Oklahoma Continuing Education Requirements for Mental Health Professionals

Oklahoma runs on an annual clock for three of its four licenses — counselors, marriage and family therapists, and psychologists all renew every single year, a genuinely faster rhythm than the biennial cycle most states use. Social work sits apart with a lower 16-hour annual total, which is easy to mix up if you’re assuming Oklahoma’s requirement is a flat number across professions.

The renewal fees themselves vary more than you might expect for a state with such a consistent annual structure: $80 for LPC, $100 for LMFT and LCSW, and a notably higher $400 for psychologists — confirmed directly from each board’s own current fee pages. Since 2024, LPCs also gained real flexibility here: the Board removed its in-person CE requirement entirely, meaning all hours can now be completed online.

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

Oklahoma Continuing Education Requirements

Oklahoma stands out for its annual renewal cycle across counseling, marriage and family therapy, and psychology, with social work sitting at a lower annual hour total than the other professions (Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure, n.d.; Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers, n.d.; Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, n.d.).

License Type	CE Requirements	Renewal / Special Requirements	Official Licensing Board
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)	20 CE hours every year	Minimum 3 hours counseling ethics. Approved supervisors need an additional 3 hours in counseling supervision. Initial licensing period requires 40 hours. Since 2024, all hours may be completed online — the Board removed its in-person requirement.	Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)	16 CE hours every year	Up to 8 hours may be completed via on-demand/pre-recorded courses; at least 8 hours must come from a different category (confirm current live/interactive requirement directly with the Board).	Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT)	20 CE hours every year	Minimum 3 hours mental health ethics, required face-to-face. Approved supervisors need an additional 3 hours in therapy supervision, specific to Oklahoma law.	Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure
Licensed Psychologist (PhD / PsyD)	20 CE hours every year	Minimum 3 hours ethics. All hours may be completed via distance learning. Renewal deadline is December 31 each year.	Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Psychologists

Clinical Note: Oklahoma’s annual renewal cycle across three of these four professions means CE planning needs to happen every year, not every two — and LCSW’s lower 16-hour total (versus 20 for the other three) is easy to mix up if you’re used to thinking of Oklahoma’s requirement as a flat number across professions.

Oklahoma License Renewal Requirements

All four Oklahoma boards run annual cycles, but each sets its own specific deadline, fee, and consequence structure — confirmed directly from each board’s own renewal pages and fee schedules.

LPC License Renewal

Administered by the Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure. Renewal is due by June 30 each year, with a $80 annual renewal fee. A $25 late fee applies for renewals submitted after the deadline; inactive-status renewal is available for $25. First-time licensees face a separate initial renewal requiring 40 hours of counseling CE, accrued between issuance and expiration, with no ethics-hour requirement during that specific first cycle. Approved supervisors must complete 3 hours of counseling supervision CE annually to maintain that status; if you skip a year, you’ll need to submit the missed hours retroactively before your supervisor status can be renewed.

LCSW License Renewal

Administered by the separate Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers. Per the Board’s own administrative code (675:1-1-9), the annual renewal fee is $100, with a $50 late fee. Renewal is due December 31 each year, and CE (16 hours per license held) is waived entirely in the calendar year you pass your licensure exam. At least 8 of the 16 hours must be face-to-face or live webinar format, including all 3 required ethics hours.

LMFT License Renewal

Administered by the same Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure as LPC. Renewal is due December 31 each year, with an annual fee of $100. Approved LMFT supervisors must document 3 hours of therapy supervision annually to maintain that status, following the same use-it-or-catch-up structure as LPC supervisors.

Psychologist License Renewal

Administered by the separate Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. The annual renewal window opens October 15 and closes December 31, with all requirements — CE entry, payment, and any status changes — completed through the online Psychologist Licensee Portal. The renewal fee is a notably higher $400, non-refundable once submitted for processing.

