Do Your State CEUs Count Toward NBCOT or ASHA Renewal?

Usually yes: NBCOT turns ordinary contact hours into renewal units and ASHA accepts courses offered for other kinds of CE credit, so one course can count for a state license and your national certification at the same time. What does not merge is the bookkeeping, because each certification runs its own 3-year cycle, content rules and audit, separate from every state board you answer to.

By ProTherapy Staffing, published October 22, 2026.

What does NBCOT ask for to renew OTR or COTA certification?

NBCOT's renewal page asks you to earn 36 units, and completing the renewal on time gives you Active in Good Standing status for another 3 years. Renewal season runs from January to March each year, and renewing online costs $65.

Its renewal handbook explains how state-style CE converts:

So the courses you take for a state renewal usually count toward NBCOT as well. Check the handbook's activity chart for anything unusual, such as mentoring or fieldwork supervision, which it counts in its own way.

What does ASHA ask for to keep the CCC-SLP?

ASHA asks for at least 30 professional development hours (PDHs) in each 3-year certification maintenance interval. Under the standards in force from January 2026, those hours must include 1 PDH in ethics and 2 PDHs in a second content area ASHA defines.

One PDH is 60 minutes spent as a learner. ASHA's PDH guidance says you do not need its prior approval for the activities you choose, and it lists "seminars or courses offered by other organizations for other types of CE credit" among the accepted activities. The content has to relate to the scope of practice, and your attendance has to be verifiable by a third party.

That makes ASHA the easier of the two to satisfy alongside state licenses. The constraint to watch is the content areas: general clinical hours rarely cover ethics, so plan the ethics hour and the second content area on purpose rather than hoping a state course happens to fit.

Can one course count for my state license and my certification?

Often, yes, if it meets each set of rules separately. A state board decides which providers and topics it accepts, and some want a named approval or a set number of ethics or law hours. NBCOT and ASHA then apply their own tests to the same course.

Work in this order:

  1. Check the course against your strictest state board, using our requirements by state.
  2. Confirm it converts cleanly for NBCOT, or relates to the scope of practice for ASHA.
  3. If you are an SLP, make sure your hours include ASHA's ethics hour and its 2 hours in the second content area. A state's ethics course can do double duty when its topic fits.

Keep one certificate and file it once, tagged with every body it counts for. When a board, NBCOT or ASHA asks for evidence, you send the same document. The courses you buy are not the problem for most travelers; the record of which course went where is.

If you want to know what CEU support comes with a contract in the states you hold, ask a ProTherapy recruiter: Find my next contract.

Why don't the cycles line up with my state renewals?

Because nobody sets them together. Each state board fixes its own cycle, NBCOT renews you every 3 years in a January to March season, and ASHA runs its own 3-year interval. ASHA counts an activity by the date you finish it, not the date you started.

Put every date on one list: each license, each privilege and each certification, with the cycle it runs on. Our page on keeping CEUs current across state licenses shows how to set that list up once.

What happens if NBCOT or ASHA audits me or I miss a renewal?

NBCOT audits a random sample of renewals. Its handbook says to keep all documentation for 1 full year after renewing, and anyone selected who does not complete the audit has their certification changed to Expired. If you miss your renewal year altogether, you must apply for reinstatement before using the OTR or COTA credential again, and reinstatement within one missed cycle costs $125.

ASHA tells certificate holders to keep certificates of completion for every activity in case of a maintenance audit, and to file its Certification Maintenance Compliance Form once all 30 PDHs are done. Its certification maintenance page has the form and the interval dates.

Frequently asked questions

How many units does NBCOT renewal take?

NBCOT asks for 36 units each renewal cycle, and renewing on time keeps your certification Active in Good Standing for another 3 years.

Do I need ASHA's approval before taking a course for my PDHs?

No. ASHA says you do not need its prior approval for the activities you choose. The content must relate to the scope of practice and your attendance must be verifiable by a third party.

How long should I keep my NBCOT renewal records?

NBCOT asks certificants to keep all their documentation for 1 full year after renewing, in case they are selected for a random audit.

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