The Southeast region presents a patchwork of continuing education requirements that range from Washington DC’s complex multi-tier system to South Carolina’s straightforward 40-hour model. If you hold licenses in District of Columbia, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Virginia—or you’re considering adding one through endorsement—understanding each jurisdiction’s specific mandates saves time and prevents renewal headaches.

This isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about knowing which states require live ethics training, where online learning hits a cap, and how renewal cycles align (or don’t) across the region. Get it wrong and you’re scrambling at the deadline. Get it right and CE becomes manageable, even with multiple licenses.

District of Columbia: The Live Learning Requirement Returns

Basic Requirements:

• 40 hours every 2 years
• 6 hours in ethics (live/interactive only – no pre-recorded)
• 2 hours LGBTQ training
• 4 hours in public health priorities
• Maximum 12 hours online (recently modified for 2025)

Washington DC brought back substantial live learning requirements after pandemic-era flexibility ended. Starting with 2025 renewals, the Board modified its approach: live-interactive webinars now count as “in-person” CE, but pre-recorded courses don’t. This means 28 of your 40 required hours must come from either physical classroom attendance or synchronous online sessions where you can engage with the presenter in real time.

The ethics requirement is particularly strict. All 6 hours must be live and interactive—you cannot satisfy this with asynchronous online courses under any circumstances. The content must address professional ethics, appropriate conduct, or boundaries, and you need to be physically or virtually present with the instructor.

Public Health Priorities:

The 4-hour public health requirement covers specific mandated topics that change periodically. Current priorities include responsible opioid prescribing, identifying and reporting abuse/neglect/trafficking, sexual health including HIV/AIDS, ethics and patient interactions including telehealth, tobacco use and cessation, and emergency preparedness. Check the DC Board website for the most current list, as these priorities update every five years or as deemed appropriate by the Director.

The 2-hour LGBTQ training can be completed online, providing some flexibility within DC’s otherwise live-heavy structure.

SWTP CEUs courses can satisfy your general CE hours and the LGBTQ requirement, but you’ll need to attend live training for ethics and complete the interactive sessions to meet DC’s 28-hour face-to-face minimum.

Georgia: Live Ethics and Core Hours

Basic Requirements:

• 35 hours every 2 years
• 5 hours in ethics (live/synchronous only)
• 15 hours must be “core” (specialty-specific)
• Maximum 10 hours online (asynchronous)
• Renewal by September 30 of even years

Georgia requires more ethics hours than most Southeast states, and all 5 hours must be completed in live settings—either in-person workshops or synchronous webinars where you can interact with the presenter in real time. Pre-recorded online courses don’t satisfy Georgia’s ethics requirement, period.

The 15-hour “core” requirement means that nearly half your CE must directly relate to your license specialty. If you’re an LCSW, core hours address clinical social work practice, values, skills, and knowledge. The remaining hours can be “related”—CE in allied professions like psychiatry, psychiatric nursing, or psychology, or in social work specialties other than your primary license focus.

What Counts as Core:

Core hours must be “oriented to social work practice, values, skills and knowledge” with emphasis on the specialty in which your license is held. Cross-disciplinary offerings from medicine, law, behavioral sciences, or other disciplines count as core if they relate to social work practice. Distance learning courses from ASWB-approved providers count toward your maximum 10 asynchronous hours, but you’ll need 25 hours from live sources.

Georgia accepts courses from ASWB ACE-approved providers for general CE, but the live ethics requirement means you’re attending workshops, conferences, or synchronous webinars regardless of your preference for self-paced learning.

Your license renews every 2 years by September 30 of even-numbered years (2024, 2026, 2028), giving you a consistent renewal pattern to plan around.

North Carolina: Distance Learning Caps and Ethics

Basic Requirements:

• 40 hours every 2 years
• 4 hours in ethics
• Maximum 20 hours distance learning
• Renewal by June 30

North Carolina defines distance learning strictly: online courses, home study courses, and recorded webinars all count toward your 20-hour cap. Only courses pre-approved by ASWB or NASW-NC qualify for that 20-hour allowance. Everything else must be face-to-face.

Here’s the important distinction: synchronous audio-video broadcasts allowing real-time interaction between instructor and participants do NOT count as distance learning in North Carolina. They’re classified as face-to-face offerings. This means live webinars where you can ask questions and engage with the presenter count toward your face-to-face requirement, not your distance learning cap.

