Your New York professional license is valid for life unless it is revoked, annulled, or suspended by the Board of Regents. What you renew is your registration, which is what authorizes you to actually practice.
This article covers the registration renewal cycle and the continuing education (CE) required to complete it.
NYSED contact information
Mental Health Practitioner Unit: 518-474-3817 ext. 592, or [email protected]
State Board, for continuing education adjustments: [email protected]
The registration cycle
Registration runs on a three-year cycle. Your first renewal after licensure is prorated to move you onto a renewal schedule based on your birth month, so that period is usually shorter than three years.
Your registration end date appears on your green registration certificate and on NYSED's verification search: https://www.op.nysed.gov/verification-search
NYSED sends renewal information roughly four months before your period ends, to the name and address they have on file. Once licensed, you are required to notify NYSED of any address or name change within 30 days. Failure to do so may be considered professional misconduct, and it may delay your renewal.
To change your address, submit the Address Change Form.
To change your name, complete the Name Change Form.
Before you start
Continuing education is coursework you complete after licensure to keep your registration current. New York requires it of every LMHC, and you attest to completing it when you renew.
How many hours
Your first registration period is exempt. This applies whether you were licensed through the standard path or by endorsement. Licensees who are inactive, meaning not practicing the profession or using the restricted title, are also exempt.
After that, you need 36 hours per three-year registration period. For any period shorter than 36 months, including that prorated second period, it is one hour per month. A 30-month period requires 30 hours.
There is no carryover. Excess hours do not roll into the next period. There is also no per-year minimum, so you can complete all 36 in a single year if you want to.
Where the hours come from
Courses must come from a NYSED-approved provider of LMHC continuing education. The approved provider list is here
Anything from a non-approved provider cannot be used, and there is no retroactive fix. Check the list before you register, not after.
Note: Coursework must be completed after January 1, 2017 to count, and after the date your provider was approved. Anything earlier cannot be used toward the requirement.
Employer in-service training counts only if your employer is itself a Department-approved provider.
ℹ️ NYSED does not publish a list of approved courses, only approved providers. Approved providers are responsible for telling you which of their courses qualify.
The one required subject
Of your 36 hours, 3 must be coursework on maintaining appropriate professional boundaries between licensees and patients. This counts toward the 36 rather than sitting on top of it, and it has been required for registration periods beginning on or after April 1, 2023.
Providers title these courses explicitly, usually something like "Maintaining Appropriate Professional Boundaries," so it is easy to identify in a provider's catalog. If you are unsure whether a course qualifies, ask the provider directly.
The requirement repeats every registration period. It is not a one-time course.
The remaining 33 hours are your choice within acceptable subject areas, covered in Step 1.
ℹ️ Your child abuse identification and reporting training cannot be counted toward your 36 hours.
Renewal Steps
Step 1
Allow the length of the coursework itself.
Complete your hours. 50 minutes equals one contact hour. Courses must be measured in contact hours; no other time measurement is accepted.
Activity | Hours you earn | What you keep as proof |
Live course from an approved provider, in person or online with real interaction with the instructor and other students | One hour per 50-minute contact hour, unlimited | Certificate of Completion from the provider |
Self-study from an approved provider, meaning audio, audio-visual, written, or online material with no live interaction | One hour per 50-minute contact hour, capped at 12 hours per three-year period, or one-third of the hours for a shorter period | Certificate of Completion from the provider |
Credit or non-credit course at a higher education institution that is an approved provider | 15 hours per semester credit, so a 3-credit course is 45 hours | Certificate of Completion from the provider |
Teaching a continuing education course for an approved provider, first time only unless you present new or revised material | Instruction hours plus up to 2 preparation hours per hour taught, so a 2-hour course is 6 hours | Course descriptions, handouts, brochures |
Teaching a credit-bearing course at a higher education institution or psychotherapy institute that is an approved provider, first time only unless you present new or revised material | Instruction hours plus up to 2 preparation hours per hour taught, so a 3-credit course is 135 hours | Syllabi, slides, exams |
Technical presentation at a conference sponsored by an approved provider, first time only unless you present new or revised material | Presentation hours plus up to 2 preparation hours per hour presented | Course descriptions, handouts, brochures |
Authoring a first-time peer-reviewed article or book chapter on mental health counseling practice | 2 hours | The published article or chapter |
Authoring a first-time book on mental health counseling practice | 5 hours | The published book |
What does not count:
Anything from a non-approved provider. Independent study or informal study groups. Courses solely for personal development, marketing, business practices, or maximizing profits. And supervising a supervisee, permit holder, student, or intern, which is your professional work rather than your continuing education.
