Continuing education and license renewal requirements
Renewal mechanics
Indiana behavioral health licenses renew on a biennial cycle through the PLA's online system, with the renewal window and deadline shown on the license and the renewal notice sent to the address of record. Practicing after expiration is unlicensed practice, even if the renewal form is sitting in an inbox. Late renewal usually requires the fee plus a penalty and proof of continuing education; a long lapse can require a reinstatement review and additional evidence of competence before the license is restored.
Continuing education structure
- A total number of hours per renewal cycle, with a required ethics component and set categories the Board updates by rule.
- Acceptable providers: professional associations, accredited continuing-education sponsors and Board-approved offerings; CE must relate to marriage and family therapy practice.
- Documentation retained by the licensee for the period the Board specifies, since credits can be audited after the fact.
- Limits on carryover between cycles and on non-clinical activities such as teaching, publication or self-study.
- New licensees typically see a first-cycle adjustment or proration; confirm what the renewal notice states for your cycle.
Because hour counts and category requirements are set and amended by Board rule, learn the categories and the documentation habit rather than memorizing one cycle's numbers.
Worked example
A licensee submits 40 hours, of which 12 are small-business management seminars and 28 are clinical workshops including an ethics session. The management hours are not marriage and family therapy content, so the cycle falls short and the renewal is held until the deficit is made up. Relevance to MFT practice is the test, not whether the certificate looks official.
Traps that cost marks
- Assuming employment or a full caseload substitutes for CE hours.
- Forgetting the ethics component and submitting only clinical workshops.
- Assuming out-of-state CE is invalid; approved sponsors usually qualify, but verify the sponsor and relevance.
- Letting a license lapse while thinking reinstatement is automatic.