New Hampshire Continuing Education Requirements for Mental Health Professionals

New Hampshire is one of the more genuinely consolidated states on this list — the Board of Mental Health Practice regulates LCMHC, LICSW, and LMFT under one identical CE structure, right down to the same Category A/B hour split and the same ethics and suicide prevention minimums. Psychology sits apart with its own board, but even there, the underlying Category A/B logic carries over.

The biggest thing to know if you’re dual-licensed here: New Hampshire’s rules genuinely transfer cleanly between LCMHC, LICSW, and LMFT, since all three share the same board and the same rule set. What doesn’t transfer cleanly is your renewal date — New Hampshire uses an individualized deadline tied to your original issuance date rather than one fixed calendar day for everyone.

This guide explains the current New Hampshire continuing education requirements for LCMHCs, LICSWs, LMFTs, and psychologists, including required CE hours, ethics requirements, renewal deadlines, approved providers, and other New Hampshire-specific rules to help you stay compliant.

New Hampshire Continuing Education Requirements

New Hampshire is another consolidated state: the Board of Mental Health Practice regulates LCMHC, LMFT, and LICSW under one shared CE structure, with only psychology licensed separately (New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice, n.d.; New Hampshire Board of Psychologists, n.d.).

License Type	CE Requirements	Renewal / Special Requirements	Official Licensing Board
Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC)	40 CE hours every 2 years	Minimum 30 hours must be Category A (live/interactive or home study), maximum 10 hours Category B. Minimum 6 hours ethics and 3 hours suicide prevention, both required from Category A. Board-approved supervisors need an additional 6 hours in clinical supervision.	New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice
Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW)	40 CE hours every 2 years	Same board and structure as LCMHC: minimum 30 Category A hours, 6 hours ethics, 3 hours suicide prevention, both from Category A.	New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT)	40 CE hours every 2 years	Same board and structure as LCMHC and LICSW above.	New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice
Licensed Psychologist (PhD / PsyD)	40 CE hours every 2 years	Minimum 30 hours Category A, maximum 10 hours Category B. Minimum 6 hours ethics, live/interactive only.	New Hampshire Board of Psychologists

Clinical Note: New Hampshire’s Category A/Category B structure applies consistently across all four professions here, which is genuinely convenient if you’re dual-licensed — the ethics and suicide-prevention hour minimums, and the Category A/B split, transfer cleanly between LCMHC, LICSW, and LMFT since they share the same board and rule set.

New Hampshire License Renewal Requirements

Both New Hampshire boards use individualized renewal dates rather than one fixed statewide deadline, but the fee structure is fully documented and identical across the Board of Mental Health Practice’s three professions.

LCMHC License Renewal

Administered by the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice. Per state law (RSA 330-A:31), licenses are valid for 2 years and become invalid on their individual expiration date — tied to your original issuance date, not one shared statewide deadline. Per the Board’s current published fee schedule, the active-status renewal fee is $298 (which includes a mandatory $28 Professional Health Program fee); inactive-status renewal runs $163, and reinstatement costs $328. New Hampshire also conducts random CE compliance audits, so retain documentation for at least 3 years following each renewal period.

LICSW License Renewal

Administered by the same New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice as LCMHC, with the identical fee structure: $298 active renewal, $163 inactive renewal, $328 reinstatement, all following the same individualized 2-year cycle tied to your original licensure date.

LMFT License Renewal

Also administered by the same New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice, sharing the identical fee schedule ($298 active, $163 inactive, $328 reinstatement) and individualized renewal cycle as LCMHC and LICSW.

Psychologist License Renewal

Administered by the separate New Hampshire Board of Psychologists. Per the Board’s own licensing guidance, psychology licenses expire every two years on the last day of the month in which they were originally issued — also individualized rather than fixed. The renewal fee is $300, submitted through the Board’s online licensing portal.

