South Carolina combines counselors, marriage and family therapists, and addiction counselors under one board with a 40-hour requirement, while social work and psychology each answer to their own separate boards with their own hour totals and calendars. The detail most worth understanding precisely if you’re dual-licensed as an LPC and LMFT: the requirement isn’t 40 hours per license. It’s 50 hours total, split roughly evenly, with a single shared 6-hour ethics requirement covering both.
Renewal fees vary meaningfully by profession, confirmed directly from each board’s own current fee pages: $150 for LPC/LMFT, $90 for LISW-CP, and a notably higher $395 for psychologists. South Carolina’s counseling board also uses CE Broker as its official tracking system, worth setting up early rather than at renewal time.
This guide explains the current South Carolina continuing education requirements for LPCs, LISW-CPs, LMFTs, and psychologists, including required CE hours, ethics requirements, renewal deadlines, approved providers, and other South Carolina-specific rules to help you stay compliant.
South Carolina Continuing Education Requirements
South Carolina combines counselors, marriage and family therapists, and addiction counselors under one board, with social work and psychology each licensed separately (South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors, and Psycho-Educational Specialists, n.d.; South Carolina Board of Social Work Examiners, n.d.; South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology, n.d.).
| License Type | CE Requirements | Renewal / Special Requirements | Official Licensing Board |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) | 40 CE hours every 2 years | Minimum 34 hours related to the professional license area, 6 hours ethics. Dual-licensed LPC/LMFT holders complete 50 hours total, split roughly evenly between disciplines. LPC-Supervisors need an additional 10 hours in supervision, on top of the 40. First-time licensees are exempt for their first renewal cycle. | South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors, and Psycho-Educational Specialists |
| Licensed Independent Social Worker–Clinical Practice (LISW-CP) | 40 CE hours every 2 years | Minimum 20 hours must be provided specifically by a trained social worker (BSW, MSW, or doctorate in social work). 1 hour suicide assessment/treatment/management required each cycle. | South Carolina Board of Social Work Examiners |
| Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT) | 40 CE hours every 2 years | Same board and structure as LPC above; dual-licensed clinicians complete 50 hours total. | South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors, and Psycho-Educational Specialists |
| Licensed Psychologist (PhD / PsyD) | 24 CE hours every 2 years | Minimum 12 hours Category A (formal), maximum 12 hours Category B, including 3 hours ethics. | South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology |
Clinical Note: South Carolina’s dual-licensure rule for LPC/LMFT is worth knowing precisely: it’s not 40 hours per license (80 total) but 50 hours total, split as evenly as possible between the two disciplines, with a single 6-hour ethics requirement covering both. This is meaningfully less burdensome than stacking two separate 40-hour requirements, but easy to get wrong if you assume the totals are additive.
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South Carolina License Renewal Requirements
South Carolina’s three boards each use a fixed statewide deadline, but none of the three months match — confirmed directly from each board’s own fee pages and South Carolina regulations.
LPC License Renewal
Administered by the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors, and Psycho-Educational Specialists. Licenses expire August 31 of even-numbered years. The renewal fee is $150. Licensees have a 1-to-3-month late renewal window with a $50 late fee; renewals received 4 months to 2 years after the deadline require formal reinstatement with a $300 fee. CE compliance is tracked through CE Broker, the Board’s official system.
LISW-CP License Renewal
Administered by the separate South Carolina Board of Social Work Examiners. Licenses expire December 31 of even-numbered years — a different month than LPC/LMFT despite sharing the same even-year parity. Per the Board’s own fee schedule, the renewal fee is $90, with a $50 late fee; reinstating a lapsed license costs $190. Documentation of completed CE should be retained for at least 3 years following the renewal period.
LMFT License Renewal
Administered by the same South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors, and Psycho-Educational Specialists as LPC, sharing the identical August 31 (even-numbered years) deadline, $150 renewal fee, and $50/$300 late-renewal and reinstatement structure. LMFT-Supervisors need 6 hours specifically in supervision content to renew that designation, on a 4-year cycle rather than the standard 2-year renewal.
Psychologist License Renewal
Administered by the separate South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology. Per South Carolina Code of Regulations Chapter 100, Section 100-3, renewal is biennial on a date set by the Board — the most recent cycle ended November 30, 2025. The renewal fee is $395, with a $75 late fee if submitted within 2 months of the deadline; a license not renewed within that 2-month window is considered expired. The Board randomly audits a sample of licensees each cycle for CE compliance documentation.
South Carolina Approved CE Providers
Whether you’re looking for South Carolina online continuing education or in-person South Carolina continuing education courses, South Carolina recognizes CE from national accreditors alongside genuinely active state associations:
| Accreditor / Association | Who It’s For | Recognized For |
|---|---|---|
| National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) | LPCs | Widely accepted for LPC renewal, tracked through CE Broker |
| Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) / NASW | LISW-CPs | Accepted for LISW-CP renewal |
| American Psychological Association (APA) | Licensed Psychologists | Explicitly named in the Board’s own CE regulations, alongside state and regional psychological associations |
| South Carolina Counseling Association (SCCA) | LPCs | State-chartered branch of ACA, home to over 400 counseling professionals in South Carolina |
| South Carolina Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (SCAMFT) | LMFTs | An AAMFT division since 1972, supporting professional development and networking for the license established in South Carolina in 1986 |
| South Carolina Psychological Association (SCPA) | Licensed Psychologists | Explicitly named by the Board as a continuing education information resource |
| NASW South Carolina Chapter | LISW-CPs | State-level CE and advocacy for South Carolina social workers |
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.
