One Renewal Date for Every License
Georgia sets a single expiration date for every license the Composite Board issues, the APC, LPC, LMSW, LCSW, AMFT and LMFT alike: "All licenses shall expire on September 30th of even numbered years" (Rule 135-6-.03(1)). A license issued in an odd year still lands on the same biennial clock as every other license once it reaches its first September 30th.
The Board's renewal notice is a courtesy, not the trigger. Notices are "only sent as an accommodation. The responsibility of license renewal remains with the license holder" (Rule 135-6-.03(2)). A licensee who never receives a notice, or misses one in the mail, still carries the responsibility to renew by the date.
Renewal itself asks for three things: the renewal application, the renewal fee, and proof of the completed continuing education (Rule 135-6-.03(3)). The application that gets a license to this point in the first place, filed through GOALS, is covered on its own in Georgia LPC application.
The Late Renewal Period
Renewal applications submitted during the late renewal period pay a late renewal penalty fee in addition to the renewal fee (Rule 135-6-.03(4)). Failure to renew by the end of that period "shall have the same effect as a revocation subject to reinstatement in the discretion of the Board" (Rule 135-6-.03(4)).
Practicing without renewing carries its own consequence: "continued practice after such date shall constitute unlawful practice and is grounds for discipline" (Rule 135-6-.03(5)).
The 35-Hour CE Cycle
One CE rule covers every Georgia Composite Board license: "Thirty-five (35) hours of continuing education are required to be obtained within the two (2) year biennial licensure cycle to renew each license, including associate level licenses" (Rule 135-9-.01(2)(a)). The 35 hours split into categories rather than one open total.
| Category | Requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total CE | 35 hours per two-year cycle, every license including associates | Rule 135-9-.01(2)(a) |
| Ethics | At least 5 hours, synchronous activities only | Rule 135-9-.01(2)(b) |
| Core (of the remaining 30) | At least 15 hours | Rule 135-9-.01(2)(c) |
| Related (of the remaining 30) | No more than 15 hours | Rule 135-9-.01(2)(c) |
| Asynchronous | No more than 10 hours | Rule 135-9-.01(2)(d) |
| Independent study | No more than 5 hours; never ethics or core | Rule 135-9-.01(2)(g) |
| Single course or workshop | No more than 20 hours, except conferences | Rule 135-9-.01(2)(j) |
Five ethics hours, fifteen core hours and fifteen related hours add up to the full 35 without touching the asynchronous or independent-study allowances at all. That is arithmetic, not a separate rule: it shows the ethics, core and related categories alone can carry the whole cycle, while the asynchronous and independent-study limits cap how much of the 35 may be earned in those formats rather than setting a separate total.
The related-hours cap works the other direction too. A licensee who logs 20 hours of related coursework has gone 5 hours past the 15-hour related limit inside the 30 non-ethics hours, arithmetic that follows directly from the rule's split rather than a separate cap of its own; the extra hours would need to come from core credit instead to keep the 30 hours within the 15-and-15 structure (Rule 135-9-.01(2)(c)).
A license issued on or after October 1st of an odd year owes no CE at its first renewal, with one carve-out: that exemption does not apply when an LMSW, APC or AMFT license is superseded by the full license it leads to (Rule 135-9-.01(2)(a)1,3).
Georgia also sets CE specific to TeleMental Health. A licensee needs 6 hours of continuing education before delivering clinical TeleMental Health, and a supervisor needs 9 hours, including 3 hours in "Supervising TeleMental Health Therapy," before supervising it by technology-assisted media (Rule 135-11-.01(a)3, (b)1(i), (a)7, (b)2(i)). Those hours, when earned within a two-year cycle, "may be applied to the required thirty-five (35) hours" for that cycle (Rule 135-11-.01(c)). The hour requirements and supervision rules that lead up to a first license, before any of this CE cycle applies, are covered in Georgia LPC hour requirements and Georgia LPC supervision requirements.
Renewal and CE by License Type
The renewal date and the CE cycle are the same across every Georgia Composite Board license. What differs is whether a five-year cap from initial issuance sits underneath the renewal clock.
| License | Renews | Five-year limit? | CE per cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| LPC | Sept 30, even years | No | 35 hrs / 2 yrs |
| APC | Sept 30, even years | Yes, from initial issuance | 35 hrs / 2 yrs |
| LCSW | Sept 30, even years | No | 35 hrs / 2 yrs |
| LMSW | Sept 30, even years | No | 35 hrs / 2 yrs |
| LMFT | Sept 30, even years | No | 35 hrs / 2 yrs |
| AMFT | Sept 30, even years | Yes, from initial issuance | 35 hrs / 2 yrs |
The five-year figure in the table above is not a renewal cycle length; an APC or AMFT license still renews every two years within it, on the same September 30th date as every other license. It caps how long the associate license itself can exist before the person becomes a full LPC or LMFT, or the license expires, a limit that does not appear anywhere in the LPC, LCSW, LMSW or LMFT rows.
