Texas

Texas LCSW CEU Requirements: A Working Guide for 2026–2027

April 19, 2026 · ~7 min read

The short version: 30 hours every two years, 6 in ethics, 3 in cultural diversity, at least half from a specific list of approved providers. CE Broker reporting became mandatory on January 1, 2026 — that's the biggest change. Here's the longer version, with the context that makes it usable.

Who this applies to

This guide is for active LCSWs in Texas, regulated by the State Board of Social Worker Examiners under the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC). LMSWs and LBSWs share the same 30-hour biennial requirement with the same category breakdown. LCSW-S supervisors have an additional 6-hour stack on top — covered below.

The numbers

• 30 total CE hours every 2-year renewal cycle
• 6 hours of professional ethics (part of the 30)
• 3 hours of cultural diversity or distinct populations (part of the 30)
• At least 15 of the 30 hours from providers listed in 22 TAC §781.501
• Up to 10 hours may carry over to the next cycle
• LCSW-S supervisors: +6 hours of board-approved supervision training (separate stack)

Ethics and cultural diversity hours count toward the 30. They don't stack on top. The remaining 21 hours can come from any course related to clinical social work practice or the populations you serve.

CE Broker is now mandated (effective January 1, 2026)

This is the biggest change to Texas social work CE in years. As of January 1, 2026, all continuing education must be reported through CE Broker — the board-mandated reporting platform shared across regulated health professions in Texas. Every CE hour you take has to end up logged there before renewal.

The mandate changes where you log hours, not what you need to take. The 30-hour total, 6 ethics, 3 cultural diversity, and the listed-providers rule are all still in force. If you were already in the habit of uploading certificates to CE Broker voluntarily, nothing changes. If you weren't, this is when you start.

Many CE providers auto-report to CE Broker on your behalf when you complete a course. Check the provider's page for a CE Broker logo or "auto-reports to CE Broker" language. If they don't, you'll need to upload the certificate manually.

The §781.501 listed-providers rule

Effective January 1, 2024, at least 15 of your 30 hours must come from providers enumerated in 22 TAC §781.501. The list includes:

• NASW (national and state chapters)
• CSWE-accredited social work programs (undergraduate or graduate)
• State and federal regulatory boards
• Council on Social Work Education
• ASWB-approved providers
• Other approved national or state social work organizations

The remaining 15 hours may come from any provider whose course content meets the rule's relevance test — directly applicable to clinical social work practice or within your scope of license. Generic health-profession CE that happens to be accredited somewhere doesn't automatically qualify. Read the course objectives.

Supervisor add-on (LCSW-S only)

If you hold the supervisor designation (LCSW-S), you must complete 6 additional hours of board-approved supervision training each renewal cycle — on top of the standard 30. The supervisor hours are a separate stack. They don't count toward your general CE total, and your general CE hours don't count toward the supervision requirement.

LCSW-S supervision training has to be from a provider specifically approved for supervision CE. Not every ethics course qualifies, even if it touches on supervisory boundaries. Confirm before registering.

Human trafficking awareness

Texas requires an HHSC-approved human trafficking course at initial licensure. There's no recurring minimum at renewal, but taking a refresher course claims one professional development hour toward the 30-hour total. Useful if you want the topic on record every cycle anyway.

Carryover

Up to 10 unused hours roll from one biennium into the next. Ethics and cultural diversity hours don't carry over separately — they count against the same 10-hour cap as everything else, and they lose their category designation when they cross the cycle. Ten extra ethics hours carry as 10 generic hours, not 10 ethics hours.

First renewal

Unlike New York and Florida, Texas does not exempt the first renewal cycle. The full 30-hour requirement applies from the start, including the ethics and cultural diversity minimums. Plan accordingly in your first two years.

Documentation

Even with CE Broker in place, keep original certificates of completion for at least 24 months. CE Broker stores what you log there, but the board can still ask for original documentation from the provider during an audit — especially for hours that were self-reported rather than auto-reported.

How Still Licensed helps

Still Licensed is not a CE Broker replacement. CE Broker is the board-mandated reporting layer, and it stays that — we don't duplicate what the board requires you to file.

Still Licensed sits one layer above. It tracks your 30-hour total, flags when ethics or cultural diversity run short, shows how many of your hours are from §781.501-listed providers, and counts down to your renewal date. For clinicians licensed in Texas plus one or more non-CE-Broker states (Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico), it aggregates all your states in one view — something CE Broker doesn't do, because CE Broker is Texas-only for your Texas license. Think of Still Licensed as the planning view and CE Broker as the filing cabinet.

Board links

CE info: bhec.texas.gov SBSWE
Renewal portal: BHEC licensee portal
CE Broker: cebroker.com

Keep it that way.