Oklahoma Approved CE Providers

Whether you’re looking for Oklahoma online continuing education or in-person Oklahoma continuing education courses, the Behavioral Health Licensure Board publishes an unusually specific list of recognized organizations directly in its own rules:

Accreditor / Association	Who It’s For	Recognized For
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) / American Counseling Association (ACA)	LPCs	Explicitly named in the Board’s own recognized-organizations list
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) / NASW	LCSWs	Explicitly named as accepted providers by the Board of Licensed Social Workers
American Psychological Association (APA)	Licensed Psychologists	Explicitly named in the Board’s own recognized-organizations list
Oklahoma Counselors Association (OCA)	LPCs	State branch of ACA, explicitly named as a recognized affiliate organization
Oklahoma Mental Health Counselors Association (OKMHCA)	LPCs	State chapter of AMHCA, offering CE and professional community for Oklahoma counselors
Oklahoma Psychological Association (OPA)	Licensed Psychologists	Explicitly named in the Board’s own recognized-organizations list
Oklahoma Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (OKAMFT)	LMFTs	State affiliate of AAMFT, explicitly named as a recognized organization by the Board

Beyond these named organizations, the Board of Behavioral Health Licensure also recognizes CE from state and federal government agencies with mental health or substance abuse responsibilities, including the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. 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.

Oklahoma-Specific Considerations

A few details worth knowing beyond the base CE requirements:

LPC CE Went Fully Online-Eligible in 2024

Oklahoma’s Board of Behavioral Health Licensure removed its in-person CE requirement for LPCs in 2024, meaning all 20 annual hours can now be completed online. This is a genuine, recent liberalization — if you’re relying on older guidance that describes a mandatory in-person component for LPCs, that’s now outdated.

Psychology’s Renewal Fee Is Substantially Higher Than the Other Three Licenses

At $400 annually, Oklahoma’s psychologist renewal fee is 4 to 5 times higher than LPC’s $80 or LMFT/LCSW’s $100 — a real cost difference worth budgeting for specifically if you’re a psychologist, and a detail easy to underestimate if you’re comparing notes with a colleague in a different Oklahoma license.

Supervisor CE Doesn’t Automatically Renew Itself

Both LPC and LMFT approved supervisors in Oklahoma must complete their 3 hours of supervision-specific CE every single year to maintain that designation — and if a year is missed, the Board requires submitting the missed hours retroactively before supervisor status can continue. This is a real, recurring annual obligation separate from your standard license renewal, not a one-time credential.

New Licensee vs. Renewing Licensee

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

• First-time LPC licensees face a distinct “initial renewal” requiring 40 hours of counseling CE (not the standard 20) accrued between issuance and expiration, with no ethics-hour requirement during that specific first cycle.
• Social workers licensed mid-year have their CE waived entirely for the calendar year in which they pass their licensure exam — a genuine break for newly licensed social workers rather than a prorated requirement.
• Approved supervisors (LPC and LMFT alike) carry an ongoing annual 3-hour supervision CE obligation that exists independently of, and in addition to, their standard renewal requirements.
• Supervisors more broadly take on real responsibility in Oklahoma’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

Oklahoma’s annual renewal cycle across three of its four professions means CE tracking here is a once-a-year event rather than a once-every-two-years one — and the recurring supervisor CE obligation adds another annual deadline on top of your standard renewal. A running personal record makes it far easier to confirm you’ve hit every category (ethics, supervision, live-format minimums for LCSWs) before each year’s deadline arrives.

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 Oklahoma CE Requirements

Oklahoma’s annual rhythm across three of its four licenses is the defining feature here — CE planning happens every year, not every two, and that faster cadence means less room for a small oversight to compound before your next renewal catches it. The real variation to watch for is the fee spread: $80 for LPC versus $400 for psychology is a genuinely large gap worth knowing about ahead of time, not discovering at renewal.

Supervisors specifically should build their 3-hour annual supervision CE into the same yearly rhythm as their standard renewal, since Oklahoma treats it as a recurring obligation rather than a one-time credential — missing a year creates a retroactive catch-up requirement rather than simply resetting the clock.

References

• Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure. (n.d.). License renewal. Resource
• Oklahoma State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure. (n.d.). Continuing education. Resource
• Oklahoma State Board of Licensed Social Workers. (n.d.). Home. Resource
• Oklahoma Administrative Code. (n.d.). 675:1-1-9 — Fee schedule. Resource
• Oklahoma State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. (n.d.). Licensees. Resource
• Oklahoma Counseling Association. (n.d.). Home. Resource
• Oklahoma Mental Health Counselors Association. (n.d.). About us. Resource
• Oklahoma Psychological Association. (n.d.). Home. Resource