Renewal

Renewal of license applies to LPCA, LPC, and LPCS. (G.S. 90-339, Rule .0503, .0601-.0604)

• Must complete all requirements before renewal can be issued.
  • Renewal Application
  • Continuing Education documentation as defined in Rule .0603(d)
  • Ethics Attestation Statement
  • Current Professional Disclosure Statement
  • Certificate of Completion for Jurisprudence Exam – After July 1, 2011 (applies to LPC and LPCS Only)
• Renewal period: (Rule .0601)
  • July 1st – second June 30th unless you are a new licensee
  • New license renewal period is date of issuance – second June 30th
• Deadline for application and renewal fee is June 20th of renewal year (G.S. 90-339, Rule .0503)
• Renewals may be submitted as early as January 1st of renewal year
• Fee for renewal is $100 and must accompany the application when mailed
• An additional fee of $25 must be included if renewal will be received by the Board after June 20th
• Jurisprudence Exam requirement begins July 1, 2011

Application Requirements: (G.S. 90-339, Rule .0503, .0602)

• I.    General Information
• II.    Licensure/Credentials
• III.   Continuing Education
• IV.  Application Validation

Continuing Education Requirements: (G.S. 90-339, Rule .0603, .0604)

Contact Hours: (Rule .0603)

• Forty (40) contact hours of continuing education
• Including a minimum of three contact hours of ethics
• In the cases of newly issued licenses in which the initial renewal periods are less than two full years, thirty (30) contact hours, including a minimum of three contact hours of ethics, are required.
• Contact hours equal the number of actual clock hours spent in direct participation in a structured education format as a learner.
  • One Continuing Education Unit (CEU) = 10 contact hours
  • One Semester hour of credit = 15 contact hours
  • One Quarter hour of credit = 10 contact hours

NOTE: LPCS renewals must provide additional documentation of a minimum of ten (10) contact hours of continuing education training related to professional knowledge and competency in the field of counseling supervision.  These contact hours are in addition to the forty (40) contact hours already required for a total of fifty (50).Types of Activities: (Rule .0603)

• A structured education activity for which the licensee was a learner (may be used to fulfill ethics requirement)
• Academic credit granted from a regionally accredited institution of higher education for work done in a counseling or counseling related subject (may be used to fulfill ethics requirement)
• Publication activities are limited to articles written by the licensee and published in peer reviewed journals, editing of a chapter in a book based on counseling or counseling related material, or authoring or co-authoring a published book on counseling or counseling related material (max reported contact hours within a renewal period = 10)
• Academic credit granted from a regionally accredited institution of higher education for work done toward the completion of a dissertation (max reported contact hours within a renewal period = 10)
• Clinical supervision, as defined by Rule 0.208, which was received by the licensee during the renewal period (max reported contact hours within a renewal period = 10)
• Leadership positions:  Officer of state, regional, or national counseling organization; editor or editorial board member of a professional counseling journal; active member of a state, regional, or national counseling committee producing a substantial written product; chair of a major state, regional or national counseling conference or convention (max reported contact hours within a renewal period = 10)
• Presentation activities or workshops for which the licensee was a presenter (max reported contact hours within a renewal period = 5)

Content Areas: (Rule .0603, .0701)

• Counseling theory
• Human growth and development
• Social and cultural foundations
• Helping relationship
• Group dynamics
• Lifestyle and career development
• Appraisal of individuals
• Diagnosis and treatment planning
• Research and evaluation
• Professional orientation
• Ethics (minimum 3 hours per renewal period)
  • Ethics training must focus on ethical behavior and responsibility as related to the American Counseling Association (ACA) Code of Ethics or the Center for Credentialing and Education Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS) Code of Ethics.
• Counseling Supervision Training (required for LPCS Only)
  • Counseling Supervision Training must focus on professional knowledge and competency in the field of counseling supervision.

Approved Providers: (Rule .0603)
Continuing education training provided by one of the following national organizations, their affiliates or by a vendor approved by one of the following organizations shall be approved:

1. American Counseling Association;
2. American Association of State Counseling Boards;
3. National Board for Certified Counselors; and
4. Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.

Continuing education training provided by one of the following national organizations, their affiliate or by a vendor approved by one of the following organizations shall be approved for no more than 15 contact hours for any given renewal period as defined in Rule .0601:

1. American Association of Christian Counselors;
2. National Association of Pastoral Counselors;
3. National Rehabilitation Association;
4. National Association of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Counselors;
5. National Association of Social Workers;
6. American Association Marriage and Family Therapy;
7. National Area Health Education Center Organization;
8. American Psychological Association;
9. International Employee Assistance Professional Association; and
10. Employee Assistance Certification Commission.

Documentation Requirements: (Rule .0603)

• Certificate of Attendance/Completion
• Signed by the responsible officer of an approved continuing education provider
• Name of attendee
• Name of course
• Date(s) of attendance
• Number of contact hours

• Copy of Transcript or
• Grade Report

• Copy of cover page of article/book reflecting print date and author
• Copy of table of contents reflecting print date and author

• Letter from qualified clinical supervisor
• Must confirm the following items:
  • Date(s) of activity
  • Number of participation hours
  • Position or title of the provider
  • Credential of the provider

• Letter of confirmation from the organization for which the licensee presented
• Must confirm the following:
  • Date(s) of presentation
  • Name of presentation
  • Length of presentation
• Date(s) of presentation must fall within the renewal period
• Topic must be from one or more of the approved content areas

If documentation for continuing education is not clearly identifiable as dealing with counseling, the Board shall request a written description of the continuing education and how it applies to the professional practice of counseling. If the Board determines that the training is not appropriate, the individual shall be given 90 days from the date of notification to replace the hours not approved. Those hours shall be considered replacement hours and cannot be applied to the next renewal period.

Ethics Attestation Requirement: (Rule .0309)

Upon application for initial license and upon application for each succeeding renewal of such license, if granted, each applicant shall sign a statement agreeing to abide by the ethical standards adopted by the Board.  If an applicant fails to sign the statement, the Board shall notify the applicant in writing of the statutory requirement to abide by the ethical standards adopted by the Board.

Professional Disclosure Statement Requirements: (G.S. 90-343, Rule .0204)

Jurisprudence Exam Requirements: (Rule .0305)

Failure to Secure Sufficient Continuing Education

LPCAs, LPCs and LPCSs who are unable to provide documentation of sufficient continuing education activities to renew their license have the following options:

OPTION #1:

Renewal Forms:

Ethics Attestation, Certification and Agreement Form

Renewal Application