Iowa counseling license requirements

We've listed some of the most common questions and answers for Iowa counseling continuing education.

How many CE Credits does Iowa require for counselors?

• Professionals licensed by the Iowa Board of Behavioral Science:

  • Licensed Mental Health Counselor (MHC) and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (MFT): 40 hours every 2 years. Licenses expire on 9/30 of even-numbered years.

  • Behavioral Analyst (BA): 32 hours every 2 years. License expires every 2 years based on the date of issuance.

• Professionals Certified by the Iowa Certification Board:

  • CADC, IADC, IAADC: 40 hours every 2 years.

Can I take my continuing education through Continued Counseling?

• MHC/MFT: Yes. Courses on Continued meet the criteria for acceptable continuing education for Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists licensed by the Iowa Board of Behavioral Science. Continued has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7484. Find courses offered for NBCC credit.

• Addiction Counselors: Yes. For addiction professionals, the Iowa Board of Certification (IBC) approves live courses for providers. Any courses not in a live format must be submitted to the board for approval by the license holder, as the board does not pre-approve providers for self-paced courses. Find live courses approved by IBC.

• Behavioral Analysts: No. Continued is not currently an Authorized Continuing Education Provider (ACE) for the Behavioral Analyst Certification Board (BACB).

Licensees are responsible for completing courses that align with the content requirements for their specific license.

Licensed Mental Health Counselors & Marriage and Family Therapists (MHC, MFT):

• There is no limit to the number of continuing education hours that can be completed online.
• 3 hours must be obtained in ethics. Continued offers ethics courses that may meet the ethics course requirement.
• If the licensee is a supervisor, 3 hours must be obtained in supervision. Continued offers supervision courses that may meet this requirement.

• Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists who regularly examine, attend, counsel, or treat adults or children in Iowa must fulfill their mandatory abuse reporting training directly through the state. Licensees must complete the state-approved core curriculum every 3 years via the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Portal.

Addiction Counselors (CADC, IADC, IAADC):

• The required forty (40) clock hours may be obtained in more than one category. If desired, all forty (40) clock hours may be earned in Category A, “attending formal trainings.” All of the courses that Continued offers are considered Category A. Refer to board rules for more information about the different course categories.

• Continued offers live webinars approved by IBC, but licensees must submit self-paced courses (video, audio, text) to IBC for approval, as the board does not pre-approve providers for self-paced courses.

• There is no limit to the number of continuing education hours that can be completed online; however, at least 20 of the 40 required hours must be through live interactive webinars.
• 3 hours of ethics is required each renewal period.
  • Continued offers live ethics courses, approved by IBC periodically.
  • Continued offers self-paced ethics courses. (See previous note that licensees must submit these to IBC for approval).
• The remaining 37 hours must be in relevant topics (i.e. alcohol & drug specific, special populations, counseling, mental health, social work, etc.)