Pro-rated Requirements:

If your renewal cycle is less than two years (common for LCSWA licenses or certain initial licensure situations), North Carolina pro-rates your CE:

• 2-year cycle: 40 hours (4 ethics)
• 1-year cycle: 20 hours (2 ethics)
• 6-month cycle: 10 hours (1 ethics)

The 4-hour ethics requirement must address ethics related to social work practice and ethical decision-making. North Carolina doesn’t pre-approve courses except for distance learning activities, leaving discretion to licensees for selecting appropriate face-to-face training. Keep verifiable proof of attendance and credit hours—the Board conducts random audits.

Additional Limits:

Self-care and practitioner well-being CE cannot exceed 6 hours per renewal cycle. You can earn up to 5 hours for presenting social work-focused training, provided you document it properly. The Board allows credit for academic social work courses taken for credit or audit, with one academic course hour equal to 15 contact hours.

SWTP CEUs courses count toward your 20-hour distance learning maximum. For the remaining 20 hours, you’re attending conferences, workshops, or synchronous webinars that meet North Carolina’s face-to-face definition.

South Carolina: Straightforward and Flexible

Basic Requirements:

• 40 hours every 2 years
• 1 hour suicide assessment, treatment, and management (new 2025)
• All hours may be completed via distance learning
• Renewal by December 31 of even years

South Carolina offers the most flexibility in the Southeast for online learning. Unlike DC, Georgia, and North Carolina, South Carolina allows all 40 hours to be completed through independent home study or asynchronous online courses. There’s no live requirement, no ethics mandate beyond general professional development, and no restrictions on format.

The new suicide prevention requirement applies to renewal cycles ending after 2025. All licensees must complete at least 1 hour addressing suicide assessment, treatment, and management as part of their total 40-hour requirement. This training may be completed virtually.

License-Level Variations:

While all South Carolina social work licenses require 40 hours biennially, the Board previously had different requirements by license level. Recent information confirms:

• LBSW: 40 hours every 2 years
• LMSW: 40 hours every 2 years
• LISW-AP: 40 hours every 2 years
• LISW-CP: 40 hours every 2 years (20 must be clinical content)

For clinical practitioners (LISW-CP), at least 20 of your 40 hours should focus on clinical content areas including diagnosis, treatment, clinical interventions, and ethics specific to clinical practice.

South Carolina uses CE Broker for electronic tracking, and most ASWB-approved providers (including SWTP CEUs) report completions automatically. Your license renews by December 31 of even-numbered years—the latest renewal deadline in the Southeast region.

SWTP CEUs courses satisfy South Carolina’s requirements entirely. With no live mandate and no online cap, you can complete all 40 hours through our self-paced platform, including the suicide prevention training when that content is available.

Virginia: Tiered Requirements by License Level

Basic Requirements:

• LCSW: 30 hours every 2 years (6 ethics)
• LBSW and LMSW: 15 hours every 2 years (3 ethics)
• No restriction on online/distance learning
• Renewal by June 30 of even years

Virginia structures CE requirements based on license level, recognizing that clinical practitioners need more continuing education than bachelor’s-level social workers. This tiered approach means planning varies significantly depending on your credential.

For LCSWs, 30 hours over two years includes a minimum of 6 hours addressing ethics, standards of practice for behavioral health professions, or laws governing social work practice in Virginia. The remaining 24 hours must relate to social work practice or another behavioral health field.

For LBSWs and LMSWs, 15 hours over two years includes at least 3 hours in ethics/standards/laws, with the remaining 12 hours in relevant behavioral health content.

Category Breakdown:

Virginia divides CE into two categories:

• Category I (Formally Organized Learning): Workshops, seminars, conferences, academic courses, agency-based training. LCSWs must complete at least 20 hours in Category I; LBSWs/LMSWs must complete at least 10 hours.
• Category II (Individual Professional Activities): Maximum 10 hours for LCSWs, maximum 5 hours for LBSWs/LMSWs. Includes publishing articles, teaching courses, supervising students, self-study, and volunteer social work services.

The volunteer service provision is unique: you can earn CE credit by delivering social work services without compensation to low-income individuals through local health departments or free clinics. Three hours of volunteer service equals one hour of CE credit, up to 2 hours of your required total.

No First-Renewal Requirement:

Virginia exempts all social workers from CE requirements for their first license renewal. This grace period helps new practitioners establish their careers before tracking continuing education. After that first renewal, CE requirements apply for all subsequent cycles.

Virginia accepts courses from ASWB-approved providers, NASW and its state chapters, CSWE-accredited universities, and numerous other approved organizations. SWTP CEUs courses count toward Category I requirements for all Virginia social workers.

