Updated for 2026

Virginia Psychologist Continuing Education Requirements

Virginia psychologists must complete 14 continuing education hours per year to renew their Psychologist license, including 1.5 hours of law & ethics.

total hours / year

1.5

law & ethics hours

Annual renewal · calculating the next statewide deadline

Virginia Psychologist requirements

Requirement	Notes
Total continuing education	14 hours per year.
Renewal	Annual cycle: CE due by June 30 each year.
Renewal fee	$140 board renewal fee per year; a late (delinquent) renewal adds a $50 fee.
Law & Ethics	1.5 hours required each cycle.
Format limits	At least 6 hours must be earned live.
Carryover	Up to 7 unused hours can carry into the next cycle.
New licensees	First renewal: a practitioner shall be exempt from the continuing competency requirements for the first renewal following the date of initial licensure by examination in Virginia (18VAC125-20-120 A 2) - no CE hours are owed at that first June 30 renewal. The exemption is written for initial licensure by examination in Virginia; if your initial Virginia license issued by endorsement of an out-of-state license (18VAC125-20-42), the quoted exemption does not reach you and you should plan on the full 14 hours - confirm your situation with the board.
Approved providers	All 14 hours must be board-approved continuing education courses: a course is an organized program of study, classroom experience, or similar educational experience directly related to the practice of psychology and provided by a board-approved provider that meets the criteria specified in 18VAC125-20-122 (18VAC125-20-121 A-B). Virginia approves provider CLASSES by rule rather than keeping a named-provider roster, so provider_lists_enforced is off and the classifications here are descriptive; the approved classes are (1) any psychological association recognized by the profession or providers approved by such an association, (2) any association or organization of mental health, health, or psychoeducational providers recognized by the profession or providers approved by such an association or organization, (3) any regionally accredited institution of higher learning, (4) any governmental agency or facility that offers mental health, health, or psychoeducational services, (5) any licensed hospital or facility that offers mental health, health, or psychoeducational services, and (6) any association or organization approved as a continuing education provider by a psychology board in another state or jurisdiction (18VAC125-20-122 A). Courses must be directly related to the scope of practice in the category of licensure held; continuing education courses for clinical psychologists shall emphasize, but not be limited to, the diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients with moderate and severe mental disorders (18VAC125-20-121 C). Credits must fall within the annual cycle window ending June 30 - must_be_within_cycle_window is enforced, and the structured carry_forward requirement (not raw out-of-window credits) is the mechanism for the up-to-seven-hour carryover of 18VAC125-20-121 A. Continuing education hours required by disciplinary order shall not be used to satisfy renewal requirements (18VAC125-20-123 E). Keep original documentation four years; the board may conduct a random audit after the end of each renewal period (18VAC125-20-123 A-B).
Recordkeeping	Keep CE documentation for 4 years after the end of each cycle.
Board audit	The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
Late renewal	A late renewal allows a $50 late fee.

Limits on how the hours are earned

Board caps and floors on where the 14 hours can come from.

livemin 6 hrs
carryovermax 7 hrs
teachingmax 4 hrs
publicationmax 4 hrs
journal editorshipmax 4 hrs
academic courseworkmax 10 hrs
board servicemax 2 hrs
volunteer servicemax 2 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.

