How-To 7 min read

# Georgia LPC Renewal Requirements 2026: The Complete Guide

Kejuiana Johnson, LPC, NCC, CPCS, BC-TMH · April 5, 2026

I'm Kejuiana Johnson, LPC, NCC, CPCS, BC-TMH — I practice in Georgia, I renew my license in Georgia, and I built CounselorReady specifically because navigating this process shouldn't require a law degree. Let's walk through it.

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The Quick Version

If you just need the numbers, here they are:

Now let's get into the details that actually matter.

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Understanding the Three CE Categories

Georgia's Composite Board splits your 35 hours into three categories. This is where most counselors get confused, so pay attention.

Ethics — 5 Hours

Ethics is the only content area the Board specifically mandates every cycle. These hours must cover ethical codes, standards of practice, or laws governing behavioral science professions. The Board accepts ethics CE approved by any of the major professional associations — NBCC, ACA, AMHCA, LPCA of Georgia, NASW, AAMFT — regardless of which license type you hold.

The big rule: Ethics hours must be earned through synchronous (live) activities only. That means live in-person workshops or live interactive webinars where you and the instructor are present at the same time. Pre-recorded ethics courses do not count in Georgia. Period.

Here's the silver lining: if you take more than 5 ethics hours, the extra can be applied to your Core or Related categories. The Board's position is that you can never have too many ethics hours.

Core — 15 Hours

Core hours must be directly related to your specialty — professional counseling for LPCs. These can be earned synchronously (live) or asynchronously (on-demand/self-paced), and must come from an approved source:

If you take more than 15 Core hours, the extra can be applied to Related.

Related — 15 Hours

Related hours come from other disciplines that inform your clinical work. Think: content approved by GAMFT, NASW Georgia, or other professional bodies outside your primary license specialty. These give you flexibility — a workshop on family systems approved by GAMFT counts here, as does a social work conference approved by NASW.

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The Asynchronous Limit (This Is the One People Miss)

Georgia allows a maximum of 10 hours of asynchronous CE per renewal cycle. Asynchronous means pre-recorded, on-demand, or self-paced — any format where you and the instructor are not interacting in real time.

So out of your 35 hours:

This means if you're planning to knock out all your CE hours with on-demand courses, you can only use 10 of those toward renewal. The rest need to be live.

Live synchronous webinars — where you log in at a scheduled time and participate in real time — do count the same as in-person per the Composite Board. You don't have to physically sit in a conference room.

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Independent Study — 5 Bonus Hours

The Board allows up to 5 hours of independent study as acceptable CE. This includes professional reading, research, or other self-directed learning. You'll need to complete a signed affidavit detailing what you studied if you're audited.

These 5 independent study hours are separate from the 10 asynchronous hours — they stack. So theoretically, you could have up to 15 hours that aren't live (10 asynchronous + 5 independent study), with the remaining 20 hours live.

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The 20-Hour Cap Per Course

No more than 20 hours of CE can come from any single course, workshop, or presentation. This prevents you from taking one giant 35-hour training and calling it done. The Board wants breadth, not just depth.

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Renewal Timeline and Process

Georgia counselor licenses expire on September 30 of even-numbered years — so your next deadline is September 30, 2026. The CE cycle runs from October 1 of the previous even year through September 30 of the current even year. For this cycle, that's October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2026.

LPCA of Georgia recommends completing your CE by June 30 as a best practice, giving yourself a 3-month buffer before the deadline. That's solid advice — don't be the person scrambling in September.

Important: You cannot carry CE hours from one cycle to the next. Hours earned before October 1, 2024 don't count toward your 2026 renewal. Hours earned after September 30, 2026 count toward the next cycle.

How to Renew

1. Go to the Georgia Secretary of State's online renewal portal

2. Complete the renewal application

3. Pay the $100 renewal fee

4. Certify that you've completed your 35 CE hours

You do not need to submit your CE certificates when you renew — unless you're selected for an audit.

The Audit

The Board randomly selects licensees for CE audits. If you're selected, you'll be notified during the renewal process and will need to submit documentation (certificates of attendance) for all 35 hours. Keep your certificates for at least four years (two full cycles).

If you're audited, LPCA of Georgia will help you — contact their office at memberservices@lpcaga.org. If you attended an LPCA event, they can pull the sign-in sheets and reissue certificates.

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What About LAPCs?

Associate-level licensees (Licensed Associate Professional Counselors) are also required to complete 35 CE hours per renewal cycle. The same rules apply — same categories, same synchronous requirements, same limits. The LAPC license is valid for up to 6 years while you complete your supervised experience.

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Supervisors: Additional Requirements

If you hold the CPCS (Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor) credential and supervise licensed associates, you should be completing additional supervision-focused CE. LPCA of Georgia recommends supervisors get training in TeleMental Health supervision as well, per Code of Ethics rule 135-7.

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The Counseling Compact

Georgia has enacted the Counseling Compact, which allows eligible counselors to practice across member states. If you're planning to take advantage of compact privileges, make sure your CE is current — compliance is a requirement for compact eligibility.

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CE Lingo: What's the Difference?

Counselors get confused by the terminology, and the Board doesn't make it easy.

When a training advertises "3 CEUs," make sure they mean 3 CE contact hours, not 3 CEU units (which would be 30 hours). When in doubt, check the certificate.

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How to Keep Track of All This

This is the part where most counselors drop the ball. You get a certificate, you shove it in a drawer, and two years later you're digging through email trying to figure out if you hit 35. LPCA of Georgia literally recommends creating a physical file folder for each cycle year, taping the requirements to the inside cover, and filing every certificate as you earn it.

Or you can use a digital tracker. CounselorReady's free CE Planner lets you log your hours by category (Ethics, Core, Related), see your progress at a glance, and know exactly where you stand before renewal sneaks up on you. No subscription required — just create a free account.

If you hold multiple credentials — LPC plus NCC, CPCS, BC-TMH, or a social work license — CounselorReady's Credential Tracker keeps all your renewal timelines in one dashboard. Upload certificates from any provider, not just ours.

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Where to Earn Your CE Hours

The Board does not approve specific CE courses — it approves the framework and expects you to choose courses from qualified providers. A course qualifies if it's sponsored or approved by:

CounselorReady is an NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP #7760), which means our courses are accepted for Core and Related CE hours by the Georgia Composite Board. We offer self-paced courses in trauma-informed care, clinical documentation, ethics, telehealth competencies, treatment planning, and more.

Browse our course catalog at counselorready.com.

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Key Contacts

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Your Renewal Checklist

Use this as your at-a-glance checklist between now and September 30, 2026:

Hours

Documentation

Renewal

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Don't Wait Until September

The counselors who stress about renewal are the ones who start thinking about it in August. You have time right now. Log into CounselorReady, set up your free CE Planner, see where you stand, and map out the hours you still need.

If you have questions about Georgia's CE requirements, drop them in the comments or reach out to us directly at kejuiana@gaintegratedperspectives.com.

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Kejuiana Johnson, LPC, NCC, CPCS, BC-TMH, is the founder of GA Integrated Therapeutic Perspectives LLC and CounselorReady (NBCC ACEP #7760), based in Hinesville, Georgia.

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