The requirements for obtaining licensure as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) are set forth in 22 TAC §§801.76, 882.2, and 882.5. See the Council’s Statutes and Rules webpage.
- If you currently hold Texas LMFT Associate license and wish to apply for upgrade to independent LMFT, please follow the instructions below.
- If do not hold a Texas LMFT Associate license AND you hold or have ever held MFT license issued by another state, please see Applying for LMFT with non-Texas License.
In general, to receive an independent LMFT license, an LMFT Associate must document accrual of at least supervised experience requirements prescribed in 22 TAC §801.142, apply with the Council, pay the required fee, and provide proof of the following. NOTE: An LMFT Associate may only practice while under supervision with a Texas LMFT Supervisor; AND supervision must continue until the Associate is awarded an independent LMFT license.
Click each link to be taken to an explanation of documenting that requirement.
Verification of Supervised Experience
A certified self-query from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB)
Verification of any license in another jurisdiction
Verification of Supervised Graduate Practicum or Internship
NOTE: You likely submitted the following items when you applied for LMFT Associate license. There is no need to submit items again, unless staff expressly asks for them. If you need better explanation of what is needed, after staff has requested the item, please visit Applying for LMFT Associate webpage for details about that particular item.
- Conferral of a qualifying degree from an accredited program or school
- Passing Score on Licensing Exam
- Supervisory Agreement Form
- A fingerprint-based background check
See also Key Forms and Publications and After Your Application Has Been Submitted
Verification of Supervised Experience
Your Texas LMFT Supervisor will complete the Supervised Experience Verification Form (SEV Form, available below). A supervisor may only attest to things of which they have direct knowledge. Staff must receive a separate SEV Form from each supervisor.
if you have accrued any supervised experience outside Texas, see Verification of Licensure in Other Jurisdiction below.
Marriage and Family Therapy Jurisprudence Exam
The MFT Jurisprudence Exam is an online learning experience similar to an open-book test on the Texas laws and rules that govern the practice of marriage and family therapy. You likely submitted a completion certificate for the MFT Jurisprudence Exam when you applied for your LMFT Associate license. Because rules change over time, if the completion certificate for the MFT Jurisprudence Exam received for your Associate license was dated more than 6 months before your application to upgrade to LMFT is received, you must submit a current completion certificate for the MFT Jurisprudence Exam. Complete the Texas MFT Jurisprudence Examination via the link on the webpage. Retain and submit the completion certificate.
National Practitioner Data Bank Self-Query Report
You likely submitted a certified NPDB self-query report when you applied for your Texas LMFT Associate license. If the NPDB self-query report received for your Associate license was dated more than 6 months before your application to upgrade to LMFT is received, you must submit a current certified NPDB self-query report. Visit https://www.npdb.hrsa.gov/pract/selfQueryBasics.jsp for instructions on how to obtain a Self-Query Report from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB). You may submit the results several ways:
- The NPDB may email to you a certified self-query report in PDF. Do not alter the PDF. You may upload the certified report PDF when you complete your online application for license.
- OR after your online application has been submitted, you may forward the emailed, certified NPDB self-query report PDF to NPDB@bhec.texas.gov.
- OR the NPDB will mail the self-query report to you. Mail the NPDB self-query report to the Texas SW Board so it is still in the unopened envelope sealed by NPDB. Mail to BHEC MFT, 1801 Congress Ave., Ste. 7.300, Austin, Texas 78701.
Verification of Licensure in Other Jurisdiction
If you gained new non-Texas license or upgraded a non-Texas license since the date you were issued your Texas LMFT Associate, complete Part I of Verification of Licensure in Other Jurisdiction (available below), then send it to the non-Texas licensing agency that issued your new or upgraded license. The non-Texas licensing agency should complete the form and submit it to the Texas MFT Board at bhecmft@bhec.texas.gov. A separate form must be received for each license you currently hold or have held since the date your Associate license was issued.
- Some state agencies generate their own form, staff may consider the data on the state-agency-generated form – if data is not included on the state-agency-generated form, staff may ask the applicant for additional information / documentation. The state-agency may send their own generated form to bhecmft@bhec.texas.gov.
- Some state agencies no longer issue any type of license verification, but rather provide an online, primary source. If that’s the case for one or more of the licenses you hold, please note that in your online application or send in an email to bhecmft@bhec.texas.gov after your application has been submitted. If another state’s online license verification does not include all the data needed, staff may ask the applicant for additional information/documentation.
