Your 100 NCC continuing education hours: what counts, and what to keep.

What NBCC asks of NCCs

100 hours each five-year cycle. NBCC asks for 100 continuing education hours in each five-year certification cycle, due by the end of the cycle. NBCC advises: "During your certification cycle, you should continue to accumulate continuing education hours in order to complete the requirement in time to recertify." If you hold a specialty certification, a percentage of the hours must be within your specialty area.

Providers NBCC has not approved. Hours may be earned from programs offered by providers NBCC has not approved. Those programs may be reviewed before credit is approved, and only the portion directly related to an approved continuing education topic counts.

Keep your records. For seminars, workshops and conference courses, attendance documentation must include your name, the date attended, the hours completed, the program title, and the signature of the presenter or provider. For programs NBCC has not approved, keep a provider-issued certificate or letter certifying attendance, provider-published materials explaining the program's topics and content in detail, and the presenter's qualifications, for at least five years after the end of the relevant certification maintenance cycle. NBCC recommends its continuing education tracker in Credentialing Gateway, where you enter each program and upload your documentation of completion.

Audits. NBCC says: "Every month, 10 percent of recertifying NCCs are selected for a continuing education audit." You are not required to submit your documentation unless you are selected.

Your state license is separate. State licensing boards set their own renewal rules. Check with your board.

Read NBCC's own pages before you plan your hours: Managing your NCC · Earning continuing education

Does an online autism course from Special Learning count toward my NCC continuing education hours?

Hours may be earned from programs offered by providers NBCC has not approved, but those programs may be reviewed before credit is approved, and only the portion directly related to an approved continuing education topic counts. Special Learning is not an NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider, and NBCC decides what counts. For such programs, keep the provider's certificate or letter certifying attendance, the program materials and the presenter's qualifications for at least five years after the end of your certification maintenance cycle, and check that the certificate includes every detail NBCC lists before relying on it. Your state license is separate.

A course for counselors

A recorded course of 1 hour 48 minutes for $39, paid once, with a downloadable slide deck and a certificate of completion after you pass its quiz. Before relying on the certificate for NBCC documentation, check that it includes every detail NBCC lists, including the presenter or provider signature. Special Learning is not an NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider, and NBCC decides what counts.

Childhood diagnoses

Introduction to Developmental & Mental Health Diagnoses

Deborah P. Coehlo works through childhood cases within the DSM-5 framework: co-occurring diagnoses, autistic children with different support needs, specific learning disorders, ADHD, oppositional defiant and conduct disorders, explosive outbursts and the role of trauma. She closes on parent counseling, school plans, assistive technology, sleep, exercise and children's strengths as parts of a team approach.

See the course, $39

Other professions

Speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists, school psychologists and social workers: find your profession's course and board rule. Questions about a course? Contact us.