How long do I keep records of my CEUs?
Record keeping for continuing education units (CEUs) is an important practice that is not always fully discussed by licensed mental health professionals. Whether you are an LPC, LMFT, LMSW, LCSW, or equivalent license in your state continuing education is a requirement and appropriate record keeping of these hours is imperative.
Most of us should have a standard practice surrounding tracking our continuing education hours for license renewal. While most of us understand the importance of having proof of continuing education on hand for the time of the license renewal, did you know it’s actually important to maintain a record of your continuing education hours, even after your license renewal is completed? Today we will look at some of the requirements for continuing education (CEU) record keeping.
So why is it important to keep records of CEUS after your license renewal has been submitted?
Well, first of all, it is actually a board requirement in many states. For example, the Texas State Board of Social Work Examiners requires that individuals, maintain proof of continuing education license compliance for a minimum of three years after the individual has completed an application renewal. (1)
Why would I need my CEU records after a license renewal?
Most people know that an audit can be requested at the time that you renew your license, requiring that proof of continuing education hours is submitted in order for your license to be renewed, but audits can occur at other times outside of the specific time of your license renewal. The subsequent individualized audits can occur if there is a question related to compliance. For this reason, even after your license renewal, it’s important to keep records of your continuing education hours even after you’ve submitted your license renewal, in case, there is some kind of question related to your completion or participation in the appropriate continuing education courses. (2)
How should I maintain my CEU records?
This is likely a matter of personal preference, but in the event that you would be audited or be required to show proof of your continuing education hours completion, it would be required that you be able to provide eh training certificates proving completion with your name, the date of completion, the type of CEU completed (ethics, supervision, cultural diversity, etc.) and course administrator. The easiest way to maintain these records for most people is to have a set folder for the completion certificates to be stored as you earn them. Again, this is a matter of preference, but a simple folder to upload CEU certificates can save a lot of stress and searching down the road.