Every license on this table, LPC included, sits on the same 35-hour CE cycle described above (Rule 135-9-.01(2)(a); 135-6-.03(1)). The path each associate license takes to reach its full license, and the numbers specific to each track, are covered in Georgia LCSW requirements and Georgia LMFT requirements.
The APC and AMFT Lifecycle
The APC and AMFT licenses renew on the same September 30th schedule as every other license, but a five-year limit from initial issuance runs underneath that clock. According to the Board's FAQ, "5 years after the date of initial issuance of an APC or AMFT license is the final expiration date of the license," and the license administratively expires at the end of that five-year period regardless of its renewal status.
A lapsed associate license gets one chance back. Associate licenses "that lapse for failure to renew by the end of the established late renewal penalty period may be reinstated only once" (Rule 135-6-.04(3)), and reinstatement restores "the remaining time period of the initial five (5) years," not a fresh five-year term (Board Policy V). A second lapse closes the door: "An associate level license that lapses a second time shall not be reinstated" (Board Policy V).
Associate licenses also have no fallback status to pause the clock: "Associate level licenses may not be placed in inactive status" (Board FAQ). The license itself, including the contract and the exam behind it, is covered in Associate Professional Counselor in Georgia.
The five-year limit applies to the APC and AMFT licenses only. Neither the LMSW nor the LCSW carries anything comparable, and renewing an associate license on schedule does not reset or extend the five years from initial issuance.
Inactive Status for Full Licenses
Unlike the associate licenses, a full license, LPC, LCSW, LMSW or LMFT, may be placed in inactive status for up to five years (Board FAQ; How-To Guides). That option does not extend to the APC or AMFT license, which carries no inactive status of any length.
Reinstatement CE
Reinstating a lapsed license within five years requires 35 CE hours for each renewal cycle missed, with at least 35 of those hours completed within the two years before the reinstatement application, plus the late penalty fee (Rule 135-6-.04(1)). This reinstatement path applies within five years of the license lapsing, for any Georgia license the Board issues, not only the associate licenses that carry the separate five-year initial-issuance cap described above.
A licensee who misses one full renewal cycle before reinstating owes 35 CE hours for that cycle. Missing two full cycles before reinstating doubles the figure to 70 hours, arithmetic that follows directly from the rule setting the 35-hour requirement separately for each cycle missed, rather than a single 35-hour total no matter how many cycles have passed (Rule 135-6-.04(1)).
Records, CE Broker and the Audit
Every licensee keeps CE records for four years (Rule 135-9-.01(4)(a)). The Board tracks completion through Propelus CE Broker, and every licensee records continuing education there starting January 1, 2026 (board main page; Board FAQ).
A licensee selected for a CE audit submits the Board's CE Audit Reporting Form "in addition to the certificates of attendance or other supporting documents" (Rule 135-9-.01(3)(a)). The form dates to June 30, 2022, and applies the same way across every Georgia Composite Board license, whichever of the six a licensee holds.
The verification forms used to document the experience and supervision behind a first license, separate from CE records, are collected in Georgia supervised experience verification forms.
What Renewal Costs
The application and renewal fees are each $100, per the Board's fee schedule. A licensee who renews during the late period owes a $150 late fee, per the MFT How-To Guide, which restates both figures.
The $100 renewal fee applies the same way at every renewal, for every one of the six licenses described on this page. Nothing in the fee schedule sets a different renewal amount for the LPC, APC, LCSW, LMSW, LMFT or AMFT license; the $150 late fee is the only figure that changes, and only for a licensee renewing after September 30th but during the late renewal period.
Common Mistakes on Georgia Renewal and CE
Treating a missed renewal notice as an excuse
Renewal notices are sent only as an accommodation. The responsibility to renew by September 30th stays with the license holder regardless of whether a notice arrives (Rule 135-6-.03(2)).
Assuming a second lapsed associate license can be reinstated
It cannot. Associate licenses reinstate only once; a second lapse of an APC or AMFT license "shall not be reinstated" (Board Policy V).
Believing inactive status can pause the five-year associate cap
Associate licenses may not be placed in inactive status at all, so there is no inactive option to pause the five-year clock (Board FAQ).
Letting independent-study CE cover ethics or core hours
Independent study is capped at 5 hours and can never satisfy the ethics or core categories, no matter how the hours are otherwise counted (Rule 135-9-.01(2)(g)).
Assuming the 20-hour single-course cap applies to a conference
The cap on hours from any one course or workshop excludes conferences by its own terms (Rule 135-9-.01(2)(j)).
Assuming the first-renewal CE exemption carries into a new full license
The exemption for a license issued late in an odd year does not apply once an LMSW, APC or AMFT license is superseded by the full license it leads to (Rule 135-9-.01(2)(a)1,3).
Discarding CE certificates before four years are up
Records must be kept four years, and the Board's CE audit can ask for documentation supporting any hour claimed within that window (Rule 135-9-.01(3)(a),(4)(a)).
