Wisconsin Continuing Education Requirements for Mental Health Professionals

Wisconsin is genuinely distinctive: one Examining Board and one administrative rule chapter (MPSW 19) govern counselors, marriage and family therapists, and every level of social work licensure — and that unification extends to the calendar too. LPC, LMFT, and every social work license tier (CSW, APSW, ISW, LCSW) all expire on the exact same date: February 28 of odd-numbered years, confirmed directly from Wisconsin Statute 440.08(2).

Psychology breaks that pattern entirely, sitting under a separate board with its own September 30 (odd-year) deadline and a higher 40-hour CE total. Renewal fees, confirmed directly from DSPS’s own current sources, run $74 for LPC/LMFT and roughly $62-$90 for social work (sources vary), with psychology’s fee reported around $300.

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

Wisconsin Continuing Education Requirements

Wisconsin is genuinely distinctive: one Examining Board and one administrative rule chapter (MPSW 19) govern counselors, marriage and family therapists, and every level of social work licensure with an identical 30-hour requirement, while psychology sits under its own separate board (Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, n.d.).

License Type	CE Requirements	Renewal / Special Requirements	Official Licensing Board
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)	30 CE hours every 2 years	Minimum 4 hours ethics and professional boundaries, completed in an interactive (live or synchronous) format. First renewal after initial licensure is exempt. Maximum 15 hours from in-house employer training not otherwise board-recognized.	Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)	30 CE hours every 2 years	Same rule (MPSW 19) and structure as LPC: 4 hours ethics/boundaries in interactive format. Applies equally to CSW, APSW, and ISW social work license levels.	Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT)	30 CE hours every 2 years	Same rule and structure as LPC and LCSW above.	Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board
Licensed Psychologist (PhD / PsyD)	40 CE hours every 2 years	Minimum 6 hours ethics, risk management, or jurisprudence. CE hours in supervision or suicide prevention count at 1.5x their actual value. The Department does not pre-approve courses.	Wisconsin Psychology Examining Board

Clinical Note: Wisconsin’s single rule chapter (MPSW 19) covering counseling, MFT, and every social work license level is about as unified as state CE structures get — the same 30-hour total, the same 4-hour ethics/boundaries requirement, and the same interactive-format rule apply regardless of which of these licenses you hold. Psychology alone breaks that pattern.

Wisconsin License Renewal Requirements

LPC, LMFT, and every social work tier share the exact same February 28 (odd years) deadline, confirmed directly from Wisconsin Statute 440.08(2) — while psychology runs on its own separate September deadline.

LPC License Renewal

Administered by the Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board. Per Wis. Stat. § 440.08(2), the required renewal date is February 28 of each odd-numbered year — even if your initial credential was issued shortly before this date, you’re still required to renew by the statutory deadline. The renewal fee is $74. Credential holders whose license has been expired for more than 5 years must submit a specific late renewal application with additional documentation requirements under Wis. Admin. Code § MPSW 1.08(3).

LCSW License Renewal

Administered by the same Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board, sharing the identical February 28 (odd-numbered years) deadline as LPC — confirmed directly on DSPS’s own social worker credential page, citing the same statutory provision. Reported renewal fees vary somewhat by source ($62 to $90 depending on the reference), so confirm your current exact fee directly with DSPS. This deadline applies equally across CSW, APSW, ISW, and LCSW tiers.

LMFT License Renewal

Also administered by the same Examining Board under MPSW 19, sharing the identical February 28 (odd-numbered years) deadline and $74 renewal fee as LPC.

Psychologist License Renewal

Administered by the separate Wisconsin Psychology Examining Board. Per Wis. Stat. § 440.08(2), the required renewal date for the Psychologist credential is September 30 of odd-numbered years — a different month than the MPSW 19 professions, though the same odd-year parity. Reported renewal fees are approximately $300, with late renewal penalties reportedly adding up to $150. Confirm your current exact fee directly with the Board.

