California LMFT Application Checklist

Before submitting

Confirm at least 3,000 qualifying supervised hours.
Confirm experience spans at least 104 weeks.
Confirm no hours fall outside the window before the Board receives the application, six years or, from 1 January 2027, seven (the associate clocks calculator gives the cutoff date).
Reconcile every weekly log and experience-verification form (the log is kept and produced only on request; the verification is submitted: the Board’s forms, form by form).
Check category limits and minimums rather than relying on the total alone.
Resolve supervisor signatures, employment records and missing agreements.
Pass—or remain properly eligible for—the California LMFT Law and Ethics Exam.

The 3,000-hours calculator identifies which category, not just which total, is still incomplete.

Application packet

Use the current in-state LMFT licensure application. Out-of-state applicants must choose the applicable Path A or Path B route.
Enter experience consistently. Dates and totals should agree across the application, weekly summaries and supervisor verifications.
Include required experience verification. Do not send irreplaceable originals unless the current instructions require them.
Address fingerprints and disclosures. Follow the current application’s instructions even if fingerprints were supplied earlier.
Pay the current fee. California temporary fee schedules can change; use the BBS fee calculator and verify the live Board form.
Keep a complete copy and delivery proof. A later deficiency letter is easier to answer when the exact submission is preserved.

After the Board approves it

For an associate registrant, clinical-exam eligibility requires both an approved LMFT application and a passed LMFT California Law and Ethics Exam. Pearson VUE then sends scheduling information.

The clinical examination must be taken inside the Board’s one-year deadline. A failed attempt carries a 90-day waiting period, and the retake must also occur inside the continuing eligibility deadline.

Passing is not issuance

After passing the clinical examination, request and pay for initial LMFT license issuance within one year. Passing the exam alone does not create an active license.

Once issued, verify the public license record, update professional advertising and calendar the first renewal. Continue with the LMFT renewal guide.

How this regulatory page was reviewed

The current California BBS applicant, renewal, or continuing-education page was opened first.
Every form, fee, hour total, deadline, and exception was checked against a Board page or Board PDF dated or live on 24 August 2026.
A Board page that still shows the older fee schedule is identified as stale; the specific July 2026 fee-reduction FAQ controls the figures shown here.
When the Board does not state an answer, this page says not stated instead of estimating it.
Readers are linked to the source and told to use the current form rather than a saved copy.