Full board policy details

PROVIDER MODEL: Provider approval is class-based and set by rule - the six classes of organizations, associations, or institutions listed in 18VAC125-20-122 A are approved by the board to provide continuing education, from psychological associations recognized by the profession (and their approved providers) through regionally accredited institutions, governmental agencies and facilities, licensed hospitals and facilities offering mental health, health, or psychoeducational services, to providers approved by a psychology board in another state or jurisdiction. Approved providers must maintain documentation of course titles, objectives, attendance, and completion for four years, monitor attendance at face-to-face experiences, and provide certificates of completion indicating the hours and designating any ethics/laws/regulations hours (18VAC125-20-122 B). There is no APA-only test and no lettered provider tiers.
FACE-TO-FACE FLOOR MAPPING AND EXCLUSIONS: At least six of the required hours shall be earned in face-to-face or real-time interactive educational experiences; real-time interactive includes a course in which the learner has the opportunity to interact with the presenter during the time of the presentation (18VAC125-20-121 B 1), and 'face-to-face' means in person (18VAC125-20-10). In-person and live interactive online courses both satisfy the engine's live format minimum; recorded and self-paced study does not. Presentation hours (B 2 a) and publication hours (B 2 b) may not be credited toward the face-to-face requirement - log those conversions under a non-live format so they cannot satisfy the six-hour floor. There is deliberately no numeric self-study cap in this file: the rule sets none, so at most eight of the 14 hours can be non-interactive as a consequence of the six-hour floor alone.
CARRYOVER MECHANICS: A licensee who completes continuing education hours in excess of the 14 hours may carry up to seven hours of continuing education credit forward to meet the requirements for the next annual renewal cycle (18VAC125-20-121 A; Va. Code 54.1-3606.1 B). The engine implements this through the carry_forward requirement, which reads the prior cycle's computed surplus - credits themselves must still be logged in the cycle in which they were earned.
EXTENSION AND EXEMPTION: The board may grant an extension for good cause of up to one year for the completion of continuing education requirements upon written request from the licensee prior to the renewal date; such extension does not relieve the licensee of the continuing education requirement (18VAC125-20-121 D). The board may grant an exemption for all or part of the continuing education requirements for one renewal cycle due to circumstances determined by the board to be beyond the control of the licensee (18VAC125-20-121 E). Statutory basis: the board may grant exemptions or waivers or reduce the number of hours required in cases of certified illness or undue hardship (Va. Code 54.1-3606.1 E). There is no conditional or provisional registration for licensees short on CE at renewal - the deficiency paths are the pre-renewal extension or exemption.
LATE RENEWAL AND REINSTATEMENT: A person whose license has expired may renew it within one year after its expiration date by paying the late fee and the license renewal fee for the year the license was not renewed and by completing the continuing education requirements specified in 18VAC125-20-121 for that year (18VAC125-20-130 A). A person whose license has not been renewed for one year or more must present evidence of having met all applicable continuing education requirements equal to the number of years the license has been expired, not to exceed four years (56 hours), pay the reinstatement fee, and submit verification of any professional certification or licensure obtained in any other jurisdiction subsequent to the initial application (18VAC125-20-130 B).
INACTIVE STATUS AND REACTIVATION: A licensee may place the license in inactive status upon payment of the inactive fee; no person shall practice psychology in Virginia without a current active license (18VAC125-20-120 B). The CE rule governs renewal of an ACTIVE license (18VAC125-20-121 heading) and the documentation duty attaches to licensees in active status (18VAC125-20-123 A) - inactive licensees renew at the inactive fee without CE and make up hours at reactivation: a psychologist wishing to reactivate an inactive license shall submit the renewal fee for active licensure minus any fee already paid for inactive licensure renewal and document completion of continued education hours equal to the number of years the license has been inactive, not to exceed four years (18VAC125-20-130 C) - 14 hours per inactive year up to 56. The make-up quantum is duration-dependent, so no fixed-hour reactivation block is encoded; the engine's standard cycle requirement plus this disclosure covers the shape. Chapter 20 has no retired status - inactive is the non-practice status.
FIRST-RENEWAL EXEMPTION SCOPE: A practitioner shall be exempt from the continuing competency requirements for the first renewal following the date of initial licensure by examination in Virginia (18VAC125-20-120 A 2). The exemption is written for initial licensure BY EXAMINATION; a first renewal following licensure by endorsement (18VAC125-20-42) is not within the quoted text. No engine predicate observes the licensure pathway, so the first-cycle override applies the exemption at every first renewal and the endorsement edge is disclosed in the override's public summary as board-administered.
OVERLAYS - PSYPACT AND PRESCRIPTIVE AUTHORITY: Virginia has enacted the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact, codified at Va. Code 54.1-3606.2 - the compact regulates the day-to-day practice of telepsychology across state boundaries and the temporary in-person, face-to-face practice of psychology across state boundaries for 30 days within a calendar year; the board's definitions recognize the ASPPB E.Passport (telepsychology) and IPC (temporary practice) credentials (18VAC125-20-10). Compact authority is a mobility overlay riding on the home-state license; the ASPPB credentials carry their own renewal obligations and add no hours to this CE requirement. Virginia grants psychologists no prescriptive authority - no prescription certificate or associated CE exists in chapter 20 or in Title 54.1 Chapter 36.
OTHER BOARD CREDENTIALS - OUT OF SCOPE: This file covers the Clinical Psychologist license only. Applied Psychologists and School Psychologists are sibling categories of Virginia's psychologist licensure scheme ('psychologist' means a person licensed to practice school, applied, or clinical psychology, Va. Code 54.1-3600) sharing this chapter's CE rule with course content scoped to their own category of licensure (18VAC125-20-121 C). School Psychologists-Limited practice solely in public school divisions on a Board of Education license plus board licensure (18VAC125-20-10; 18VAC125-20-43) at a discounted fee tier. Licensed Psychological Practitioners are the board's master's-level license created by 2024 Acts cc. 754/761 (Va. Code 54.1-3606.3; regulations effective November 1, 2025) - supervised by a clinical psychologist unless granted the autonomous practice designation (18VAC125-20-58) - and share this chapter's renewal and CE machinery (18VAC125-20-120 A and D). Certified Sex Offender Treatment Providers are certified under a separate chapter (18VAC125-30). Residents (18VAC125-20-65) hold a pre-licensure registration with no CE.
DOCUMENTATION AND AUDIT: All licensees in active status shall maintain original documentation for a period of four years (18VAC125-20-123 A); statutorily, applicants for renewal or reinstatement shall retain the written certification issued by any course provider for four years (Va. Code 54.1-3606.1 D). After the end of each renewal period, the board may conduct a random audit of licensees to verify compliance for that renewal period (18VAC125-20-123 B); acceptable documentation is official transcripts showing credit hours earned from an accredited institution or certificates of completion from approved providers (18VAC125-20-123 C). Compliance, record maintenance, and the relevance of courses to the category of licensure are the licensee's responsibility (18VAC125-20-123 D). Continuing education hours required by disciplinary order shall not be used to satisfy renewal requirements (18VAC125-20-123 E).