Subject matter must contribute to professional practice as defined in Education Law §8402. Acceptable areas include clinical interventions and evidence-based practice, cross-disciplinary offerings from medicine, law, administration, education, and the behavioral and social sciences, patient communications, recordkeeping, and law and ethics.
→ Continue to Step 2.
Step 2
Allow 15 minutes to complete. $241.
File your renewal.
Renew online here: https://www.op.nysed.gov/registration-renewal/online-registration-renewal
The fee is $196 for registration plus a $45 mandatory continuing education fee, for a total of $241 per three-year cycle.
Do not file until you have met the continuing education requirement. If you indicate that you have not, your registration goes on hold until you submit verification.
You do not submit your CE records with the renewal. You attest on the Registration Renewal Document that you completed the hours.
→ Continue to Step 3.
Step 3
Retain your records.
Keep proof of every activity for six years. A self-reported list of your hours is never accepted. The proof has to come from the provider, or be the documentation listed in Step 1 for teaching, presenting, and publishing.
A Certificate of Completion must include your name, licensed profession and license number, the course title and subject area, the educational method used, the number of contact hours, the provider's name and identifying number, verification of your attendance, the date and location, and a statement that the provider is NYSED-approved.
Your provider must retain their own records for six years as well. You may have a third party, such as a professional association, maintain your records for you, but the responsibility to produce them at audit remains yours.
NYSED randomly audits a percentage of licensees every month, along with anyone who held a conditional registration or previously failed an audit. If you are audited, NYSED will request your records and tell you how to submit them.
→ Congratulations, your registration is renewed.
If you cannot meet the requirement
Submit the Registration Remittance Addendum with your renewal, then choose one of three options.
Inactive status. Available if you will not be practicing in New York. Free, with no registration fee, and no time limit on how long you stay inactive. No continuing education is required while inactive, but returning to practice means making up one hour for every month you were inactive, and NYSED will not reactivate you until you do. If you were practicing in another state during that time, you make up those hours and complete the full requirement for your new registration period. To reactivate, file a Delayed Registration Application.
Adjustment. Available for documented good cause, including health or disability, extended active military duty, or other circumstances beyond your control. Contact the State Board at [email protected].
Conditional registration. This lets you keep working while making up a deficiency. It is valid for one year and cannot be renewed or extended, and once issued it cannot be cancelled.
At the end of the conditional year you submit your Certificates of Completion to NYSED and pay the regular $196 registration fee plus the $45 continuing education fee again, for another $241. You will not be issued a registration for the remaining two years until you meet the requirement. If you are not registered, you may not practice.
If your registration is inactive or has expired
To return to practice, file a Delayed Registration Application rather than a normal renewal here.
This applies whether your registration is inactive or has been expired for more than four months.
Costs
Item | Cost |
Registration renewal fee | $196 |
Mandatory continuing education fee | $45 |
Total per three-year cycle | $241 |
Continuing education courses | Varies by provider and format |
Conditional registration, if needed | $241 again at the end of the conditional year |
ℹ️ NYSED's own pages cite different registration figures in places, including $170 in Education Law §8402 and $193 on one page. The $196 plus $45 total appears most consistently and most recently. Confirm the amount on your renewal notice.
Sources
NYSED Continuing Education FAQs for Mental Health Counselors
Mandatory Continuing Education Requirements for Mental Health Practitioners — NYSED
Education Law §8402, scope of practice and fees
Education Law §8412(2), carryover prohibition
Commissioner's Regulations Subpart 79-9