NOTE: Generally, a non-Texas licensing agency includes verification of supervised clinical experience on the Verification of Licensure in Other Jurisdiction form. However, if the applicant for Texas independent LMFT has not gained independent LMFT license in the non-Texas jurisdiction, the non-Texas licensing agency may be unable to verify the applicant’s supervised experience. If that’s the case, staff may consider any supervised experience after issuance of a non-Texas license, documented on Texas Supervised Experience Verification Form (SEV Form, available below), completed, signed, and dated by your non-Texas supervisor. Submit this SEV Form with a copy of your non-Texas LMFT Supervisor’s credentials. Staff must receive a separate SEV Form from each supervisor.
Verification of Supervised Graduate Practicum or Internship
Some individuals apply for Texas LMFT Associate license only after completing both a qualifying master’s and a qualifying doctoral degree. Others complete the qualifying master’s degree, apply for and receive Texas LMFT Associate license; then, complete a qualifying doctoral degree. Under certain conditions, 22 TAC §801.142 allows staff to grant credit for practicum, internship, externship hours accrued as part of the qualifying doctoral program, toward the supervision and experience requirements for Texas independent LMFT.
If you have completed doctoral program with practicum, internship, or externship hours and have not yet submitted verification of those hours to the Council, complete Part 1 of the Supervised Clinical Practicum and Experience Verification Form (available below); then, send to your school(s) at which you completed a doctoral practicum, internship, or externship. A separate form must be received from each school. If you completed master’s and doctoral practicum/internship courses at the same school, staff must receive two separate forms: The first form to show hours accrued during master’s level courses, and the second form to show hours accrued during doctoral level courses. Your school’s faculty or administrator will complete the form(s) and return to you or to the board.
Also, submit an official transcript showing at least enrollment in the doctoral degree and completion of the practicum, internship, or externship course(s). Request your school(s) email an official transcript(s) to transcripts@bhec.texas.gov. Alternatively, staff may accept an official transcript mailed to BHEC MFT, 1801 Congress Ave., Ste. 7.300, Austin, Texas 78701, as long as the transcript is still in an unopened envelope sealed by the school.
See the Council’s How To User Guide webpage for How To Apply Online for MFT Upgrade.
Also, see relevant forms from the MFT Board’s Forms and Publications webpage below.
- Checklist for Required Documents
- Supervised Experience Verification Form
- Verification of Licensure in Other Jurisdiction
- Supervised Clinical Practicum and Experience Verification Form
After Your Application Has Been Submitted
Staff will review all materials and either issue LMFT license or a deficiency notice with instructions. Generally, staff send a deficiency notice via email. When expecting a message from staff, please periodically check your junk and spam folders. Some recipient’s email platforms filter staff messages (from our “.gov” address) into junk or spam folders.
You can check the status – whether your LMFT license has been issued or whether renewal process has been completed – via the Council’s Online Search/Verify a License webpage/portal. The portal displays publicly releasable information directly from the Council’s licensing database in real time. It is the most up-to-date information. No login is required; so, the information is available to applicants, licensees, supervisors, potential employers, etc.
One day after issuance of a license, a printable PDF of the license certificate will be in the licensee’s online licensing account secure inbox. The licensee may print the certificate as needed for display. Or a licensee may use the drop-down menu under “Manage My License” to print the license certificate.
The license renewal due date is set to coincide with the last day of the licensee’s birth month. Thus, the first renewal period may be less than 2 full years. See renewal requirements in 22 TAC §§801.261, 882.50(b), and 883.1(d)(2). Visit the Council’s Statute and Rules webpage, the Council’s How to Report Your Continuing Education webpage, and the Council’s Human Trafficking Awareness FAQs webpage for link to list of Texas HHSC-approved human trafficking awareness courses.
In case it is useful to you: The Council provides an easily searched courtesy copy of the current rules in its Consolidated Rulebook for Marriage and Family Therapy on its Statutes and Rules webpage. The Consolidated Rulebooks are updated shortly after a new or revised rule is adopted. The Texas Secretary of State maintains the official version of the rules on its website for Title 22 of the Texas Administrative Code, Parts 35 and 41.
PLEASE NOTE: Rules and procedures are subject to change. You may wish to subscribe to Email Updates from the Board. The Email Updates include notice of board meetings, proposed rule changes, and notice of newly adopted rules, as well as other significant operational changes. To subscribe, complete the form on the Email Updates webpage; then follow the prompts and instructions to complete the subscription confirmation process.
