Short answer: To offer NBCC credit for self-paced online counseling courses, you need approval as an NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP) for the home study format. NBCC measures credit in hours: 60 minutes of viewing or listening time, or 6,000 words of text, equals one hour, awarded in quarter hours. Each home study program needs an assessment that shows the participant completed it, an evaluation form, and a certificate or letter of completion with your ACEP number and an authorized signature. You keep program records for at least five years.
What NBCC requires of a home study program
- Accurate credit: 60 minutes of audio or video, or 6,000 words of text, per NBCC hour, in quarter-hour steps.
- An assessment: such as a test or quiz, written by a professional with an advanced degree in a mental health field, that verifies the participant completed the program.
- An evaluation: a rating-scale form covering content, presenters, materials, and relevance to counselors, plus written comments.
- A document of completion: issued only once the program is complete, with the required details and an authorized signature.
- Five years of records: rosters, author and presenter details, evaluations, promotional materials, and program materials.
How Does NBCC Measure Credit for Online Courses?
NBCC calls its credit NBCC hours. Providers may also use clock hours, credit hours, CE hours, or contact hours. The NBCC CE Provider Policy says the term “CEU” can’t be used.
NBCC splits delivery into two formats, and they measure credit differently:
Live events (including live online)
Real-time programs where participants can interact with the presenter. One NBCC hour equals 60 minutes of qualifying program time, in quarter hours, rounded up. You must verify that each participant was present for the hours on their certificate, using an accurate, verifiable method.
Home study (self-paced)
Text, on-demand webinars, and other audio or video. Audio and video earn one hour per 60 minutes, with a 15-minute minimum. Text earns one hour per 6,000 words, with a 1,500-word minimum. Completion is verified by an assessment.
What Must a Home Study Program Include?
Section J.6 of the policy lists the materials. A qualifying home study program includes:
- The learning materials themselves (text, audio, video, or web-based)
- Every author and presenter, with credentials and qualifications
- An assessment, such as a test or quiz, prepared by a professional with an advanced degree in a mental health field
- Instructions explaining how to get NBCC credit after finishing
- A reference list of the source materials
- An evaluation form (see below)
The policy doesn’t set a passing score, a number of questions per hour, or a retake limit. Those are your decisions. Write them down and apply them the same way to everyone.
The evaluation form
Under Section H, the evaluation names the program title and date and uses a rating scale. It lets participants rate the program content, each presenter’s knowledge and presentation skills, the materials, and the program’s relevance to professional counselors. It also lets them write comments and say whether the program met their expectations. You keep evaluations for five years and report to NBCC whether you changed programs because of them.
What Goes on an NBCC Certificate of Completion?
Section I.5 lists what a home study certificate or letter must include:
- Your name and contact information
- The program title and date of completion
- The participant’s name
- The number of NBCC hours awarded
- The name and signature of your authorized representative
- Your NBCC ACEP number
You make it available once the participant completes the program, and not before.
The approval statement is a separate rule. Section J.4 requires it on your advertising, promotional, and informational materials and your website for the program:
NBCC ACEP approval statement:
“[ACEP NAME] has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. ____. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. [ACEP NAME] is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.”
What Records Does NBCC Require?
Section C.10 requires you to keep these records for each program for at least five years, with secure backup copies:
- A roster of all participants
- Authors and presenters, with a description of what each contributed
- The program content description
- Participant evaluations
- Promotional and marketing materials
- The agenda and materials given to participants, including learning objectives
Your state licensing board may set its own rules for how long records are kept. Check with the board in each state where your participants are licensed.
What Ruzuku Covers, and What Stays With You
Ruzuku handles the course side of a home study program. Some of NBCC’s requirements stay with you on any course platform.
What Ruzuku does
- A Required toggle on each lesson that locks every later lesson until the learner completes it
- Quizzes with a passing score you set; learners retake until they pass
- An evaluation in two parts: a poll for the rating scale, which learners must answer before Next unlocks, and an assignment with required questions for written comments. The assignment isn’t locked, but its Next button stays disabled until you approve every required answer, so each learner’s completion and certificate wait for your review. Later lessons lock only if you turn on Required for the evaluation lessons.
- CSV downloads of course progress, quiz answers, poll responses, and assignment answers
- Certificates, issued only when every lesson is complete (Pro plan)
- Built-in video meetings for live sessions, no Zoom account needed
What stays with you
- Setting credit hours: Ruzuku records lesson completion, not minutes watched
- Live attendance: built-in meetings don’t log each participant’s join and leave times, so verify attendance your own way
- Signatures: the certificate’s issuer line is text you edit, with no signature image field
- Five-year records: download your CSVs and keep them with your other program files
- Moving an existing catalog: there’s no migration service or content import, so you rebuild courses yourself
On the certificate, you write the text: add your ACEP number, the NBCC hours, your contact information, and your authorized representative’s name. Ruzuku fills in the participant’s name, the course title, and the completion date, and emails the participant when they earn it.
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