Pennsylvania Continuing Education Requirements for Mental Health Professionals

Pennsylvania consolidates counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists under one State Board with an identical 30-hour requirement, and a statewide Act 31 child abuse recognition mandate that shows up across all three. What’s genuinely useful to confirm directly from the Board’s own psychology licensure page: psychologists share this exact same content structure — 3 hours ethics, 2 hours Act 31, 1 hour suicide prevention — even though they’re regulated separately.

The two boards do run on different calendars, though. LPC, LCSW, and LMFT renewals fall due February 28 of odd-numbered years, while psychology licenses expire November 30 of odd-numbered years — same year parity, different month. Pennsylvania is also a PSYPACT participating state, giving psychologists real interstate telepsychology options.

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

Pennsylvania Continuing Education Requirements

Pennsylvania consolidates counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists under one State Board, with psychology licensed separately — and a statewide Act 31 child abuse recognition mandate that appears across the consolidated board’s licenses (Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors, n.d.; Pennsylvania State Board of Psychology, n.d.).

License Type	CE Requirements	Renewal / Special Requirements	Official Licensing Board
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)	30 CE hours every 2 years	Minimum 3 hours ethics, 2 hours Act 31 child abuse recognition and reporting, 1 hour suicide prevention. All 30 hours may be completed online. Hours beyond 30 do not carry over. Renewal cycle ends February 28 of odd-numbered years.	Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)	30 CE hours every 2 years	Same board and content structure as LPC: 3 hours ethics, 2 hours Act 31 training, 1 hour suicide prevention.	Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT)	30 CE hours every 2 years	Same board and structure as LPC and LCSW above.	Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors
Licensed Psychologist (PhD / PsyD)	30 CE hours every 2 years	Confirm current content-area requirements directly with the Board.	Pennsylvania State Board of Psychology

Clinical Note: Pennsylvania’s Act 31 child abuse recognition and reporting training is a statewide mandate that shows up across LPC, LCSW, and LMFT alike under this single board — a genuinely efficient setup if you’re dual-licensed, since the same 2-hour training satisfies all three. Update: the psychology board’s own licensure snapshot confirms the same content structure applies to psychologists too — 3 hours ethics, 2 hours Act 31, and 1 hour suicide prevention, out of the 30-hour total.

Pennsylvania License Renewal Requirements

Both Pennsylvania boards use fixed statewide deadlines rather than individualized dates, but the two calendars don’t align — confirmed directly from the Pennsylvania Code and each board’s own current fee and renewal pages.

LPC License Renewal

Administered by the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors. Per 49 Pa. Code § 47.4, licenses expire February 28 of odd-numbered years, with the biennial renewal fee set at $95. A $25 late fee applies for renewals submitted after expiration, and reactivating a fully lapsed license costs $65. First-time licensees are exempt from the CE requirement for their initial renewal period, and unused hours beyond 30 do not carry over to the next cycle. Renewal is submitted online through the Pennsylvania Licensing System (PALS), and documentation should be retained for 4 years in case of an audit.

LCSW License Renewal

Administered by the same Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors, sharing the identical February 28 (odd-numbered years) deadline and $95 biennial renewal fee as LPC, per the same 49 Pa. Code § 47.4 fee schedule.

LMFT License Renewal

Also administered by the same consolidated Board, with the identical $95 renewal fee, February 28 (odd-numbered years) deadline, and $25 late fee structure as LPC and LCSW.

Psychologist License Renewal

Administered by the separate Pennsylvania State Board of Psychology. Per 49 Pa. Code Chapter 41, licenses expire November 30 of every odd-numbered year regardless of issuance date — a different month than the consolidated board’s February 28 deadline, though the same odd-year parity. The renewal fee is $300, confirmed directly on the Board’s own licensure snapshot page. No more than 15 of the 30 required hours may come from home study; live, interactive webinars count as equivalent to in-person events. A single course cannot be counted toward both the ethics and suicide prevention requirements simultaneously, even if its content would otherwise satisfy both.

