New Jersey LPC Renewal: Easy Steps to Renew Your License

Professional counselors in the state of New Jersey need to renew their licenses every two years by November 30th. Put your renewal date on your calendar so you remember

You will receive a letter in the mail from the Professional Counselor Examiners Committee about 60 days before the renewal date. This letter tells you everything you need to know to get the process started. So make sure your mailing address is up-to-date.

How To Renew Your License As An LPC in New Jersey

Resident licenses are good for a biennial period—two years. You renew your license by mailing the Committee a renewal form and the required fees. Practicing with an expired license will lead to disciplinary action.

Keep Your Contact Information Current

Make sure to keep your contact information up to date! Update the Committee in writing within 30 days of any name or address changes.

Make sure you specify whether the address change is for your personal address or the address of your practice. If you’ve changed your name—such as after marriage or divorce–—forward this information to the Committee within 30 days.

Send this verification by certified mail with a request for a return receipt. You need to send evidence of the change and two forms of identification.

One of these forms of identification must be a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport.

If you have not received a renewal notice contact the Committee as soon as possible. If the Committee is in error they may allow you extra time for your renewal.

Unfortunately, misunderstandings—or out-of-date contact information—won’t relieve you of the responsibility to renew your license. You’re responsible for keeping your contact information current, keeping track of your renewal date, and contacting the Committee if something is wrong.

You can contact them at:

State Board of Marriage and Family Examiners
Professional Counselor Examiners Committee
P.O. Box 45044
Newark, NJ 07101
Phone: (973) 504-6582

Emails:

DCA_Professional_Counselors_No_Reply@dca.njoag.gov

Send application-related documents to:
DCA_Professional_Counselors_No_Reply@dca.njoag.gov

Acquire The Necessary Continuing Education For Renewal

Renewing your LPC license in the state of New Jersey requires:

  • 40 contact hours of continuing education completed within the two years leading up to renewal
  • Five ‌hours must include education on the ethical and legal standards governing counseling in the state of New Jersey.
  • Three hours must include education addressing social and cultural competence. This might include issues and trends relating to culture, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, sexual orientation, mental and physical characteristics, education, family values, religious or spiritual values, or socioeconomic status. What this might look like in more detail includes…
      • Multicultural trends and concerns between and within diverse groups nationally and internationally
      • Attitudes, beliefs, understandings, and experiences, including experiential learning activities
      • Individual, couple, family, group, and community strategies for working with diverse populations
      • Counselors’ roles in social justice, advocacy, and conflict resolution
      • Cultural self-awareness, the nature of biases, prejudices, and processes of intentional and unintentional oppression and discrimination
      • Theories surrounding multicultural counseling and identity development
  • One hour must relate to topics concerning prescription opioid drugs including the risks and signs of opioid addiction, abuse, and diversion.

If you earn more than the required 40 hours, you can carry over a maximum of 10 contact hours into the next biennial period. The one hour of education regarding opioid drug use and risk is never eligible for carryover.

What Counts As Continuing Education?

The committee gives credit for continuing education courses and programs that are a minimum of one hour long.

A contact hour is a 60-minute clock hour with no less than 50 minutes of content within the hour. This allows courses and programs to include a 10-minute break for each contact hour.

Programs and courses that align with this timing can include:

  • Any courses and programs approved by the following governing bodies:
      • National Board for Certified Counselors
      • American Counseling Association
      • American Psychological Association
      • American Psychiatric Association
      • National Association of Social Workers
      • American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
      • Commission on Rehabilitation
      • Counselors Certification
      • American Ortho-psychiatric Association
      • American Medical Association
      • American Nursing Association
      • National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors
      • United States Psychiatric
      • Rehabilitation Association and the member boards of the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium/Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, Inc.
  • Presentation of a course or program approved by one of the above organizations
  • Teaching or completing graduate coursework at a regionally accredited institution
  • Authoring a peer reviewed article published in a professional journal within the two year period

What Content Areas Are Acceptable For Continuing Education?

