Continuing-education / CPD renewal requirements for behavioral and mental health licenses in Georgia — hours or CPD model per cycle, mandated topics, live/interactive rules, and home-study limits. Pick a license for the full breakdown.
VerifiedGeorgia
LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker)
35hours / 2-year renewal cycle
25 live / interactive hours required
Mandated topics
- Professional Ethics — 5 hMust be obtained through synchronous (live/real-time) activities only per Rule 135-9-.01; asynchronous self-study not accepted for ethics.
Home study: Rule 135-9-.01: a maximum of 10 hours may be obtained asynchronously (self/home study) per 2-year renewal, so at least 25 hours must be synchronous/live. The 5 ethics hours must be synchronous. Of the REMAINING 30 hours (after the 5 ethics hours), a minimum of 15 shall be core hours and not more than 15 may be related hours.
Board notes: Regulated by the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists under Rule 135-9-.01 (single CE rule applies identically to LPC, LCSW/LMSW and LMFT). Biennial cycle; licenses renew by September 30 of even-numbered years. Only mandated topic is 5 ethics hours (synchronous). No separate GA suicide/cultural-competency/telehealth CE mandate.
View full LCSW requirements → VerifiedGeorgia
LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor)
35hours / 2-year renewal cycle
25 live / interactive hours required
Mandated topics
- Professional Ethics — 5 hMust be obtained through synchronous (live/real-time) activities only per Rule 135-9-.01; cannot be asynchronous self-study.
Home study: Rule 135-9-.01: a maximum of 10 hours may be obtained asynchronously (self/home study) per 2-year renewal, so at least 25 hours must be synchronous/live. The 5 ethics hours must be synchronous. Of the REMAINING 30 hours (after the 5 ethics hours), a minimum of 15 shall be core hours and not more than 15 may be related hours.
Board notes: Regulated by the Georgia Composite Board under Rule 135-9-.01, which applies identically to LPC, LCSW/LMSW and LMFT (35 hrs/2yr, 5 synchronous ethics). Biennial cycle; renewals due September 30 of even-numbered years. Only mandated topic is ethics; no separate GA suicide/cultural/telehealth CE mandate.
View full LPC requirements → VerifiedGeorgia
Licensed Psychologist
40hours / 2-year renewal cycle
6 live / interactive hours required
Mandated topics
- Professional Ethics — 6 hMust be earned at an in-person workshop or a synchronous webinar (Rule 510-8-.01); asynchronous self-study not accepted for ethics.
Home study: No overall home-study cap for non-ethics credits: all 40 credits may come from Area III (Approved Sponsored Education), and credits in Areas I, II and III may be obtained in-person, synchronously, or asynchronously. Only the 6 ethics credits must be in-person or synchronous. (Area II ongoing group consultation, if used, has a minimum of 10 credits and max of 20; Area I academic max 20 - these are conditional caps, not mandatory minimums.)
Board notes: Governed by Chapter 510-8 (Georgia State Board of Examiners of Psychologists), rules restructured effective 10/15/2023 into three areas (I academic, II group consultation, III approved sponsors). 40 credits biennially; renewal period runs Jan 1 of the odd year through Dec 31 of the even year (renew by Dec 31 of even years). Only mandated topic is 6 ethics credits, which must be live/synchronous.
View full Licensed Psychologist requirements → VerifiedGeorgia
LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist)
35hours / 2-year renewal cycle
25 live / interactive hours required
Mandated topics
- Professional Ethics — 5 hMust be obtained through synchronous (live/real-time) activities only per Rule 135-9-.01; live webinar or in person, not asynchronous self-study.
Home study: Rule 135-9-.01: a maximum of 10 hours may be obtained asynchronously (self/home study) per 2-year renewal, so at least 25 hours must be synchronous/live. The 5 ethics hours must be synchronous. Of the REMAINING 30 hours (after the 5 ethics hours), a minimum of 15 shall be core hours and not more than 15 may be related hours.
Board notes: Regulated by the Georgia Composite Board under Rule 135-9-.01, which applies identically to LPC, LCSW/LMSW and LMFT (35 hrs/2yr, 5 synchronous ethics, min 15 core / max 15 related of the remaining 30, max 10 asynchronous). Biennial cycle; renewals due September 30 of even-numbered years. Only mandated topic is ethics.
View full LMFT requirements → VerifiedGeorgia
BCBA (national) / Georgia Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA)
32hours / 2-year renewal cycle
No live / interactive hours required — all hours may be self-study
Mandated topics
- Ethics — 4 hBACB requirement: at least 4 CEUs in ethics per 2-year recertification cycle.
- Supervision — 3 hBACB requirement of at least 3 supervision CEUs applies only to certificants who supervise; this minimum rises to 4 supervision CEUs under the BACB 2027 requirements effective January 1, 2027.
Home study: No state cap. BACB learning CEUs may be earned via recorded/online (asynchronous) BACB ACE-approved events; none are required to be live/synchronous.
Board notes: Georgia licenses behavior analysts through the separate Georgia Behavior Analyst Licensing Board (Dept 75 rules, Chapter 75-5), NOT the Composite Board. Licensure and renewal are contingent on holding and maintaining ACTIVE BACB certification (BCBA), and Georgia codifies no independent state CE chapter; CE therefore equals the BACB certification-maintenance standard of 32 CEUs per 2-year cycle (at least 4 ethics, and at least 3 supervision CEUs for those who supervise). Georgia Rule 135-9 (Composite Board CE) does not apply. Chapter 75-5 requires that the licensee 'maintains active status as a board certified behavior analyst through Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB)' and contains no independent state CE hour requirement. BACB 2027 requirements (effective January 1, 2027) keep the total at 32 CEUs per 2-year cycle with 4 ethics CEUs, but RAISE the supervision CEU minimum from 3 to 4 for certificants who supervise; as of March 2025 the ethics CEU definition was expanded to include events on cultural/contextual responsiveness.
View full BCBA requirements → How many CE hours do behavioral health licenses require in Georgia?
In Georgia, hour-based licenses require 32 to 40 continuing-education hours per renewal cycle depending on the license type; some credentials follow a CPD model instead. See the table above for each credential.
Do CE requirements differ by license type in Georgia?
Yes. Social work, counseling, psychology, marriage & family therapy, and behavior-analysis credentials each have their own requirements, mandated topics, and renewal cycles in Georgia. This page lists each one separately.
Does Georgia require ethics CE?
Georgia requires dedicated ethics continuing education for: BCBA, LCSW, LMFT, LPC, Licensed Psychologist. Exact hour counts are on each license's page.
Updated August 2026 from official licensing-board, regulatory-college, and government sources. CE / CPD requirements change often — always confirm current rules directly with your licensing board or regulator before you renew. Informational only, not legal advice.