Oregon BLSW Oregon Administrative Rule
877-025-0001 states “a regulated social worker must complete and report continuing education according to the requirements of OAR 877, Division 025…" This rule excludes CSWA certificate holder and the FIRST renewal for LCSW, RBSW, and LMSW license holders.
Important Reminders
- You do not need to complete any continuing education if:
- It is your first renewal.
- You are a CSWA.
- Your license is on inactive status.
- You must complete all required continuing education hours by your renewal date - the last day of your birth month.
- You must submit certificates of completion to the Board for all required continuing education by your renewal date - the last day of your birth month.
- Only continuing education hours completed since your last licensure renewal may be submitted toward your current licensure renewal: Licensee's renewal date is June 30, 2026, a licensee may only submit continuing education certificates earned July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
- You may enter your continuing education certificates upon completion - DO NOT DELAY, SUBMIT YOUR CE TODAY! Oregon BLSW licensing system will keep count of all CE activities entered over a two-year renewal period and can act as a filing system to help keep track of all CE activities completed throughout your renewal period.
For additional information about the renewal process and status changes, please refer to the
Renewals and Status Change page.
Continuing Education Requirements by License Type
Use the buttons below to help you find which continuing education requirements you need for your license or certificate type.
- How long until I renew?
Renew your license every year by your renewal date (last day of your birth month).
- Continuing Education
- None required
- Carryover Eligible?
- Does not apply
- How long until I renew?
Renew your license every two years by your renewal date (last day of your birth month).
- Continuing Education
- 40 hours including 6 Ethics and 6 Cultural Competency
- Carryover Eligible?
- Up to 10 general CE hours
- How long until I renew?
Renew your license every two years by your renewal date (last day of your birth month).
- Continuing Education
- 30 hours including 4 Ethics and 4 Cultural Competency
- Carryover Eligible?
- Up to 10 general CE hours
- How long until I renew?
Renew your license every two years by your renewal date (last day of your birth month).
- Continuing Education
- 20 hours including 3 Ethics and 3 Cultural Competency
- Carryover Eligible?
- Up to 10 general CE hours
- How long until I renew?
Renew your license every two years by your renewal date (last day of your birth month).
- Continuing Education
- 20 hours including 6 Ethics and 6 Cultural Competency
- Carryover Eligible?
- Not eligible
IMPORTANT: If your license is on inactive status, you do not need to submit any continuing education to renew your license.
How do I enter my continuing education? A guide.
To enter your continuing education in your Licensee Portal, please follow the steps below:
- Log into the Licensee Portal.
- Click on the
Continuing Education tab to the left of your dashboard screen.
- Add a new Continuing Education plan.
- Enter each continuing education activity individually, please make sure that the following is included in each entry and on each completion certificate:
- Your name
- Full title of the course
- Date course was completed (if completed over multiple days, enter last the day)
- Credentialing Body (See list of
Approved Credentialing Bodies)
- Number of CE Credit Hours
- Type of Continuing Education (Ethics, Cultural Competency or Clinical)
- Board staff may request the type of continuing education be indicated on the certificate if it is not found in the title of the certificate.
Types of Continuing Education
We are able to accept the following types of continuing education for your renewal. Please click on each box to learn more about each type of continuing education, required documentation, and any limitations.
- Description
- These must relate to your social work practice, be attended or read in person or online, and be provided or approved by a credentialing body the board recognizes.
- Required Documents
- Certificate of Completion
- Limitations
- None
- Description
- Training required by your place of practice and meets the Oregon BLSW CE requirements.
- Required Documents
- Certificate of Completion
- Limitations
- You can only use this type of CE for up to half of your required total CE.
- Description
- You can use social-work-related classes at an accredited colleges or universities count for CE. This includes graduate-level courses in mental-health fields such as social work, psychology, counseling, or education.
- Required Documents
- Transcripts can be uploaded in place of a certificate of completion.
- Limitations
- You can count 10 hours per quarter credit and 15 hours per semester credit. There is no cap to how many CE hours you can claim for college or university courses.
- Description
- These can be used if they are provided or approved by an approved credentialing body recognized by the Board.
- Required Documents
- Certificate of Completion
- Limitations
- None
- Description
- A study group can be used if 5-10 mental health professionals, meet for a minimum of one hour, and discuss a published, clinical-related book or article.
- Required Documents
- Sign in sheets can be uploaded in place of a certificate of completion.
- Limitations
- All study groups must be board approved before beginning. Hours cannot be backdated. You can use this type of CE for up to half of your required total CE.
- Description
- Anyone that teaches or presents a course or workshop (including a college or university course) that is approved for CE.
- Required Documents
- Certificate of Completion OR a letter from the director of the social work program.
- Limitations
- For presenters, you can count the same amount of CE hours that attendees received. For individuals, teaching college/university courses 1 semester credit=15 CE hours and 1 quarter credit=10 credit hours.
- Description
- You can use language classes taken at an accredited college or university if they help you better serve clients.
- Required Documents
- Transcripts can be uploaded in place of a certificate of completion.
- Limitations
- No more than 25% of your required total CE hours may come from language courses.
- Description
- If you provide supervision for social work practicum or internship students, you can count this as continuing education.
- Required Documents
- Certificate of Completion OR a letter from the director of the social work program that includes: your name, dates that you supervised and how many hours you supervised.
- Limitations
- You can only count up to 6 total CE hours per year. Partial credit can be counted if you only supervisor students for a partial year.
Special Continuing Education Requirements
Ethics
Ethics CE are required for all license types per renewal period. Please refer to the Continuing Education Requirements for your license type for additional information.
To meet this requirement, courses should be related to Professional Boundaries, Confidentiality, Dual Relationships, Legal or Law courses, and Mandatory Reporting topics.
For additional guidance, please see the Board of Licensed Social Workers Code of Ethics in OAR 877, Division 30 - Oregon Secretary of State Administrative Rules; and the NASW Code of Ethics.
Cultural Competency
Cultural competency CE are required for all license types per renewal period.
To meet this requirement, courses should be related to knowledge and/or skills that enable you as a health care professional to communicate and care for your patients from diverse cultures, groups, and communities effectively; using cultural information to establish a therapeutic relationship with a patient or patients, and/or eliciting, understanding, or applying cultural/ethnic data while providing clinical care.
For additional guidance, please see Division 40 Cultural Competency Continuing Education for Health Care Professionals OAR 950-040-0010(3)(b) and OAR 950-040-0020(6)(a-c).
List of Accepted Credentialing Bodies
The following list of Board-accepted Credentialing Bodies is provided as a resource. Please use this list to verify that your continuing education has a credentialing body listed that is recognized by the Board.