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Virginia Psychologist CE: frequently asked questions

How many CE hours do Virginia Psychologist licensees need?

Virginia requires 14 continuing education hours per year to renew a Psychologist license. Annual cycle: CE due by June 30 each year.

How many ethics hours are required for Virginia Psychologist licensees?

Of the total, 1.5 hours must be in law & ethics.

How often do Virginia Psychologist licensees renew?

Annual cycle: CE due by June 30 each year.

How much does Virginia Psychologist license renewal cost?

The board's renewal fee is $140 per year, per the Virginia board fee schedule. Renewing late adds a $50 delinquency fee on top. CE course costs are separate and set by course providers.

Can Virginia Psychologist licensees complete CE online or by home study?

At least 6 hours must be earned live.

Is the first renewal different for new Virginia Psychologist licensees?

First renewal: a practitioner shall be exempt from the continuing competency requirements for the first renewal following the date of initial licensure by examination in Virginia (18VAC125-20-120 A 2) - no CE hours are owed at that first June 30 renewal. The exemption is written for initial licensure by examination in Virginia; if your initial Virginia license issued by endorsement of an out-of-state license (18VAC125-20-42), the quoted exemption does not reach you and you should plan on the full 14 hours - confirm your situation with the board.

Sources & verification

State source: Virginia board rule
Fee schedule: Virginia board fee schedule
Last verified: August 2026
Ruleset version: 2026.1

Reviewed against the Virginia 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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Virginiaguides & 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.

Virginia mental health workforce data

29,924 active providers, or 337 per 100,000 residents, ranked 39 of 51. County density map and free CSV downloads.

Other Virginia CE requirement pages

Virginia LPC Virginia LMFT Virginia LCSW