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Congratulations, you did it! You have gotten all the hours required (and maybe a few extra) and submitted your paperwork to ASHA to start the process of certification. While you are waiting for the paperwork to be approved and to receive licensing and certification, there are so many questions you may have. These are some useful tips and information to keep in mind!
First and foremost is licensure. Once you officially have your CCCs, you'll need to apply for state licensure. ASHA has a great website for what is required in each state (see website below in references).
In Tennessee, you will need to provide the following:
- proof of master's degree
- proof of completed clinical fellowship
- proof of passing national exam
- jurisprudence exam
In North Carolina, you will need:
- proof of master's degree
- proof of completed clinical fellowship
- proof of passing national exam
If you will be working in the schools, you will also need to have a state educator license. In North Carolina, you will need 30 hours of CEU credits every 3 years to be able to renew your license. In Tennessee, you will need 60 hours of CEUs over 10 years. As long as you complete your ASHA credits, you should have all you need for your education license as well.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
Next, you'll want to check through ASHA's website and your personal account to see what your maintenance interval is for CEUs. The good news is that CEUs don't have to be earned until the following year! For example - if you started your CF in August 2024, finished in May 2025, and have received your CCCs from ASHA, you would not be required to complete CEUs until January of the following year (2026) for maintenance. You may still complete and track your CEUs for state licensing purposes. However, they will not be counted towards your 3 year maintenance interval.
Regarding continuing education credits, 60 minutes (1 hour) is equivalent to 0.1 ASHA CEU, so you would need ten 1-hour courses to get 1.0 credits of CEUs. You will need 3 continuing education units (30 professional development hours.) The good news is that you have 3 years to achieve this. It is important to be aware that a portion of these CEUs need to include the following required areas:
- 1 hour ethics
- 2 hours diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
Another term that may be used is called "professional development hours" (PDH). CEUs and PDHs are both educational courses that count toward personal development and requirements for certification maintenance. However, PDHs are hours that you track on your own. You keep a record of your PDHs and submit a compliance form when you have completed the required amount of hours of continuing education credits. It's a good practice to keep a record of all hours and certificates from the courses that you complete.
CEUs can be tracked by ASHA through their CE Registry (for a small fee) as long as the course provider is reporting them to ASHA. The CE Registry then tracks your hours and submits your compliance form on your behalf when your hours/requirements have been met. If you earn more than 30 hours of continuing education, the excess will NOT count toward your next interval.
Now is a great time to consider all you have accomplished during your clinical fellowship year and prepare yourself for success in your careers as a fully licensed and certified speech language pathologist.
References:
- https://www.asha.org/ce/ceus/licensure/
- https://www.asha.org/ce/asha-ceus-or-pdhs/
- https://www.asha.org/certification/pdhs-for-asha-certification/
-Katelynn Gibson, M.S. CCC-SLP
Date
Share
Congratulations, you did it! You have gotten all the hours required (and maybe a few extra) and submitted your paperwork to ASHA to start the process of certification. While you are waiting for the paperwork to be approved and to receive licensing and certification, there are so many questions you may have. These are some useful tips and information to keep in mind!
First and foremost is licensure. Once you officially have your CCCs, you'll need to apply for state licensure. ASHA has a great website for what is required in each state (see website below in references).
In Tennessee, you will need to provide the following:
- proof of master's degree
- proof of completed clinical fellowship
- proof of passing national exam
- jurisprudence exam
In North Carolina, you will need:
- proof of master's degree
- proof of completed clinical fellowship
- proof of passing national exam
If you will be working in the schools, you will also need to have a state educator license. In North Carolina, you will need 30 hours of CEU credits every 3 years to be able to renew your license. In Tennessee, you will need 60 hours of CEUs over 10 years. As long as you complete your ASHA credits, you should have all you need for your education license as well.
Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
Next, you'll want to check through ASHA's website and your personal account to see what your maintenance interval is for CEUs. The good news is that CEUs don't have to be earned until the following year! For example - if you started your CF in August 2024, finished in May 2025, and have received your CCCs from ASHA, you would not be required to complete CEUs until January of the following year (2026) for maintenance. You may still complete and track your CEUs for state licensing purposes. However, they will not be counted towards your 3 year maintenance interval.
Regarding continuing education credits, 60 minutes (1 hour) is equivalent to 0.1 ASHA CEU, so you would need ten 1-hour courses to get 1.0 credits of CEUs. You will need 3 continuing education units (30 professional development hours.) The good news is that you have 3 years to achieve this. It is important to be aware that a portion of these CEUs need to include the following required areas:
- 1 hour ethics
- 2 hours diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
Another term that may be used is called "professional development hours" (PDH). CEUs and PDHs are both educational courses that count toward personal development and requirements for certification maintenance. However, PDHs are hours that you track on your own. You keep a record of your PDHs and submit a compliance form when you have completed the required amount of hours of continuing education credits. It's a good practice to keep a record of all hours and certificates from the courses that you complete.
CEUs can be tracked by ASHA through their CE Registry (for a small fee) as long as the course provider is reporting them to ASHA. The CE Registry then tracks your hours and submits your compliance form on your behalf when your hours/requirements have been met. If you earn more than 30 hours of continuing education, the excess will NOT count toward your next interval.
Now is a great time to consider all you have accomplished during your clinical fellowship year and prepare yourself for success in your careers as a fully licensed and certified speech language pathologist.
References:
- https://www.asha.org/ce/ceus/licensure/
- https://www.asha.org/ce/asha-ceus-or-pdhs/
- https://www.asha.org/certification/pdhs-for-asha-certification/
-Katelynn Gibson, M.S. CCC-SLP
