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Continuing Education Requirements for License Renewal

Amount of Hours Required

• A social worker licensed in North Dakota must complete thirty (30) approved continuing education contact hours for the two-year licensing period to maintain licensure in North Dakota.
• All licenses have the same two-year licensing period, January 1 of the even-numbered year to December 31 of the odd-numbered year. 
• No more than ten (10) contact hours may be completed by independent learning which may include activities like online studies without live interaction.  Please keep in mind, all live, real-time webinars count as regular, face-to-face continuing education hours and do not fall into the independent learning category.
• At least two (2) contact hours must concern social work ethics.
• The required hours must be completed before you renew your social work license.

Newly Licensed Amount of Hours Required

Newly licensed individuals in the current 2-year licensing period are required to complete the following contact hour amount:

• 15 approved continuing education hours are required if initially licensed between January first and June thirtieth of the odd-numbered year.
• No continuing education contact hours are required if initially licensed on or after July first of an odd-numbered year.
• Continuing education contact hours cannot be earned until after the license effective date and only within the current licensing period.
• The required hours must be completed before you renew your social work license.

Carry Over of Hours

Continuing education hours may only be applied to the current licensing period.  Excess contact hours may not be carried over to the following licensing period.

Who keeps track of my continuing education?

You do.  As a professional, you are responsible for keeping track of your own CE records.  You must keep your CE documents for at least 4 years.  Do not send your CE records to the Board unless you receive a "Notice of Continuing Education Audit" from the ND Board of Social Work Examiners.

Unable to complete the continuing education requirement?

Each time you renew your license, you MUST verify through attesting to the statement on the renewal form that you have completed the CE requirement.  If you are not able to complete the required number of CE hours, you are not eligible for licensure.  The Board may consider an extension of the continuing education deadline if you have suffered an extreme hardship such as a medical emergency/trauma.  To request an extension, you must submit a written request, explaining your hardship, with your application for renewal and the renewal fee.  You may not request an extension prior to submitting the license renewal application and fee.