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More on Georgia licensure
The path to a first license, before any renewal cycle applies, runs differently on each track: Georgia LPC requirements covers the counseling track, Georgia LCSW requirements and Georgia LCSW supervision requirements cover social work, and Georgia LMFT requirements covers marriage and family therapy. The full picture across all three tracks starts at how to become a therapist in Georgia.
Related Georgia Guides
Associate Professional Counselor in Georgia
The APC license itself: the contract, the exam, and the five-year term.
LMSW in Georgia
The LMSW license itself: a full license with no associate tier and no five-year cap.
Georgia LPC Requirements
The full path from APC to LPC: the degree, the two years of directed experience, and the exam.
Georgia LCSW Requirements
The full path from LMSW to LCSW: the 3,000 hours, the 120 supervision hours, and the exam.
Georgia LMFT Requirements
The full path from AMFT to LMFT: the 1,500 direct clinical hours and the 100 supervision hours.
How to Become a Therapist in Georgia
The full picture across Georgia's counseling, social work and marriage and family therapy tracks.
FAQ: Georgia License Renewal and CE Requirements
What are the CEU requirements for an LPC in Georgia?▾
Every Georgia LPC renewal needs 35 hours of continuing education completed within the two-year biennial licensure cycle (Rule 135-9-.01(2)(a)). At least 5 of those hours must be ethics, obtained through synchronous activities only (135-9-.01(2)(b)). Of the remaining 30, at least 15 must be core and no more than 15 may be related (135-9-.01(2)(c)). No more than 10 hours may be asynchronous, and independent study is capped at 5 hours and can never count as ethics or core (135-9-.01(2)(d),(g)).
What are the continuing education requirements for an LPC in Georgia?▾
The 35-hour requirement runs on the same two-year biennial cycle as license renewal, which falls on September 30th of every even-numbered year (Rule 135-9-.01(2)(a); 135-6-.03(1)). Licensees keep CE records for four years (135-9-.01(4)(a)) and record completed hours in CE Broker starting January 1, 2026 (Board FAQ). A licensee selected for a CE audit submits the Board's CE Audit Form with documentation supporting every hour claimed (135-9-.01(3)(a)).
What are the CEU requirements for an LCSW in Georgia?▾
An LCSW renews on the same 35-hour, two-year CE cycle as every other license the Composite Board oversees, including its associate-level licenses (Rule 135-9-.01(2)(a)). At least 5 hours must be ethics, obtained through synchronous activities only, and of the remaining 30, at least 15 must be core and no more than 15 related (135-9-.01(2)(b),(c)). The rule sets no separate CE track specific to clinical social work; the same 35-hour structure applies across the Board's licenses.
How does a Georgia social work license renew?▾
Both the LMSW and LCSW expire September 30th of even-numbered years, the same date every Composite Board license uses (Rule 135-6-.03(1)). Renewal notices are sent only as an accommodation, since responsibility for renewing stays with the license holder (135-6-.03(2)). Renewing during the late renewal period carries a penalty fee, failing to renew by its end has "the same effect as a revocation," and continued practice without renewing constitutes unlawful practice (135-6-.03(4),(5)). Unlike the APC and AMFT licenses, neither the LMSW nor the LCSW carries a five-year cap.
What are the LMSW CEU requirements in Georgia?▾
An LMSW is a full license, not an associate license, but it still owes 35 hours of continuing education every two-year cycle, the same figure that applies to every Georgia Composite Board license including its associate-level ones (Rule 135-9-.01(2)(a)). At least 5 of the 35 hours must be ethics, obtained through synchronous activities only (135-9-.01(2)(b)). A license issued on or after October 1st of an odd year owes no CE at its first renewal, but that exemption does not apply once an LMSW is superseded by the LCSW (135-9-.01(2)(a)1,3).
What are the Georgia LPC renewal requirements?▾
An LPC renews every September 30th of an even-numbered year, with 35 hours of continuing education completed in the two-year cycle behind it (Rule 135-6-.03(1); 135-9-.01(2)(a)). Renewal itself asks for the application, the renewal fee and proof of the completed CE (Rule 135-6-.03(3)). The application and renewal fees are each $100, per the Board's fee schedule. Failing to renew by the end of the late renewal period and continuing to practice constitutes unlawful practice (135-6-.03(4),(5)).
What is the renewal fee for an LMFT in Georgia?▾
An LMFT renewal costs $100, per the Board's fee schedule, the same renewal fee every Georgia Composite Board license carries. A licensee who renews during the late renewal period owes a $150 late fee, according to the MFT How-To Guide. Both figures are separate from CE: an LMFT still needs 35 hours of continuing education within the two-year cycle before renewing (Rule 135-9-.01(2)(a)).
Requirements verified against Chapter 135 of the Board's rules (current through rules filed September 2, 2026) and O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 10A, current as of September 24, 2026. Statutes, rules and fees can change. Confirm current requirements at the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists before making decisions about your licensure path. This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or professional advice.