California BBS Requirements
California LMFT requirements, in plain language
Becoming a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California means earning 3,000 supervised hours as a registered Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT), with a dedicated floor for couples, families, and children and a cap on non-clinical work. This page lays out the full picture with citations.
Verified against the California BBS LMFT applicant guide and Business and Professions Code section 4980.43, the same rule set Licentio's compliance engine validates hours against.
Hour requirements by category
The 3,000-hour total carries a floor for direct counseling, a floor within it for work with couples, families, and children, and a ceiling on non-clinical hours.
Licentio validates every entry against these floors and caps as you log, so a category shortfall surfaces immediately instead of at application review.
Supervision requirements
Hours only count for weeks that were properly supervised. The cadence rules are where most surprises hide.
One supervision unit every week you claim hours
A unit is one hour of individual or triadic supervision, or two hours of group supervision.
Two units in heavy clinical weeks
Any week with more than 10 hours of direct clinical work requires two supervision units instead of one.
52 weeks of individual or triadic supervision
At least 52 of your supervised weeks must include individual or triadic supervision. Group supervision alone cannot carry the whole experience.
Weekly credit caps
No more than 40 hours of experience and no more than 6 hours of supervision, whether individual, triadic, or group, count in any single week.
BPC 4980.43.2(a)(2) and (3)
Who can supervise an AMFT
Supervisors must hold a qualifying California license. Unlike the LCSW pathway, there is no minimum share of hours that must come from an LMFT specifically.
Required coursework beyond the degree
California requires specific coursework before you can apply for licensure. Degrees granted by California schools on or after January 1, 2021 generally embed these, but the BBS still expects you to confirm coverage.
The California Law and Ethics Exam
You must take the California Law and Ethics Exam at least once every renewal year until you pass it (and wait at least 90 days between attempts after a failure). Passing is required before the BBS will issue a subsequent AMFT registration.
BPC 4980 et seq; CA BBS Law and Ethics Examination FAQ
Common pitfalls
The couples-and-families floor is easy to under-bank
500 of your direct counseling hours must involve couples, families, or children. Associates in individual-therapy-heavy settings often discover this floor late.
Group supervision counts differently
One supervision unit is one hour individual or triadic, but two hours of group. Associates who rely on group supervision often bank fewer qualifying weeks than they expect.
Trainee hours have their own caps
Up to 1,300 pre-degree hours from your MFT practicum can count toward the 3,000, but with sub-caps: at most 750 hours of counseling plus supervisor contact, and at least 550 of the balance non-clinical.
Hours expire
Supervised experience must generally be gained within the six years before the BBS receives your licensure application. Old hours quietly fall out of your total.
The 90-day registration window
Hours worked between your degree award and your AMFT registration being issued only count if the BBS received your registration application within 90 days of the degree, with employer Live Scan documentation for graduates from 2020 onward.
When could you finish your hours
Enter where you stand and your typical weekly pace. The projection uses the LMFT rule set: a 3,000-hour minimum, a 40-hour weekly credit cap, and a 104-week floor on total duration.
A planning estimate, not board advice. Category floors, supervision cadence, and week-counting rules all affect your real date.
Stop reconciling these rules by hand
Licentio validates every hour you log against the LMFT rule set on this page: category floors and caps, weekly supervision cadence, supervisor credentials, and weekly credit limits.
30 days free. No credit card required.