Wisconsin Approved CE Providers

Whether you’re looking for Wisconsin online continuing education or in-person Wisconsin continuing education courses, Wisconsin’s own administrative code (MPSW 19.03) names an unusually specific and complete list of accepted organizations directly in the rule text:

Accreditor / Association	Who It’s For	Recognized For
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)	LPCs	Explicitly named in MPSW 19.03(1)(a) as an accepted organization
Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) / NASW	LCSWs	Both explicitly named in MPSW 19.03(1)(a) as accepted organizations
American Psychological Association (APA)	Licensed Psychologists	Any program approved or co-sponsored by an APA-approved sponsor is explicitly accepted under MPSW 19.03
Wisconsin Counseling Association (WCA)	LPCs	Explicitly named in MPSW 19.03(1)(a); itself an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 2050)
Wisconsin Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (WAMFT)	LMFTs	Explicitly named in MPSW 19.03(1)(a); offers 85+ online CE courses specifically for MFTs
Wisconsin Psychological Association (WPA)	Licensed Psychologists	Wisconsin’s official state affiliate of APA
NASW Wisconsin Chapter	LCSWs	Explicitly named (via national NASW) in MPSW 19.03(1)(a) as an accepted organization

MPSW 19.03 also names several other organizations directly, including the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), NAADAC, the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC), and any program accredited by COAMFTE. 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.

Wisconsin-Specific Considerations

A few details worth knowing beyond the base CE requirements:

Wisconsin’s Unified Deadline Doesn’t Extend to Psychology

This is worth stating precisely: LPC, LMFT, and every social work tier share the exact same February 28 (odd-year) deadline under MPSW 19, but psychology sits on its own September 30 (odd-year) schedule under a completely separate board. A dual-licensed clinician holding, say, an LCSW and a psychology license is tracking two genuinely different deadlines despite the shared odd-year parity.

Retired Status Requires Real Catch-Up CE to Return to Practice

Wisconsin allows credential holders who’ve retired to be exempted from CE requirements while non-practicing under MPSW 19.04(2). But returning to active practice isn’t automatic — the credential holder must first demonstrate completion of at least 30 CE hours for each biennium during which they held the retirement exemption, per MPSW 19.04(3). A multi-year retirement could mean a substantial CE catch-up before resuming practice.

Psychology Weights Certain CE Content More Heavily Than Others

Wisconsin’s Psychology Examining Board applies a genuine multiplier: CE hours specifically in supervision or suicide prevention count at 1.5 times their actual value toward the 40-hour requirement. This is a real incentive structure worth knowing about if you’re choosing between comparable CE options and want to satisfy your total more efficiently.

New Licensee vs. Renewing Licensee

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

• First-time renewals after initial licensure are exempt from the CE requirement entirely for LPC, LMFT, and all social work tiers under MPSW 19 — a genuine break before the full 30-hour obligation begins.
• Retired/non-practicing credential holders can request an exemption from ongoing CE, but must complete 30 hours per biennium retroactively before returning to active practice.
• Presenting or authoring professional material earns real CE credit under Wisconsin’s rules — 1 hour of credit per hour of material presented or developed, up to 20 hours for a full semester-long course, and up to 20 hours per biennium specifically for first or second authorship of a publication for psychologists.
• Supervisors more broadly take on real responsibility in Wisconsin’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

Wisconsin’s mostly-unified MPSW 19 structure makes tracking genuinely simple if you hold just one of the LPC/LCSW/LMFT trio — but psychology’s separate deadline and content-weighting system are easy to overlook if you’re dual-licensed. A personal record that keeps each board’s specific deadline, fee, and content rules distinct helps avoid applying Wisconsin’s mostly-unified counseling/social work rules to a psychology license that plays by different ones.

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 Wisconsin CE Requirements

Wisconsin’s MPSW 19 structure is genuinely one of the most unified in this guide — the same hour total, ethics requirement, and deadline apply across LPC, LMFT, and every social work tier, which makes cross-license comparison unusually straightforward if you hold more than one. The one place that unity breaks down is psychology, which follows its own board, deadline, and CE-weighting rules entirely.

If you’re stepping away from practice, remember that Wisconsin’s retirement exemption isn’t a clean slate — returning to active status means completing CE for every biennium you were exempted, which can add up to a real catch-up requirement depending on how long you were away.

References

• Wisconsin Legislature. (n.d.). Wis. Stat. § 440.08(2) — License renewal dates. Resource
• Wisconsin Legislature. (n.d.). Chapter MPSW 19 — Continuing education. Resource
• Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. (n.d.). Licensed Professional Counselor renewal form. Resource
• Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. (n.d.). Social Worker – Licensed Clinical. Resource
• Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. (n.d.). Psychologist. Resource
• Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. (n.d.). Marriage and Family Therapist continuing education. Resource
• Wisconsin Counseling Association. (n.d.). Conferences. Resource
• Wisconsin Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. (n.d.). Home. Resource