Pennsylvania Approved CE Providers

Whether you’re looking for Pennsylvania online continuing education or in-person Pennsylvania continuing education courses, Pennsylvania’s consolidated board publishes an unusually detailed list of pre-approved provider organizations directly in its own regulations:

Accreditor / Association	Who It’s For	Recognized For
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)	LPCs	Explicitly named as a preapproved provider organization under 49 Pa. Code Chapter 49
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) / NASW	LCSWs	Both explicitly named as preapproved provider organizations under the Board’s regulations
American Psychological Association (APA)	Licensed Psychologists	The standard for psychologist CE in Pennsylvania; up to 15 hours may be home study if APA-approved
Pennsylvania Counseling Association (PCA)	LPCs	One of the largest state branches of ACA, with over 500 members, 8 divisions, and 3 regional chapters
Pennsylvania Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (PAMFT)	LMFTs	Explicitly named as a preapproved provider organization under the Board’s own MFT regulations
Pennsylvania Psychological Association (PPA)	Licensed Psychologists	Publishes a detailed License Renewal Guide directly addressing common CE compliance questions
NASW Pennsylvania Chapter	LCSWs	Explicitly named as a preapproved provider organization under the Board’s own regulations

Pennsylvania’s consolidated board regulations also preapprove CE from CACREP- and COAMFTE-accredited graduate programs, the Clinical Social Work Association, and several allied-field certification bodies. 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.

Pennsylvania-Specific Considerations

A few details worth knowing beyond the base CE requirements:

Psychology’s Content Requirements Actually Mirror the Consolidated Board’s

Despite being regulated separately, Pennsylvania psychologists face the exact same content breakdown as LPC, LCSW, and LMFT: 3 hours ethics, 2 hours Act 31 child abuse recognition, and 1 hour suicide prevention, confirmed directly on the Board of Psychology’s own licensure snapshot page. The renewal calendar and fee are different, but the underlying content requirements are genuinely identical across all four professions in this guide.

Pennsylvania Is a PSYPACT Participating State

Psychologists licensed in Pennsylvania (or in other PSYPACT states) can apply for Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT) or Temporary Authorization to Practice (TAP) under the compact. This gives real interstate practice flexibility that LPC, LCSW, and LMFT licensees don’t currently have access to in Pennsylvania.

A Course Can’t Double-Count for Both Ethics and Suicide Prevention

Pennsylvania’s psychology board is explicit on this point: even if a single course’s content would reasonably satisfy both the ethics and suicide prevention requirements, you can only apply it toward one category, not both. Plan your CE selections with this restriction in mind rather than assuming a dual-purpose course covers two requirements at once.

New Licensee vs. Renewing Licensee

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

• First-time licensees across LPC, LCSW, and LMFT are exempt from the CE requirement entirely for their first renewal period following initial licensure, per 49 Pa. Code § 47.39.
• First-time psychology licensees face a separate, smaller 3-hour requirement (specifically in Act 31 child abuse recognition) rather than the full 30-hour renewal requirement, which only applies starting with their first renewal.
• Licensed Associate Professional Counselors (LAPC), a credential introduced in March 2024, follow a reduced first-renewal requirement of 1 hour suicide prevention and 2 hours child abuse recognition rather than the full LPC structure.
• Supervisors overseeing associate-level clinicians take on real responsibility in Pennsylvania’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

Pennsylvania’s two different renewal calendars — February for the consolidated board, November for psychology — combined with the rule against double-counting a single course for two requirements, make this a state where a personal tracking system genuinely helps avoid an easy mistake. Knowing exactly which category each completed course applies toward, and confirming you haven’t accidentally relied on one course for two mandates, is worth having documented rather than assumed.

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 Pennsylvania CE Requirements

Pennsylvania’s consolidated board makes LPC, LCSW, and LMFT genuinely easy to compare — same fee, same February 28 deadline, same 30-hour structure with identical content categories. Psychology quietly mirrors that same content breakdown despite sitting under a separate board, which is worth knowing rather than assuming psychologists follow an entirely different set of rules.

The two details most likely to trip someone up here are the different renewal months (February for the consolidated board, November for psychology) and the rule against double-counting a single course for both ethics and suicide prevention — both are easy to miss if you’re planning your CE around hour totals alone rather than the specific category requirements.

References

• Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors. (n.d.). Home. Resource
• Pennsylvania Code. (n.d.). 49 Pa. Code § 47.4 — Licensure fees. Resource
• Pennsylvania State Board of Psychology. (n.d.). Psychologist licensure snapshot. Resource
• Pennsylvania State Board of Psychology. (n.d.). Renewal information. Resource
• Pennsylvania Code. (n.d.). 49 Pa. Code Chapter 41 — State Board of Psychology. Resource
• Pennsylvania Psychological Association. (n.d.). What psychologists should know about license renewal. Resource
• Pennsylvania Counseling Association. (n.d.). Home. Resource