Continuing education / Requirements / California
California LCSW continuing education requirements
California LCSWs need 36 hours of continuing education every two years, including 6 hours of law and ethics. The same 36-hour total applies to the first license renewal. Complete your hours before submitting your renewal application, even if you renew early.
The Board of Behavioral Sciences also requires one-time training in suicide risk assessment and intervention and in telehealth. First-renewal HIV/AIDS training and additional requirements for supervisors may apply. Start with your license expiration date and proof of any one-time training you have already completed.
What the board requires
Mandated topics
Included in the 36 hours. Training must address law and ethics applicable to your professional practice. Supervisor-specific law and ethics training does not replace this general license-renewal requirement.
Our course for this: Ethics and Professional Boundaries (3 hours). CE credit approvals in progress.
Required at the first renewal on or after January 1, 2021, or reactivation, unless already satisfied. Qualifying graduate coursework, supervised applied experience, or accepted CE can meet the requirement. Keep the required institutional, supervisory, or CE documentation. Previous completion need not be repeated; only CE taken in the current renewal period counts toward its 36 hours.
Our course for this: Suicide Assessment and Safety Planning (6 hours). CE credit approvals in progress.
Required for renewal or reactivation on or after July 1, 2023, unless already satisfied. Applies even if you do not provide telehealth. Qualifying graduate coursework or accepted CE must cover providing mental health services via telehealth, including related law and ethics. A documented law-and-ethics portion of a current-cycle course may also count toward the recurring 6-hour requirement.
Our course for this: Telehealth Law and Ethics (3 hours). CE credit approvals in progress.
Complete a 7-hour CE course on assessment and treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS during the first license renewal period. This is a one-time requirement. The regulation permits specified equivalent earlier coursework or equivalent teaching or practice experience to be submitted to the board for approval in lieu of the course; such a substitution does not earn current CE hours. Do not assume earlier training automatically qualifies without the required board acceptance.
Applies to licensees supervising applicants for licensure. Complete 6 hours of qualifying supervisor professional development each two-year renewal period. Accepted supervision CE can count toward the 36-hour total; the board also permits specified non-CE professional development activities for this supervisor obligation.
Our course for this: Supervisor Ethics and Effective Supervision (6 hours). CE credit approvals in progress.
Format and self-study limits
All 36 hours may be completed through accepted online or home-study CE. The BBS does not impose a live-attendance minimum or a numerical home-study cap. A course must still meet provider, content, completion and documentation requirements; informal reading without qualifying CE documentation is not automatically creditable.
Which providers count
Use a provider approved by a BBS-recognized approval agency, a board-recognized organization, or a qualifying accredited or approved school. Recognized approval agencies include APA, ASWB, CAMFT, CPA, NASP, NASW and NBCC. Check the provider’s current approval statement and the BBS list before enrolling. The BBS does not individually approve CE courses or maintain licensees’ course-completion records.
Reporting and audits
Certify completion when renewing through BreEZe or the applicable board renewal process. Do not send certificates with routine renewal unless the board requests them for an audit. Keep CE records for at least two years after the renewal period expires. Keep proof of one-time training available for future verification; provider reporting does not replace your records.
First renewal
The first LCSW renewal requires 36 CE hours, including 6 hours of law and ethics and the one-time 7-hour HIV/AIDS course. Any permitted HIV/AIDS substitution requires board acceptance. Also document the one-time 6-hour suicide and 3-hour telehealth requirements if not already satisfied. Earlier qualifying suicide or telehealth training can meet those topic requirements without supplying current-cycle CE hours. The older 18-hour first-renewal allowance is not the current rule.
An ASW associate registration follows a different rule: 3 hours of California law and ethics for each annual registration renewal, including after passing the law and ethics examination. These associate requirements do not replace the requirements for a subsequent full license.
Common questions
How many CE hours does a California LCSW need?
Complete 36 hours every two years, including 6 hours of law and ethics. First license renewal also requires 36 hours. One-time topic requirements and supervisor requirements apply as described above.
Can I complete all California BBS CE online?
Yes. All 36 hours can be accepted online or home-study courses. Verify that the provider meets a BBS-recognized approval route and that each course meets any specific topic requirement you are claiming.
Do I need to repeat suicide prevention and telehealth training?
No. The 6-hour suicide requirement and 3-hour telehealth requirement are one time. Keep acceptable proof. You do not earn new renewal hours merely by reusing a certificate from an earlier cycle.
Does a telehealth course count as law and ethics?
Its documented law-and-ethics portion can count toward the 6-hour requirement if the course is otherwise acceptable and completed in the current renewal period. Do not automatically count all 3 telehealth hours as law and ethics when the course also covers clinical or technical material.
When must I finish CE if I renew early?
Finish the required hours before submitting renewal. The license expiration date is the outer deadline, not permission to complete missing hours after certifying that you have already finished.
What CE is required for my first LCSW renewal?
Complete 36 hours, including 6 law-and-ethics hours and the one-time 7-hour HIV/AIDS course, unless the board accepts a permitted HIV/AIDS substitution. Also document the one-time suicide and telehealth requirements if not previously satisfied. An associate’s annual registration follows separate requirements.
Editorial standard. Requirement guides cite official board sources only, carry a last-verified date, and are reviewed on a schedule. Corrections: reply to any email from us or use the site contact page.
Not legal advice. This guide summarizes board rules for convenience. Your board's current published rules control.
Crisis resources. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) in the US.