The requirements for obtaining licensure as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate (LMFT Associate) are set forth in 22 TAC §§801.75, 882.2, and 882.5. See the Council’s Status and Rules webpage.
In general, to receive an LMFT Associate, an applicant must apply with the Council, pay the required fee, and provide proof of the following:
Click each link to be taken to an explanation of documenting that requirement.
Passing Score on Licensing Exam – Do not apply for license before passing licensing exam. If you have not passed the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB) or California Exam for independent LMFT, see Application to Request AMFTRB Exam Authorization Code.
Conferral of a qualifying degree from an accredited program or school
Verification of Supervised Graduate Practicum or Internship
A certified self-query from the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB)
A fingerprint-based background check
Verification of any license in another jurisdiction
See also Key Forms and Publications and After Your Application Has Been Submitted below.
Official Transcript of Degree Required
Applicants must hold at least one of the following
- a master’s or doctorate degree in marriage and family therapy from a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE); OR
- a master’s degree from a program that began on or after on or after January 1, 2017; was accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs – Marriage, Couples, and Family Counseling (CACREP MCFC) specialization; and included at least 12 months or 9 graduate semester hours of supervised clinical internship or practicum with at least 300 hours of experience, of which at least 150 hours must be direct client contact hours and of the 150 hours at least 75 hours must be direct client contact with couples and families; OR
- a master’s or doctorate degree from an accredited school in marriage and family therapy or in a related mental health field with a planned course of study in marriage and family therapy with at least 45 semester hours for an applicant who started a program before August 1, 2017 or at least 60 semester hours for an applicant who started a program on or after August 1, 2017; and with the required minimum course content as described in 22 TAC §801.114 (see the Council’s Statutes and Rules webpage).
Request your school(s) email an official transcript(s), showing qualifying degree was conferred and/or related coursework completed, 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.
NOTE: Many who pass the exam while still in school forget that they must still submit an official transcript showing that the qualifying degree has been awarded. ALSO NOTE: It may take some time after your graduation ceremony for the school’s online ordering/electronic transcript system to reflect degree conferral with date of conferral; please ensure this required information is part of the official transcript that you order from your school. Staff may not issue the LMFT Associate license before this official transcript showing that the qualifying degree has been awarded is received.
Verification of Supervised Graduate Practicum or Internship
For any qualifying program begun on or after August 1, 2017, staff must be able to verify the number of hours the student accrued during their graduate supervised internship or practicum. Also, under certain conditions, 22 TAC §801.142 allows staff to grant credit for student hours accrued above the number of hours required for academic qualifications to be credited as post-licensed supervised experience hours (see the Council’s Statutes and Rules webpage). To document academic achievement and possible excess practicum hours, 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 graduate practicum or graduate internship course. A separate form must be received from each school. A separate form must be used to report experience gained via a master’s practicum or internship course – apart from experience gained through a doctoral practicum or internship course. Your school’s faculty or administrator will complete the form(s) and return to you or to the board.
Passing Score on Licensing Exam
If you have not passed the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB) or California Exam for independent LMFT, see Application to Request AMFTRB Exam Authorization Code.
- If you took the AMFTRB exam using Texas’ exam authorization code, on or about the 10th of the month following the month in which you sat for the exam, AMFTRB will release your exam score to Texas staff.
- If you took the AMFTRB exam for another state’s licensing authority you must contact AMFTRB to have your passing score transferred to Texas (see AMFTRB’s webpage) unless the non-Texas licensing agency verifies that you passed the AMFTRB exam on the document used to verify your non-Texas license. More information about license verification below, under the heading “Verification of any license in another jurisdiction.”
- If you passed the California exam for full, independent LMFT license, Texas staff must receive license verification with attestation of California exam scores directly from California Board of Behavioral Sciences (CA BBS). More information about license verification is below, under the heading “Verification of any license in another jurisdiction.”
An LMFT Associate may only provide marriage and family therapy while under supervision by a Texas LMFT Supervisor. See the Council’s Find a Supervisor webpage to use a search-function for LMFT Supervisors. Before staff may issue an LMFT Associate license, staff must receive and approve of the supervisory relationship documented on the Supervisory Agreement Form (SAF, available below). Submit the SAF with a copy of your Texas LMFT Supervisor’s current renewal card. Both you and your supervisor will need to maintain a copy of this form for the duration of your supervision.
Marriage and Family Therapy Jurisprudence Exam
The MFT Jurisprudence Examination 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. Complete the MFT Jurisprudence Examination via the “Login” button on the webpage. If you experience technical difficulties, click “Need Help?” link under the “Login” button to reach the help desk. Retain and submit the completion certificate. The date on the completion certificate cannot be any earlier than six months before the date your application is received.
National Practitioner Data Bank 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). Step-by-step instructions in “How to Order an NPDB Self-Query Report” on the Council’s How To User Guides webpage may also be helpful. 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.
After the Council’s Online System confirms your application submission, the system will generate an email message with a link to instructions on how to submit your fingerprints for the statutorily required fingerprint-based background check. See our Fingerprint Information webpage for more information.
Verification of Licensure in Other Jurisdiction
If you hold or have ever held license in another state, complete Part I of Verification of Licensure in Other Jurisdiction form (available below), then send it to the non-Texas licensing agency that issued your 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 ever held in the past.
- 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 email 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 LMFT Associate 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, you may wish to gather and retain in your own records documentation of any supervised experience gained outside Texas as soon as possible. You will submit supervised experience documents when you are apply for Texas independent LMFT license. Staff may not credit or approve any supervised experience before the Texas LMFT Associate applies for upgrade to independent LMFT, but it is recommended that you keep a copy of this documentation for your own records until you are ready to apply for upgrade. Complete documentation gathered at the time a supervisory relationship ends – and safeguarding that documentation until needed – may avoid loss of hours/months if you lose touch with past supervisor, the supervisor becomes ill or passes away, etc. So, if you have completed any supervised experience after issuance of a non-Texas license, have your non-Texas supervisor complete the Supervised Experience Verification Form (SEV Form, available below). When you apply for upgrade to independent LMFT, you must 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.
See the Council’s How To User Guide webpage for
- How To Create An Online Account (if you don’t already have one) and
- How To Apply for MFT License.
Also, see relevant forms from the MFT Board’s Forms and Publications webpage or you may download the forms by clicking the links below.
- Checklist for Required Documents
- Supervised Clinical Practicum and Experience Verification Form
- Supervisory Agreement Form
- Verification of Licensure in Other Jurisdiction
- Supervised Experience Verification Form
After Your Application Has Been Submitted
Staff will review all materials and either issue LMFT Associate 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 Associate license has been issued – 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.
NOTE: An LMFT Associate license is valid for 5 years from the date of issuance. It is a non-renewable license. An LMFT Associate who does not complete the required supervised experience hours to qualify for upgrade to independent LMFT license during the 5-year time period must reapply for LMFT Associate licensure, meeting all current requirements. Generally, all hours accrued during a previous LMFT Associate license carry over to the subsequent LMFT Associate license. Rules do not set an expiration date on accrued experience hours.
NOTE: An LMFT Associate may have up to two LMFT Supervisors at a given time. To add or to change supervisors, you must submit a new Supervisory Agreement Form (SAF, available above).with the new supervisor. Your current/previous supervisor must provide written notification to the Council within 30 days of ending a supervisory relationship; an email message from your supervisor to the Council is sufficient “written notice.”
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.
