Speech-language pathology CE requirements in Tennessee: what SLPs need to renew

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This page is our summary of Tennessee's rules. Text in quotation marks is the exact wording of Rule 1370-01.

The hours are in Rule 1370-01-.12(1)(a). You need "twenty (20) hours of continuing education during the two calendar years" before your renewal year, counted January 1 to December 31. At least 10 of the 20 have to be in speech-language pathology. The other 10 can be in speech-language pathology or audiology.

The 20-hour rule has been in 1370-01-.12(1)(a) since Sept 6, 2022. The June 16, 2026 update didn't change the hours. The rule doesn't say which renewal year was the first one counted this way.

So if your license renews in 2027, the hours that count are the ones you finish from Jan 1, 2025 to Dec 31, 2026.

Renew by the expiration date. Rule 1370-01-.09(1)(a) says: "The due date for license renewal is the expiration date indicated on the renewal certificate." Each license follows its own expiration date. Tennessee spreads renewals across the year, and a license runs 24 months (Rule 1200-10-01-.10). You can renew online (1370-01-.09(1)(b)1). At renewal you attest that you finished your hours.

The board doesn't pre-approve courses. Rule 1370-01-.12(1)(c) says: "The Board does not pre-approve continuing education programs." You decide if a course fits. Courses not directly related to speech-language pathology or audiology, such as computer, finance or business management courses, don't count. Neither do regular work activities, staff meetings or agency policy training.

Tennessee counts ASHA CEUs. Rule 1370-01-.12(1)(e) says 0.1 CEU, "as defined by ASHA and other CE course providers, is equivalent to sixty (60) minutes or one (1) hour of continuing education." So 2.0 ASHA CEUs cover all 20 hours.

Online and recorded courses count. Rule 1370-01-.12(1)(f) allows multi-media courses, including webinars and computer-assisted learning, for all 20 hours, "With successful completion of a written post-experience examination to evaluate material retention." The rule doesn't define "written" or say whether an online quiz counts.

Keep your proof. Keep a certificate or a letter from the sponsor for each course, and keep it "for a period of not less than four (4) years" (1370-01-.12(2)).

Short on hours? The board may waive the requirement or extend the deadline for documented illness, disability, other undue hardship or retirement. Ask in writing, with your documents, "before the end of the calendar year in which the continuing education requirements were not met" (1370-01-.12(1)(g) and (h)).

New licensee? The education and training you finished in the 12 months before you got your license counts for your first license period (1370-01-.12(1)(a)3).

If you hold both an SLP and an audiology license, you need at least 20 hours, split equally between the two (1370-01-.12(1)(d)).

We read Rule 1370-01 (revised June 2026) and Rule 1200-10-01 on the Tennessee Secretary of State site on Nov 3, 2026.

Tennessee's board doesn't pre-approve courses, so you decide if a course fits the rules above. Every course below was listed for ASHA CEUs when we checked it, and Tennessee counts 0.1 ASHA CEU as 1 hour (1370-01-.12(1)(e)).

Find free CEUs for your 20 hours.

Need ethics hours for ASHA or your license? Start with the 10 free ethics CEUs for SLPs, then check them against the rules above.

Renewing in 2027? Free CEUs you can still finish by Dec 31

Also licensed in Kentucky, Georgia, Virginia or North Carolina?

ASHA is separate

Your license and your ASHA CCC have separate rules. ASHA wants 30 hours every 3 years, including 1 hour in ethics and 2 hours in cultural responsiveness, self-reflection or collaboration. Here's how ASHA maintenance works.