Skip to main content

Oregon State Flag An official website of the State of Oregon »

Continuing Education

Requirements and Processing

Your continuing education requirements are due no later than your renewal date. You are no longer able to submit continuing education activities dated during the expiration grace period. Your 30 days grace period is still available if you need extra time for processing or for paying your fees, but you will be charged a late fee for a renewal after your renewal date. Your continuing education reporting period begins the first day of the month following your renewal month and goes through the last day of your current renewal month. Continuing education activities following your current renewal, will need to be counted on the following renewal period. For example: a June 2021 renewal with a July 2021 expiration date will submit continuing education certificates from July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2021.

Use the continuing education tab on your licensing portal to add activities. Activities are to be added one at a time singularly. Do not add one attachment with all certificates, or use a transcript which shows multiple activities. The exception to this would be if you are submitting a graduate level course as CE, and have the university transcript. Each activity requires it's own entry and attachment of the completion certificate.

All renewals requiring continuing education are subject to an audit. The board uses a random selection process of 20% of monthly renewals in each licensed status. It is possible to be selected multiple times in a row. It is a random process, so previously audited licensees are not removed from future selections. Always be prepared for an audit by completing the required CE, and uploading certificates individually with course entries prior to your renewal, verify acceptance, and keep all certificates of completions.

Please Note: If the credentialing body is not listed, or the date is not within the current reporting period, you must contact the board to see if it can be entered. PLEASE ONLY CHOOSE OPTIONS THAT ARE TRUE AND ACCURATE.

Rules state to keep all continuing education materials for 24 months after the reporting period. 

**For a course to be considered for the Ethics requirement, it needs to be related to; Professional Boundaries, Confidentiality, Dual Relationships, Legal or Law courses, and Mandatory Reporting topics

Cultural Competency Definition Oregon Health Authority (OHA) 943-090-0010 (3)

**A cultural competency training will be related to health disparities and inequities in topics such as: race, color, spiritual beliefs, creed, age, tribal affiliation, national origin, immigration or refugee status, marital status, socio-economic status, Veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, gender transitions status, or any other conditions recognized under federal, state and local law.
 

New Licensee's Renewing for the First Time -LCSW, LMSW, and RBSW's

You will not have any continuing education due for your first renewal. After your first renewal period, you will be able to begin counting and loading the activity into your portal. You are welcomed to participate in continuing education activities in your first two years of licensure, however you will not be allowed to count them for renewal purposes. Please complete the required continuing education within the second two year reporting period.

CSWA's do not have Continuing Education requirements at this time.

LCSW Requirements

Active Status

40 CEU's - Activities must be related to clinical social work, and relative to your current practice.

Clinical Social Work means A specialty within the practice of master's social work that requires the application of specialized clinical knowledge and advance clinical skills to the ASSESSMENT, DIAGNOSIS OR TREATMENT OF MENTAL, EMOTIONAL OR BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS OR CONDITIONS including but not limited to those identified in the DSM.
Within this requirement of 40 must be:

Ethics - 6 due every renewal
Cultural Competency - 6 due every renewal.
Suicide risk assessment, training and management. - 2 due every renewal (Coming Soon)

All carryover will be in general credits, not special topics.
10 general credits may carry over to the next renewal.
 

OAR 877-025-0011

LCSW's may carry over Up to 10 hours from each CEU reporting period.  For instance, if you accrue 62 hours in one reporting period, 40 can be applied towards the current reporting requirements, and 10 can be carried over to the next reporting period. Carry over hours do not apply to Semi-Retired LCSW, LMSW, or RBSW renewals.

Semi-Retired Status 

20 CEUs - Activities must be related to clinical social work. Within this requirement of 20 must be:

Ethics - 6 every due every renewal.
Cultural Competency - 6 due every renewal.
Suicide risk assessment, treatment and management - 2 due every renewal (coming soon)

Does not qualify for rollover.

Inactive Status 

None 
Does not qualify for CE carry over.
 

LMSW Requirements

Active Status - 30 CEUs Within this requirement of 30 must be:

Ethics - 4 due every renewal
Cultural Competency - 4 due every renewal.
Suicide risk assessment, treatment and management - 2 due every renewal (coming soon)
Does not qualify for CE carry over

Inactive Status -None

.
 

RBSW Requirements

Active Status - 20 CEUs. Within this requirement of 20 must be:
Ethics - 3 credits due every renewal.
Cultural competency - 3 credits due every renewal
Suicide risk assessment, treatment and management. - 2 due every renewal (coming soon)
Does not qualify for CE carryover.