South Carolina-Specific Considerations
A few details worth knowing beyond the base CE requirements:
Dual LPC/LMFT Licensure Combines Into One 50-Hour Requirement
This is worth stating precisely because it’s easy to get wrong: South Carolina doesn’t require dual LPC/LMFT holders to complete 40 hours for each license (80 total). Instead, the combined requirement is 50 hours total, split roughly evenly between the two disciplines, with a single 6-hour ethics requirement satisfying both. Assuming the totals stack additively would mean significantly over-preparing.
The Three Boards Use Three Different Fixed Deadlines
LPC/LMFT expires August 31, LISW-CP expires December 31, and psychology’s most recent cycle ended November 30 — three different months, none individualized to birth date. A dual-licensed clinician across any two of these boards is tracking genuinely separate calendars, not one shared date with different label.
Psychology Conducts Random CE Audits
South Carolina’s psychology board randomly selects licensees each biennial period to submit written documentation of their Category A continuing education. Keeping organized records throughout the cycle, rather than reconstructing them only if selected, is the safer approach given this active audit practice.
New Licensee vs. Renewing Licensee
A few distinctions worth knowing depending on where you are in your South Carolina licensure timeline:
- First-time LPC and LMFT licensees are exempt from the CE requirement entirely for their first renewal cycle, per the Board’s own rules — a genuine break before the full 40- or 50-hour obligation begins.
- LPC-Supervisors need an additional 10 hours in supervision content on top of their standard 40-hour requirement, while LMFT-Supervisors need 6 supervision-specific hours on a separate 4-year renewal cycle for that designation specifically.
- Licensees whose license lapses for 4 months to 2 years face formal reinstatement (with LPC/LMFT’s $300 fee or LISW-CP’s $190 fee) rather than simple late renewal — worth avoiding by acting within the shorter late-renewal window if at all possible.
- Supervisors more broadly take on real responsibility in South Carolina’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
South Carolina’s dual-licensure math — 50 combined hours rather than two separate 40-hour totals — combined with three genuinely different board deadlines, makes a personal tracking system especially useful here. Knowing exactly how your hours split between LPC and LMFT content, and confirming which deadline applies to which license, removes real ambiguity from a state where the rules genuinely differ from a simple additive model.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions: South Carolina Continuing Education Requirements
Below are the practical questions clinicians ask when completing, documenting, and reporting continuing education units (CEUs) to satisfy state board regulations and maintain active licensure in South Carolina.
How many CE hours does an LPC need in South Carolina?
40 hours every two years, including a minimum of 34 hours related to the professional license area and 6 hours ethics. Dual-licensed LPC/LMFT holders complete 50 hours total instead of 80.
Does South Carolina require ethics hours for every license type?
LPCs and LMFTs need a minimum of 6 ethics hours (shared if dual-licensed), and psychologists need a minimum of 3. Current published guidance doesn’t specify a standalone ethics-hour minimum for LISW-CP beyond the required suicide assessment training.
Can South Carolina clinicians complete all their CE online?
Current published guidance doesn’t specify a distance-learning cap for LPC, LMFT, or LISW-CP renewal. Psychologists face a real split: a minimum of 12 hours must be Category A (formal), with a maximum of 12 hours from Category B (informal).
Where can I find South Carolina continuing education courses?
Start with NBCC, ASWB, or APA depending on your license type, or South Carolina-specific organizations like the South Carolina Counseling Association, SCAMFT, South Carolina Psychological Association, or NASW South Carolina Chapter.
What happens if I miss my South Carolina license renewal deadline?
For LPC/LMFT, a $50 late fee applies within 1-3 months, with formal reinstatement ($300) required between 4 months and 2 years late. For LISW-CP, a $50 late fee applies, with a $190 reinstatement fee for a fully lapsed license. For psychologists, a $75 late fee applies within 2 months, after which the license is considered expired.
Is South Carolina part of any licensure compacts?
Confirm current status directly with the Counseling Compact, PSYPACT, and the Social Work Licensure Compact before assuming privileges apply, since compact adoption and operational status continue to change nationally and vary by profession.
Final Thoughts on South Carolina CE Requirements
South Carolina’s dual-licensure rule for LPC/LMFT is the single most important number to get right here — 50 combined hours, not 80, and getting that math wrong in either direction either shortchanges your actual requirement or has you completing far more CE than necessary. Beyond that, treating each of the three boards’ deadlines (August, December, and roughly November) as genuinely separate rather than variations on one date is the safest way to avoid a missed renewal.
Given the psychology board’s active audit practice and the counseling board’s use of CE Broker for tracking, building documentation habits into your renewal cycle as you go — rather than compiling everything the week before your deadline — pays off more directly in South Carolina than in states with less active enforcement.
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References
- South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors, and Psycho-Educational Specialists. (n.d.). Home. Resource
- South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors, and Psycho-Educational Specialists. (n.d.). Late renewal, reinstatement and re-application information. Resource
- South Carolina Board of Social Work Examiners. (n.d.). Fees. Resource
- South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology. (n.d.). Fees. Resource
- South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology. (n.d.). Continuing education. Resource
- South Carolina Code of Regulations. (n.d.). Chapter 100, Section 100-3 — Renewal of licenses. Resource
- South Carolina Counseling Association. (n.d.). Home. Resource
- AAMFT South Carolina. (n.d.). Home. Resource