Hawaii Continuing Education Requirements for Mental Health Professionals

Hawaii is genuinely unlike any other state in the country: Licensed Mental Health Counselors have no continuing education requirement at all, while every other license type in the state does. If you’re searching for Hawaii continuing education requirements, don’t assume that absence extends to your specific license — LCSWs and LMFTs face a substantial 45-hour requirement, and psychologists follow their own separate, shorter cycle entirely. This guide breaks down Hawaii CE requirements for LMHCs, LCSWs, LMFTs, and psychologists, along with renewal logistics, approved providers, and state-specific details worth knowing before your next renewal.

Hawaii Continuing Education Requirements

Hawaii stands out for one significant reason: mental health counselors currently have no continuing education requirement at all for license renewal, while every other license type does (Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, n.d.).

License Type	CE Requirements	Renewal / Special Requirements	Official Licensing Board
Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)	No continuing education requirement	License renews every 3 years by June 30. No CE hours are currently mandated for renewal, though many LMHCs pursue CE voluntarily.	Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)	45 CE hours every 3 years	Minimum 3 hours ethics. Courses must be approved by NASW or ASWB.	Hawaii Social Worker Licensing Program
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT)	45 CE hours every 3 years	Minimum 6 hours ethics. First-time licensees are exempt from CE for their first renewal only; all subsequent renewals require the full 45 hours.	Hawaii Marriage and Family Therapist Program
Licensed Psychologist (PhD / PsyD)	18 CE hours every 2 years	Biennial cycle runs July 1 of even years through June 30 of the next even year — a different cycle length than the other three licenses. First-time licensees (and associate psychologists beginning July 1, 2026) are exempt from CE for their first renewal.	Hawaii Board of Psychology

Clinical Note: Hawaii is a genuine outlier — LMHCs have no CE requirement at all, while LCSWs and LMFTs need 45 hours on a 3-year cycle and psychologists need only 18 hours on a 2-year cycle. If you hold more than one Hawaii license, don’t assume your requirements mirror each other; they don’t, and psychologists in particular are on a shorter, differently-timed cycle than everyone else.

Hawaii License Renewal Requirements

Renewal fees, cycles, and audit practices differ meaningfully across Hawaii’s four license types.

LMHC License Renewal

Administered by the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing (PVL) Division. Licenses renew every three years by June 30, regardless of original issuance date, with a late renewal fee of roughly $12 in addition to the standard fee. Since there’s no CE requirement, renewal is largely an administrative fee-and-form process rather than a documentation exercise — but licenses not renewed by the expiration date become unlicensed and cannot practice, so the deadline itself still matters.

LCSW License Renewal

Administered by the Hawaii Social Worker Licensing Program, also on a triennial June 30 cycle. Current active-status renewal fees are $270 for LCSW, $222 for LSW, and $177 for LBSW. The PVL Division conducts random CE compliance audits; if selected, licensees have 60 days to submit proof of compliance, and licensees are responsible for maintaining their own CE records rather than submitting certificates with the renewal application itself.

LMFT License Renewal

Administered by the Hawaii Marriage and Family Therapist Program, also on a triennial June 30 cycle, with a late renewal fee of roughly $12 similar to LMHC.

Psychologist License Renewal

Administered by the Hawaii Board of Psychology, on its own distinct biennial cycle running July 1 of even years through June 30 of the following even year — genuinely different both in length and timing from the other three licenses’ triennial June 30 cycle. Beginning July 1, 2026, associate psychologists are also exempt from CE for their first renewal, matching the existing exemption for first-time fully licensed psychologists.

Hawaii Approved CE Providers

Since LMHCs have no CE requirement, Hawaii’s approved-provider landscape is really about LCSW, LMFT, and psychologist renewal specifically. Whether you’re looking for Hawaii online continuing education or in-person Hawaii continuing education courses, these are the recognized sources:

Accreditor / Association	Who It’s For	Recognized For
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)	LCSWs	Explicitly named in Hawaii statute (HRS §467E-11) as an approved CE source for social workers
NASW Hawaii Chapter	LCSWs	Explicitly named in Hawaii statute alongside ASWB; also maintains its own license renewal guidance for members
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)	LMFTs	Accepted courses from AAMFT, accredited universities, or any program approved by a relevant professional body or regulatory board
APA-approved sponsors	Licensed Psychologists	The standard for psychologist CE in Hawaii
Hawaii Psychological Association (HPA)	Licensed Psychologists	Statewide CE and professional development, with additional county-level chapters such as the Hawaii Island Psychological Association

Hawaii’s social work statute is notably specific about acceptable providers, naming only NASW and ASWB directly — a narrower list than states that broadly accept any nationally recognized organization. For a broader look at how CE approval works across all license types and states, see our full guide to continuing education for mental health professionals.