Inactive Status - None

List of Accepted Credentialing Bodies

While the following list of Board-accepted Credentialing Bodies is provided for your guidance, it is important to remember that the content of all workshops, conferences, social work courses, etc. must be clinical in nature to meet the LCSW rule requirement. 

 
  • Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME)
  • Accredited University Social Work or Mental Health Program
  • Addiction Counselor Certification Board of Oregon (ACCBO)-now Mental Health And Addiction Certification Board(MHACBO)
  • American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)
  • American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT)
  • American Board for Transplant Certification (ABTC)
  • American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA)
  • American Medical Association (AMA)
  • American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
  • American Psychiatric Association (APA)
  • American Psychological Association (APA)
  • American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH)
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 
  • Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC)
  • Association for Play Therapy (APT)
  • Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB)
  • California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN)
  • Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA)
  • Certification Board for Music Therapists (CBMT)
  • Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC)
  • Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC)
  • Douglas Education Service District (DESD)
  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Institute, Inc. (EMDR)
  • George Fox University
  • International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET)
  • International Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA)
  • Joint Accreditation Interprofessional Continuing Education through ASWB ACE
  • Kaiser Permanente (Kaiser Foundation Health Plans, Inc.)
  • Lifeworks Northwest
  • Linn Benton Lincoln Education Service District (LBL)
  • Mental Health and Addiction Certification Board formerly ACCBO (MHACBO)
  • Multnomah County Mental Health and Addiction Services (MHAS)
  • National Association for Addiction Professionals (NAADAC – Prev. Nat’l Assoc. for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors)
  • National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB)
  • National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
  • National Association of Social Workers (NASW – national and all state chapters)
  • National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
  • National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG)
  • Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS)
  • Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs (ODVA)
  • Oregon Friends of C. G. Jung (OFJ)
  • Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)
  • Oregon Health Authority (OHA)
  • Oregon Nursing Home Administrators Board (NHAB)
  • Oregon Psychoanalytic Center (OPC) 
  • Oregon State Bar (OSB)
  • Oregon State Hospital Department of Social Work (OSH)
  • Pacific Northwest Society of Jungian Analysts (PNSJA)
  • Pacific University
  • Pain Society of Oregon (PSO)
  • Portland State University (PSU)
  • Providence Health and Services
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
  • Unity Legacy Emanuel
  • Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work (WSSCSW)
  • Willamette Education Service District (WESD)
  • Continuing education approved by other State Social Work Licensing Boards

CEUs for Courses Not Approved by Governing Body 

This process is a Special Review only available for social workers registered with the Board who wish to obtain individual approval.

 

The Boards Continuing Education Committee may review up to 10 hours of credit per reporting period for continuing education activities not approved by a mental health professional body (OAR 877-025-0006). 

To be considered, the following must be submitted to the Board for a course, workshop, or seminar that has not been approved by one of the Board's credentialing bodies: 
 
  • A completion certificate or document
  • An Outline of the Course's Content
  • Goals and Objectives
  • How is this course related to your work practice?
  • Presenter's credentials
  • Any other material from the course (brochures, syllabus, hand-outs, etc.)

 
Please submit at least 60 days prior to your renewal to allow adequate time for board approval. Request may be emailed to wende.thatcher@blsw.oregon.gov or kimberly.coleman@blsw.oregon.gov.

 
 
 
 
 
CEUs for Presenters 
If you teach a course accredited by a Credentialing Body, you can count CEUs the first time you teach the course.  For instance, if you teach a recurring course on Clinical Supervision for 6 CEUs for attendees, you can count the 6 CEUs the first time you teach the course, but not for subsequent courses.

AS a presenter for a university grad course, you will need to submit a letter from the director of the social work program stating:
  • Your Name
  • Title of Course
  • Number of Credits offered (Quarter or Semester)
  • Term Dates that you instructed.
Universities   
Graduate level classes and continuing education courses that have content that is directly related to established mental health care and is clinical in nature (Generally from psychology, social work, counseling, and education departments).

A presenter at a University can only claim each course one time, and will need to provide documentation proving the instruction. (see CEU's for Presenters)

 
1 Semester Credit  = 15 CEUs
1 Quarter Credit     = 10 CEUs
Study Groups   
In order to have a Study Group count toward your Continuing Education Requirement, you will need to submit the following to the Board for approval prior to commencement of the study group sessions:

 
  • A List of Group Members 
  • A General Synopsis of Topics the Group Will Discuss (Must be Clinical)
  • Sign in sheets must be present to submit for a CE Audit.
The group must contain no less than 5 and no more than 10 mental health professionals. You may only count up to 20 hours per renewal period in a study group. Study group hours are not backdated before approval is received.

Related Rules