CE When You Hold Social Work Licenses in Several States

Holding licenses in three states does not mean three times the CE. Most hours count everywhere. What multiplies is the fine print: each board names its own mandatory topics, accepts its own list of providers, and sets its own limits on self-study. A clinician who takes 40 good hours of general CE can still fail an audit in a state that wanted 3 of them on a specific topic from a specific kind of provider.

This post gives a working method and a reference to current requirements in eleven jurisdictions we write about most. Requirements change; we cite the rule or board page for each, and you should check the board before your renewal window.

The method: build from the strictest state down

1. List every license with its cycle and total hours. A Texas license wants 30 hours every two years; a New York registration wants 36 every three; Michigan wants 45 every three. Different denominators, so plan by period, not by year.
2. List every mandatory topic for every state. Ethics appears almost everywhere, but the hours differ (3 in Illinois and Pennsylvania, 6 in Texas, 6 live in DC). Then the state-specific ones: human trafficking, implicit bias, suicide prevention, child abuse reporting, anti-oppressive practice, LGBTQ cultural competency, medical errors, laws and rules.
3. Find the strictest version of each topic. If one state wants 6 live ethics hours and another wants 3 ethics hours from any approved source, 6 live hours from a provider both accept satisfies both.
4. Check provider approval for each state. This is where a course that "counts everywhere" stops counting. More below.
5. Fill the remainder with general hours that every board accepts, keeping an eye on self-study caps.
6. Log once, map many. One record per course, tagged with every license it applies to.

Provider approval is the real constraint

Topics are easy to plan; approval is what fails audits.

• ASWB's Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program approves both providers and individual courses. Many boards accept ACE approval, which is why ACE courses are the backbone of most multistate plans. Not every board accepts it for every requirement.
• New York requires CE from NYSED-approved providers for LMSWs and LCSWs. A course approved only elsewhere may not count there.
• Texas requires at least half your hours from listed provider types, such as professional associations, universities, government entities, and Council-approved supervisors.
• Florida requires some topics, such as medical errors, from board-approved providers listed in CE Broker.
• Illinois accepts courses from approved sponsors inside or outside the state, live or prerecorded, plus college coursework.

When in doubt, the safest general-hours course is one approved by both ASWB ACE and the strictest board on your list.

State-by-state reference

For the independent clinical license unless noted. Hours are per renewal period.

California (LCSW): 36 hours every 2 years

Includes 6 hours of law and ethics every period, and a one-time 3-hour telehealth course. The board audits at random.

District of Columbia: 40 hours every 2 years

At least 6 hours of live ethics, 2 hours of LGBTQ training and 4 hours (10%) on the DC Health director's public health priorities. No more than 12 hours may be prerecorded or self-study. First renewals are exempt; licensees with less than two years in the cycle complete half.

Florida (LCSW): 30 hours every 2 years

25 general hours, 2 hours of medical errors from a board-approved provider, and 3 hours of ethics and boundaries or telehealth in alternating cycles. Every third cycle, 3 hours of laws and rules and 2 of domestic violence (inside the general hours), and 4 hours of supervisor training for qualified supervisors. No CE is due at the first renewal.

Illinois (LSW and LCSW): 30 hours every 2 years

3 hours of ethics, 3 of cultural competence, 1 of sexual harassment prevention, 1 of implicit bias awareness, and 1 hour on Alzheimer's disease and other dementias once every three renewals. LCSWs complete 6 hours of clinical supervision training at their second renewal only. No CE at first renewal.

Maryland: 40 hours every 2 years (30 for LBSWs)

At least 20 hours in live Category I activities, 3 in ethics and professional conduct, 3 in anti-oppressive practice focused on race, culture or equity, and 3 in supervision for Board-approved supervisors (COMAR 10.42.06.03).

Massachusetts: 30 hours every 2 years (LICSW)

LCSWs (master's level in Massachusetts) need 20, LSWs 15, LSWAs 10. First-period hours are prorated. Social workers employed solely by state, county or municipal government in Massachusetts can claim an exemption by affidavit. White Glove CME has a Massachusetts social worker CE guide.

Michigan (LBSW and LMSW): 45 hours every 3 years

At least 5 in ethics, 2 in pain and symptom management and 2 in human trafficking, plus the state's implicit bias training rules. Keep documentation for five years.

New York (LMSW and LCSW): 36 hours every 3 years

From NYSED-approved providers, with no more than 12 hours of self-study.

Pennsylvania (LBSW, LSW and LCSW): 30 hours every 2 years

At least 3 hours on ethics and 2 hours of child abuse recognition and reporting. Excess hours do not carry over.

