Continuing Education Policy


All NCHEC financial capability, housing education and counseling courses fulfill continuing education requirements. See the full course catalog and click on "Financial Capability, Housing Education and Counseling" to view a complete list of NCHEC courses.

Continuing Education Requirements

  • Participants are required to complete at least 30 hours of continuing education, which must be obtained prior to the certification’s expiration date.
  • At least 15 of the 30 hours of continuing education must be obtained through in-person or online NCHEC Financial Capability, Homeownership Education & Counseling courses. NCHEC courses all begin with “HO”. Some relevant non-HO courses from other NeighborWorks will be accepted.
  • NCHEC coursework may be completed through NeighborWorks Training Institutes (NTI), online self-guided courses, virtual faculty-led courses, interactive webinars, Virtual Training Institutes (VTI), and/or local/regional group learning offerings. If an exam is required for course completion, you must pass the required exam to receive continuing education hours.
  • Individuals seeking approval of continuing education hours from external sources to renew their certification must submit the Application to Renew NCHEC Certification.

Required for approval of non-NCHEC training:
  • Certificate of completion or equivalent official proof of course completion
  • Course description that clearly demonstrates the relevance of the course to NCHEC certification and the field of financial capability, homeownership education, and counseling
  • Detailed schedule of the event including a breakdown of all sessions by time and duration


Please note that the following will not count towards continuing education hours:

  • Most NeighborWorks courses outside of the NCHEC Financial Capability, Homeownership Education and Counseling (those courses that begin in "HO") track are not accepted. An exception is made for participants certified in Homeownership Counseling for Program Managers & Executive Directors, who may also complete all courses from the Nonprofit Management & Leadership (courses begin "ML") track. ML courses will provide continuing education hours for the Homeownership Counseling for Program Managers & Executive Directors certification only. Select courses from other tracks will be accepted for all NCHEC Certifications, as relevant.
  • Repeated core certification courses (for example, a certification in Pre-Purchase Homeownership Education requires the completion of HO229. If a participant re-takes HO229, the hours will not count towards the renewal of the previously awarded Pre-Purchase Homeownership Education certification), however, the course hours may count towards other certifications that did not require completion of HO229.
  • Select portions of approved external training (e.g., opening and closing sessions of events, breakfast/lunch/and other breaks)
  • Approval of external continuing education hours is at the discretion of NCHEC staff. Participants should submit external continuing education hours for review well in advance of a certification’s expiration date, as there is no guarantee NCHEC will approve these hours.