of 3 hours must be earned in the area of ethics2; … A minimum of 20 hours must be earned in the licensee’s current areas of practice or anticipated areas of future practice3 … A licensee may claim no more than 10 hours4 of continuing professional education credit for development of seminars, workshops, conference presentations, lectures or similar activities4. … A licensee may claim no more than 10 hours5 of continuing professional education credit for development of academic courses5. … A licensee may claim no more than 10 hours6 of continuing professional education credit for literature review6
What it means
  1. 40 hours every two years
  2. 3 hours of ethics
  3. 20 hours in your current or anticipated areas of practice
  4. No more than 10 hours for developing seminars or presentations
  5. No more than 10 hours for developing academic courses
  6. No more than 10 hours for literature review
02-415 C.M.R. Chapter 8Last verified October 2026Ruleset 2026.2How we verify
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Requirements

Maine Psychologist requirements

Total

40 hoursYou need 40 hours every 2 years. The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by April 30 of even years.

Topic minimums, counted within the 40

The remaining 17 hours are not tied to a topic minimum.
Current or Anticipated Areas of Practice
20
You need 20 hours each cycle.
Ethics
3
You need 3 hours each cycle.

Limits on how the hours are earned

Literature review
max 10 hrs
Seminar workshop presentation development
max 10 hrs
Academic course development
max 10 hrs

Cycle and record rules

Renewal
The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by April 30 of even years.
Renewal fee
The board renewal fee is $125 every 2 years, and a late (delinquent) renewal adds a $50 fee.
New licensees
The first renewal is different. New licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements, such as prorated hours or first-cycle-only rules, and we apply them automatically.
Approved providers
For seminar lecture conference workshop, televised interactive distance learning, and commercially prepared self study, qualifying CE may be offered or sponsored by board approved sponsor and apa approved provider.
Board audit
The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
Late renewal
The board allows a 90-day grace period after expiration. A late renewal adds a $50 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 April 30, 2028.

Your result appears here as you enter hours.

Open the full Psychologist CE hours calculator

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

Maine Psychologist required trainings and mandates

Beyond the 40-hour CE total, Maine requires specific trainings. Some are due once around initial licensure, and others run on their own recurring schedule.

One-time requirements

  • One-time successful completion of a minimum of 3 contact hours of coursework in family or intimate partner violence screening, referral and intervention strategies (including community resources, cultural factors, evidence-based risk assessment and same-gender abuse dynamics). The board may accept equivalent coursework, teaching, or practice experience completed before January 1, 2020. Counts toward the 40-hour total. (3 hours, one time).

Recurring mandates outside the 2-year cycle

  • Maine law requires licensed health professionals who are mandated reporters (including licensed psychologists and psychological examiners) to complete DHHS-approved mandated reporter training at least once every 4 years. This is a separate DHHS statutory training (~60 minutes; no CE-hour figure assigned) and does NOT count toward the 40-hour Ch. 8 CE total.
Full board policy details
  • SELF-STUDY / FORMAT: No self-study or home-study cap. All 40 hours may be earned by self-study/distance learning. Chapter 8 permits "televised or interactive instruction and established distance learning procedures" and "commercially-prepared self-study," and the 40-hour rule refers to "face-to-face or indirect" CE. No minimum live or in-person hours are required, and the rule does not distinguish live-interactive online from self-study.
  • ACCEPTABILITY STANDARDS: Graduate-level courses must be from a regionally accredited institution. No credit for elective office or service in professional associations/societies, or membership on governmental regulatory boards. No credit for non-instructional time (lunch, breaks, registration). No credit for actual teaching/presentation/lecture time, only development of seminars/workshops/courses is creditable (capped at 10 hours each). For multidisciplinary pre-approved sponsors, credit may only be claimed for activities directly related to the practice of psychology. The board publishes a current list of pre-approved sponsors/providers at the beginning of each biennium; specific approval may be sought by a licensee no later than 60 days before the end of the biennium. Activities in Ch. 8 §2(1)(D)-(G) (graduate courses, literature review, documented advanced training under supervision, instructional development) need no approval. The board may also proactively pre-approve, without a request, sponsors and providers whose past offerings have consistently conformed to the approval criteria.
  • COURSE REPEAT RESTRICTIONS: No credit may be claimed for development of an activity or course that is the same or substantially the same as one for which credit has previously been claimed (Ch. 8 §2(2)(C)-(D)). Because actual teaching/presentation time is never creditable, repeated teaching of the same material yields no additional credit. Chapter 8 is silent on a licensee attending the same course twice within a cycle for attendance credit.
  • LICENSE STATUS RULES: No inactive or retired license tier exists for psychologists under 32 M.R.S. Chapter 56 or 02-415, so no status-based CE exemption is available. There is no dedicated reactivation-CE provision. A renewal filed more than 90 days after expiration subjects the person to all new-applicant requirements (board may waive the exam if filed within 2 years of expiration). Hardship deferment (Ch. 8 §4): a licensee may request in writing a deferment of CE due to health reasons, military service, or other unforeseeable circumstances of genuine hardship; deferred CE must be made up according to a schedule determined by the board in consultation with the licensee. No fixed maximum duration is set.
  • CARRYOVER: Chapter 8 is silent on carrying excess hours forward; no subsection authorizes rollover into the next biennium, and none prohibits it. Because the rule states nothing, no carryover limit is encoded and the public page does not assert one.

Maine Psychologist CE: frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do Maine Psychologist licensees need?

Maine requires 40 continuing education hours every 2 years to renew a Psychologist license. The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by April 30 of even years.

How many ethics hours are required for Maine Psychologist licensees?

Of the total, 3 hours must be in ethics.

How often do Maine Psychologist licensees renew?

The renewal cycle is biennial, and CE is due by April 30 of even years.

How much does Maine Psychologist license renewal cost?

The board's renewal fee is $125 every 2 years, per the Maine board fee schedule. Renewing late adds a $50 delinquency fee on top. CE course costs are separate and set by course providers.

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

Yes. In addition to ethics, Maine requires 20 hours of current or anticipated areas of practice.

Is the first renewal different for new Maine Psychologist licensees?

The first renewal is different. New licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements, such as prorated hours or first-cycle-only rules, and we apply them automatically.

Sources and verification

State source
Maine board rule
Last verified
October 2026
Ruleset version
2026.2

We reviewed this page against the Maine 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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Maine 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.Maine mental health workforce data →9,452 active providers, or 668 per 100,000 residents, ranked 6 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.

Other Maine CE requirement pages

Maine LPCMaine LMFTMaine LCSWMaine Addiction CounselorMaine PMHNP

Psychologist CE requirements in other states