Washington · Counseling

Washington's LMHCA Six-Renewal Limit Is Gone: What Changed in 2024

Last updated August 7, 2026

For years, Washington's associate credentials came with a hard deadline: the LMHCA (and LMFTA) license could be renewed a maximum of six times before you had to transition to the full license or stop practicing. That cap is gone. The legislature repealed the six-renewal limit effective June 6, 2024 (2024 c 371 s 15), and RCW 18.225.145(6)(a) now says simply that "[a]n associate license may be renewed." The Department of Health swept the last references out of WAC 246-809 effective October 1, 2025 (WSR 25-11-019, which names "[r]emove limitations on the number of renewals authorized for an associate level credential" in its own purpose statement).

Why you may still be hearing about the cap

The six-renewal limit lived in Washington law for years, so it is all over the internet — program handbooks, supervisor FAQs, licensing summaries, and until August 2026 this very page and the app behind it. If a page tells you the LMHCA runs out after six renewals, check its date against June 2024. The statute itself is the clean way to settle it: RCW 18.225.145(6)(b) refers to "the six-renewal limit in place prior to June 6, 2024" — past tense, in the law's own words.

If you already lost your license to the old cap

The repeal reaches backward. RCW 18.225.145(6)(b) directs that a person whose associate license was not renewed because they exceeded the old six-renewal limit "shall be treated as if the person's license expired" — meaning you can return it to active status through DOH's standard process for reactivating an expired credential, rather than starting over. If that is you, contact Washington DOH about reactivation.

What still has a clock

Renewal itself is still annual, on the anniversary of the date your associate license was issued (WAC 246-809-990(2) — birthday renewal applies to full licenses, not associates), and each renewal year carries 16 hours of continuing education (WAC 246-809-632(1), effective October 1, 2025 — the total was 18 before that filing): 6 hours of professional ethics and law every two years, 2 hours of professional roles and boundaries, and 2 hours of health equity every four years. Supervision cadence is unchanged too — at least 1 hour of supervision per 80 hours of clinical practice. What no longer exists is a year-count after which the associate license runs out.

What you need to transition to LMHC

Supervision frequency is proportional rather than monthly: at least 1 hour of supervision per 80 hours of clinical practice. General group supervision (up to 6 candidates) is allowed but does not count toward the 100-hour immediate supervision floor.

Credits that shorten the road

• CACREP-accredited degree: once DOH receives your official transcript, you are credited with 50 hours of immediate supervision and 500 hours of direct counseling or other qualifying clinical experience — leaving 50 immediate-supervision hours to earn and 500 fewer hours toward the 3,000 total.
• SUDP experience: 3+ years as a Substance Use Disorder Professional within the past 10 years reduces the total from 3,000 to 2,700 hours.

At the end, your supervisor(s) verify your hours on form DOH 670-128 — one form per supervisor and per practice setting — submitted with your final LMHC application. The repeal removed the deadline, not the paperwork: pace still matters, it just is no longer enforced by a license that expires out from under you.

This guide is informational, not legal advice. Licensure rules change — always verify current requirements with your board before making decisions about your supervision plan, and flag any discrepancies to support@almostlicensed.com so we can fix them.