Hawaii-Specific Considerations

A few details worth knowing beyond the base CE requirements:

LMHCs Genuinely Have No CE Requirement

This isn’t a gap in available information — Hawaii’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs confirms there is currently no mandated CE for LMHC renewal, though many LMHCs complete CE voluntarily to maintain competence and meet requirements for other credentials or reciprocity elsewhere. If you’re relocating to Hawaii from a state with a substantial CE requirement, don’t assume this represents an error or an outdated source — it’s the current, accurate rule.

Interstate Compact Status

Hawaii has not enacted the Counseling Compact for LMHCs. Hawaii introduced PSYPACT legislation in 2025 but had not enacted it as of that session — psychologists should confirm current status directly with PSYPACT and the Hawaii Board of Psychology before assuming compact privileges apply. There is no compact yet for LMFTs or LCSWs nationally that Hawaii has joined.

Random CE Audits for Social Workers

Hawaii’s Social Worker Licensing Program conducts random audits of CE compliance, with only a 60-day window to produce documentation once selected. Since licensees maintain their own records rather than submitting them with renewal, this makes ongoing documentation habits more important than they might otherwise seem in a state where CE certificates aren’t reviewed at the point of renewal itself.

A Different Renewal Rhythm for Psychologists

Hawaii’s psychology board runs on a two-year cycle starting July 1 of even years, while the state’s other three licenses run on a three-year cycle ending June 30. A psychologist who also holds an LMFT or LCSW in Hawaii is tracking two entirely different rhythms, not just different hour totals.

New Licensee vs. Renewing Licensee

A few distinctions worth knowing depending on where you are in your Hawaii licensure timeline:

• New LMFTs are exempt from CE for their first renewal only — every renewal after that requires the full 45 hours, so don’t assume the exemption is ongoing.
• New LCSWs are also exempt from the CE requirement for their first renewal, per Hawaii’s social work licensure rules.
• New and associate psychologists are exempt from CE for their first renewal, with the associate-level exemption newly extended beginning July 1, 2026.
• Supervisors overseeing clinicians working toward full licensure take on real added responsibility, and having a clear clinical supervision agreement in place from the outset helps define expectations for both parties throughout Hawaii’s often multi-year supervised experience requirements.

CE Tracker Templates for Mental Health Professionals

Even with a clear picture of your state’s requirements, actually staying on top of continuing education across a full renewal cycle is a different challenge — tracking which hours you’ve completed, which mandated categories still need attention, where you’ve saved your certificates, and when your actual deadline hits. A CE tracker template solves this by giving you one place to log activities as you complete them, monitor progress against your specific requirements, and pull everything together when it’s time to submit your renewal — rather than reconstructing two years of CE history in a panic the week before your license expires.

Get started with the free CE Tracker Template to organize your current renewal cycle, or manage your complete CE renewal process from planning through submission with this comprehensive CE Tracker Template.

Final Thoughts on Hawaii CE Requirements

Hawaii’s LMHC exemption is the headline here, but it shouldn’t overshadow the very real 45-hour requirements facing LCSWs and LMFTs, or the meaningfully different cycle psychologists follow. The biggest practical risk in Hawaii isn’t complexity within any single license — it’s assuming your specific requirements resemble another Hawaii clinician’s simply because you’re licensed in the same state.

If Hawaii does eventually join the Counseling Compact or PSYPACT, that would represent a real shift for clinicians here — worth checking periodically given how much movement other states have seen on this front in just the past year or two.

References

• Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. (n.d.). Mental Health Counselor Licensing Program. Resource
• Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. (n.d.). Social Worker Program. Resource
• NASW Hawaii Chapter. (n.d.). License renewal. Resource
• Hawaii Psychological Association. (n.d.). Home. Resource
• PSYPACT. (n.d.). Renewals. Resource