Texas (all levels): 30 hours every 2 years

6 hours of ethics and 3 hours on serving a distinct population of your choice. Supervisors complete 6 hours in supervision. Up to 10 unused hours carry forward. At least half the hours must come from listed provider types, and a state-approved human trafficking course is required at renewal. Completing the Texas jurisprudence exam during the period counts as 1 ethics hour.

Washington (LASW and LICSW): 32 hours every 2 years

At least 6 in professional ethics and law and 2 in professional roles and boundaries (separate from ethics), 2 hours of health equity training every four years, and 6 hours of suicide assessment, treatment and management at least once every six years. Associates complete 16 hours every year.

A worked example

Take an LCSW licensed in Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania, all on two-year cycles. A plan might look like this:

• 6 hours of ethics from a provider accepted in all three, which covers Texas's 6 and the 3 required in Illinois and Pennsylvania.
• 3 hours of cultural competence chosen so it also fits Texas's "distinct population" requirement.
• 1 hour of implicit bias and 1 hour of sexual harassment prevention for Illinois.
• 2 hours of child abuse recognition and reporting from a Pennsylvania-approved provider.
• Texas's human trafficking course from the state-approved list.
• The rest as general clinical hours, at least half from Texas's listed provider types.

Thirty to thirty-five well-chosen hours can satisfy all three. Add a New York license and the provider question changes the plan: now the general hours need NYSED approval too, and the period is three years.

Timing traps

• Cycles that do not line up. A course taken in month 23 of a Texas cycle may fall in month 4 of an Illinois cycle. It can count in both, but only in the period in which it was completed.
• First-renewal exemptions differ. Illinois, Florida and DC excuse the first renewal; Massachusetts prorates; others do not. Do not assume a new license is CE-free.
• Carryover is rare. Texas allows up to 10 hours forward; Pennsylvania explicitly does not.
• Self-study caps. New York and DC each cap self-study at 12 hours, and DC counts prerecorded courses toward its cap.

Mandatory topics that recur across states

Looking across the eleven jurisdictions above, a few topics come up again and again. Planning for them as a group saves hours:

• Ethics. Required everywhere on this list, from 3 hours (Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland) to 6 (Texas, California's law and ethics, Washington's ethics and law, DC's live ethics). Six live hours from a widely approved provider covers most combinations.
• Cultural competence and equity. Illinois wants 3 hours of cultural competence, Maryland 3 hours of anti-oppressive practice, Texas 3 hours on a distinct population, Washington 2 hours of health equity every four years, DC 2 hours of LGBTQ training. One well-chosen course can sometimes serve two of these, but read each definition; Maryland's focuses on race, culture or equity, and DC's is specific to LGBTQ clients.
• Human trafficking. Michigan requires 2 hours per cycle and Texas requires a course from its approved list. A Texas-approved course may not satisfy Michigan's hour count, or the reverse.
• Implicit bias. Illinois requires 1 hour; Michigan has its own implicit bias training rules. White Glove CME tracks which states require implicit bias training.
• Suicide assessment. Washington requires 6 hours at least once every six years; California requires suicide risk training of applicants. See White Glove CME's suicide prevention CE by state.
• Child abuse reporting. Pennsylvania requires 2 hours each cycle; New York and California require training or coursework at licensure.

The topics that never travel are the state law courses: Florida's laws and rules, Texas's jurisprudence exam, California's law and ethics. Budget for those separately.

How audits work

Most boards do not collect certificates at renewal. You attest that you completed the CE, and the board audits a sample. Illinois says plainly that most licensees will not be asked for proof, but must keep it and produce it on request, and that failure can lead to discipline. Michigan requires five years of records. A good audit file has, for each course, the certificate with your name, date, hours, topic and provider approval number, filed by license period.

If you get an audit notice, respond by the deadline with exactly what is asked. Audits are rarely about whether you took enough hours; they are about whether the hours you took meet that state's rules. White Glove CME's posts on LCSW ethics CE by state and surviving a CE audit go deeper on both.

When the compact is live

Under the Social Work Licensure Compact, a multistate licensee meets the continuing competence requirements of the home state only. That will simplify CE for clinicians whose states are all members. It is not in effect yet; nobody holds a multistate license, and the Commission projects its data system for spring 2027. Until then, plan for every license you hold.

Our Annual Renewal & CE Compliance service builds this plan for each license, tracks it through the period and files the renewals. White Glove CME, our sister site, can help pick ethics and state-mandated courses that count in every state on your list.