New Hampshire Approved CE Providers

Whether you’re looking for New Hampshire online continuing education or in-person New Hampshire continuing education courses, both boards recognize CE from a well-documented list of national and state organizations:

Accreditor / Association	Who It’s For	Recognized For
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)	LCMHCs	Listed directly among the Board of Mental Health Practice’s own recognized organizations
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) / NASW	LICSWs	Listed directly among the Board’s own recognized organizations
American Psychological Association (APA)	Licensed Psychologists	Listed directly among the Board’s recognized organizations, and the standard for psychologist CE generally
New Hampshire Mental Health Counselors Association (NHMHCA)	LCMHCs	State chapter of AMHCA; instrumental in developing New Hampshire’s licensure standards for the profession
New Hampshire Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (NHAMFT)	LMFTs	An active AAMFT geographic interest network offering discounted CE trainings, mentoring, and networking specific to New Hampshire
New Hampshire Psychological Association	Licensed Psychologists	State-level licensing guidance and CE resources for New Hampshire psychologists
NH National Association of Social Workers	LICSWs	Listed directly among the Board of Mental Health Practice’s own recognized organizations

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.

New Hampshire-Specific Considerations

A few details worth knowing beyond the base CE requirements:

Renewal Dates Are Individualized, Not Fixed

Unlike states that use one shared calendar deadline for everyone, both New Hampshire boards tie your renewal date to your original issuance date. Board of Mental Health Practice licensees renew on their specific 2-year anniversary; psychologists renew on the last day of the month in which they were originally licensed. Don’t assume a colleague’s renewal deadline tells you anything about your own.

New Hampshire Conducts Random CE Audits

The Board of Mental Health Practice actively audits CE compliance, making the standard 3-year documentation retention period a genuine practical necessity rather than a formality. Keep certificates, provider approval information, and completion dates organized throughout your renewal cycle rather than reconstructing them if selected for review.

Ethics and Suicide Prevention Hours Must Come From Category A

It’s not enough to simply complete 6 ethics hours and 3 suicide prevention hours somewhere within your 40-hour total — New Hampshire specifically requires both to come from Category A (live/interactive or approved home study), not Category B. A self-paced course that would otherwise satisfy the general hour count may not satisfy these two specific mandates if it falls outside Category A.

New Licensee vs. Renewing Licensee

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

• Board-approved supervisors under the Board of Mental Health Practice need an additional 6 hours in clinical supervision, on top of the standard 40-hour requirement — a real addition tied to taking on supervisory responsibility, not drawn from the existing total.
• Conditional/Candidate-status licensees (working toward full LCMHC, LICSW, or LMFT status) pay a separate, lower Candidate Fee rather than the full active-status renewal fee, reflecting their pre-independent-practice status.
• Licensees reinstating after an expired license face different processes depending on how long the license has been lapsed — under 1 year uses a paper renewal application with the reinstatement fee, while longer lapses require a full new application.
• Supervisors more broadly take on real responsibility in New Hampshire’s system, and having a clear clinical supervision agreement in place from the outset helps define expectations for both parties.

CE Tracker Templates for Mental Health Professionals

New Hampshire’s individualized renewal dates and active audit program make a personal CE record genuinely worth maintaining here — since your deadline isn’t shared with colleagues and the Board can request documentation years after the fact, having certificates and completion dates organized as you go beats reconstructing three years of records under audit pressure.

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 New Hampshire CE Requirements

New Hampshire’s Board of Mental Health Practice is genuinely one of the more consistent structures covered in this guide — identical hour totals, identical Category A/B splits, and identical fees across LCMHC, LICSW, and LMFT make cross-license comparison straightforward if you hold more than one. The individualized renewal date is the one detail most likely to trip up a clinician used to a shared statewide deadline.

Given New Hampshire’s active CE audit program, treating documentation as an ongoing habit rather than a renewal-week scramble is a genuinely practical safeguard here, not just general good advice.

References

• New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice. (n.d.). Home. Resource
• New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice. (n.d.). License fees. Resource
• New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice. (n.d.). Online resources. Resource
• New Hampshire Board of Psychologists. (n.d.). Home. Resource
• New Hampshire Mental Health Counselors Association. (n.d.). About us. Resource
• New Hampshire Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. (n.d.). About us. Resource
• New Hampshire Psychological Association. (n.d.). NH licensing board. Resource