Regional Patterns and Strategic Planning

Looking across all five Southeast jurisdictions, several patterns emerge:

Live Learning Divides the Region: DC and Georgia mandate substantial live/interactive training, particularly for ethics. North Carolina caps distance learning at 20 hours. South Carolina and Virginia allow unlimited online learning. Your course selection strategy depends entirely on which states you’re serving.

Ethics Requirements Vary Widely: DC requires 6 hours (live), Georgia requires 5 hours (live), North Carolina requires 4 hours, Virginia requires 6 hours for LCSWs or 3 hours for others. South Carolina has no specific ethics mandate but includes professional development broadly.

Total Hours Stay High: Southeast states cluster at 35-40 hours for most licenses, with Virginia as the exception at 30 hours for LCSWs and 15 hours for LBSWs/LMSWs. This represents more CE than many other regions require.

Renewal Cycles Spread Across the Year: DC shifts to birth month, Georgia renews September 30 even years, North Carolina June 30, South Carolina December 31 even years, Virginia June 30 even years. Tracking multiple licenses means monitoring several different deadlines.

Making It Work With Multiple Licenses

If you maintain licenses in more than one Southeast state, you’re managing different hour totals, varying live requirements, distinct ethics mandates, and non-aligned renewal cycles. Here’s what actually works:

Start With Your Most Restrictive State: Plan DC or Georgia requirements first. If you need 28 live hours in DC or 25 in Georgia, schedule those face-to-face trainings early in your renewal cycle. The hours satisfy requirements in states with fewer live mandates, and you’re not scrambling at the deadline.

Ethics Planning: A 6-hour live ethics course satisfies DC’s requirement (6 hours), Georgia’s requirement (5 hours), North Carolina’s requirement (4 hours if completed live), and Virginia’s LCSW requirement (6 hours). Taking one comprehensive live ethics training early in your cycle covers multiple states simultaneously.

Online Flexibility: South Carolina and Virginia allow unlimited online learning. North Carolina permits 20 hours distance learning. Use your online capacity strategically—complete general CE topics through SWTP CEUs courses first, then attend required live training for states that mandate it.

Track Renewal Dates Separately: June 30 appears twice (NC and VA), but different years for South Carolina (December 31) and Georgia (September 30). DC’s birth-month system adds complexity. Set calendar reminders 90 days before each deadline, not just at renewal time.

Course Selection Strategy: Choose courses that address multiple requirements. Trauma-informed practice CE might count as clinical content in South Carolina, behavioral health CE in Virginia, and core hours in Georgia. Cultural competency training serves DC’s requirements while counting toward general hours elsewhere.

Why SWTP CEUs Works for Southeast Practitioners

SWTP CEUs holds ASWB ACE approval (#2486), meaning our courses are accepted in DC, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. More importantly, we design courses specifically for practicing social workers who need evidence-based content without academic distance.

Our courses address the requirements you’re tracking:

• Professional ethics and boundaries (counts toward ethics requirements where online is permitted)
• Clinical assessment and intervention (satisfies core hours, clinical content mandates)
• Cultural competency and responsive practice
• Evidence-based approaches to diagnosis and treatment
• Trauma-informed care and specialized populations

Format Compatibility:

For states allowing unlimited online CE (South Carolina, Virginia), SWTP CEUs courses satisfy your entire requirement. For states with distance learning caps (North Carolina’s 20 hours, Georgia’s 10 hours), our courses fill your online allowance efficiently. For DC and Georgia’s live ethics requirements, you’ll attend synchronous training while using SWTP CEUs for remaining hours.

All courses come with immediate certificate downloads. We don’t report to CE Broker automatically, so you’ll upload certificates directly to the South Carolina tracking system or maintain them in your records for other states’ audits.

The Bottom Line

Southeast CE requirements share one common thread: high hour counts with state-specific complications. DC wants you in live sessions. Georgia splits requirements between core and related. North Carolina caps your distance learning. South Carolina keeps it simple. Virginia tiers everything by license level.

Success comes from understanding what each state actually requires, not just what seems reasonable based on other regions. Check your state board before each renewal cycle, because requirements change—South Carolina added suicide prevention in 2025, DC modified live learning rules for 2025 renewals, and boards continue adjusting policies post-pandemic.

Track your hours throughout the renewal period rather than crambling at the end. Choose courses that genuinely improve your practice, because your clients benefit from your professional development far more than your board cares about checkbox compliance.

Whether you’re maintaining one Southeast license or juggling all five, SWTP CEUs offers the professional development you need at prices that make sense ($59 for unlimited annual access). We focus on practical, immediately applicable content that helps you serve your clients better—which is the whole point of continuing education.

Ready to meet your CE requirements? Explore SWTP CEUs courses and start earning credit today.