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.

40

total hours / 2 years

3

ethics hours

20

current or anticipated areas of practice hours

Biennial renewal · calculating the next statewide deadline

Maine Psychologist requirements

RequirementNotes
Total continuing education40 hours every 2 years.
RenewalBiennial cycle: CE due by April 30 of even years.
Renewal fee$125 board renewal fee every 2 years; a late (delinquent) renewal adds a $50 fee.
Ethics3 hours required each cycle.
Current or Anticipated Areas of Practice20 hours required each cycle.
CarryoverUp to 0% of hours can carry into the next cycle.
New licenseesFirst renewal is different: new licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements (proration and/or first-cycle-only rules), which we apply automatically.
Approved providersFor 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 auditThe board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
Late renewalA late renewal allows a 90-day grace period after expiration and a $50 late fee.
One-time requirementsOne-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).
Other mandatesMaine 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.

Limits on how the hours are earned

Board caps and floors on where the 40 hours can come from.

  • literature reviewmax 10 hrs
  • seminar workshop presentation developmentmax 10 hrs
  • academic course developmentmax 10 hrs
  • carryovermax 0%

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.

Total hours
40 hours every 2 years.
Renewal
Biennial cycle: CE due by April 30 of even years.
Renewal fee
$125 board renewal fee every 2 years; a late (delinquent) renewal adds a $50 fee.
Ethics
3 hours required each cycle.
Current or Anticipated Areas of Practice
20 hours required each cycle.
Carryover
Up to 0% of hours can carry into the next cycle.
New licensees
First renewal is different: new licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements (proration and/or first-cycle-only rules), which we apply 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
A late renewal allows a 90-day grace period after expiration and a $50 late fee.
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).
Other mandates
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.

Maine Psychologistrequired trainings & mandates

Beyond the 40-hour CE total, Maine requires specific trainings — some once around initial licensure, some 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 years 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: No carryover of surplus hours is permitted. Chapter 8 is silent on carrying excess hours forward; no subsection authorizes rollover into the next biennium.

We turn every category, format limit, and one-time rule on this page into a live checklist on your Maine Psychologist record, and reapply board changes automatically as they happen.

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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. Biennial cycle: CE 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?

Biennial cycle: CE 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?

First renewal is different: new licensees have adjusted first-cycle requirements (proration and/or first-cycle-only rules), which we apply automatically.

Sources & verification

State source
Maine board rule
Last verified
August 2026
Ruleset version
2026.1

Reviewed against the Maine 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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Maineguides & data

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.

Maine mental health workforce data

9,452 active providers, or 668 per 100,000 residents, ranked 6 of 51. County density map and free CSV downloads.

Other Maine CE requirement pages

Maine LPCMaine LMFTMaine LCSW

Psychologist CE requirements in other states

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