As long as the above organizations approve these courses, programs, and articles, the following subjects count as directly relating to professional counseling:

  • Counseling theory and practice: basic theories, principles and techniques of counseling and their applications
  • The helping relationship: understanding of philosophy of helping processes, basic and advanced helping skills, consultation theories and applications, client and helper self-understanding and self-development, or facilitation of client change
  • Human growth and development: maladaptive behaviors to broaden your understanding of ‌individuals at multiple developmental levels and determining normal and abnormal behavior, personality theory, lifespan theory, and learning theories within cultural contexts.
  • Lifestyle and career development: broadening your understanding of career development theories, occupational and educational information sources, carer and leisure counseling, guidance and education, lifestyle and career decision making, career development planning, resources, and career option identification
  • Group dynamics, processes, counseling, and consulting: understanding of group development dynamics, group counseling theories, group leadership styles, basic and advanced group counseling methods, skills, and other group approaches.
  • Appraisal of individuals: deepening your understanding of group and individual educational and psychometric theories and approaches to appraisal, data, and information gathering methods. This includes education surrounding validity and reliability, psychometric statistics, factors that influence appraisals, use of appraisal results in helping process and the specific ability to administer and interpret tests that assess abilities, interests and identify career options.
  • Social and cultural foundations: understanding of social trends and changes, human roles, societal subgroups, social mores and interaction patterns, multicultural and pluralistic trends, varying lifestyles, societal concerns including stress, person abuse, substance abuse, discrimination, and methods of addressing these concerns.
  • Research and evaluation: developing your understanding of types of research, basic statistics, research and report development, research implementation, program evaluation, needs assessment, publication of research information, and ethical or legal considerations.
  • The counseling profession: deepening your understanding of professional roles and functions, goals and objectives, professional organization and associations, professional history and trends, ethical and legal standards, professional preparation standards, and professional credentialing.

Document Your Continuing Competency Requirements

The following documentation can count toward these audits and proof for your renewal:

  • Certificate of attendance or statement from course or program instructors verifying your attendance to the program.
      • The verification needs to include your name, the name of the sponsor, the title, location, and date of the course and the signature of the program administrator, including the number of hours awarded.
  • For publications, a copy of the published article
  • For presentations of courses or programs, a copy of the program, syllabus, outlines, and bibliographies
  • For teaching, copies of the syllabus, bibliography, course outline, and verification from the academic institution, verifying that the course was “new”
      • N.J.A.C. 13:34-15.5(b)2 defines new as “a course that the professional counselor has not taught previously in any educational setting”
  • For graduate coursework, an official transcript

Make sure to collect and file away documentation that verifies your continuing education credits. Do this for all continuing education for the five years following your renewal. The Committee randomly audits the records of professionals to determine compliance.

FAQs About Renewing Your LPC In New Jersey

What If I’m Renewing Late?

If your license expires, you can renew it within 30 days of expiration. There is a late fee of $100 in addition to the license renewal fee.

Make sure to submit:

  • A renewal application
  • A renewal fee
  • A late fee
  • Proof of continuing education hours

When Do I Need To Have My Information Submitted To The Committee?

Any professional counselor who intends to have an active practice needs to submit their documents and fee to the Committee by November 30th every two years.

How Much Does Renewal Cost?

In the state of New Jersey, renewing your LPC licensure costs $250. If you renew your license in the middle of the biennial period, they adjust the fees accordingly to $125.

Can They Reinstate My License Following Disciplinary Action?

If your license is suspended, you can apply for reinstatement. You’ll need to submit:

  • Reinstatement application
  • Certification of employment listing positions held during your suspension period
      • This needs to include names, addresses, and telephone numbers for each employer
  • Renewal fee
  • The past due renewal fee for the two-year period immediately preceding the current renewal period
  • Reinstatement fee of $150
  • Proof of continuing education requirements
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