The AMFTRB national MFT exam: questions, cost, dates and scores

Who takes it

Candidates for MFT licensure in the states that use it, approved by their state board. In New York: “you must pass the ‘Examination in Marital and Family Therapy’ developed by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB) and administered by Professional Testing Corporation (PTC). New York does not accept the California examination for licensure.” NYSED admits you once it has your Form 1, the fee, and approval of your education, including your degree.

How to become an LMFT in New York

How many questions are on the AMFTRB exam?

180, in four hours. How many are scored depends on your window. The 2026 handbook, whose testing periods run through December 2026, describes 180 questions, and AMFTRB's site says all of them count. The 2027 handbook (revised August 24, 2026), whose testing periods start in January 2027, says 155 are scored and 25 are unscored pretest questions, mixed in at random.

What it covers

The six domains in both handbooks, from AMFTRB's 2024 to 2025 role delineation study:

• The practice of systemic therapy, 16%
• Assessing, hypothesizing and diagnosing, 16%
• Designing and conducting treatment, 17%
• Evaluating ongoing process and terminating treatment, 16%
• Managing crisis situations, 16%
• Maintaining ethical, legal and professional standards, 19%

How much does the AMFTRB exam cost?

Each handbook has its own fees, for its own windows:

• Windows through December 2026 (the 2026 handbook): $370, including the test center's fees. Rescheduling within your window $50, paid to Prometric; moving once to another window within 12 months $180; score verification $35; a duplicate score report or score transfer $65
• Windows from January 2027 (the 2027 handbook): $389, including a $75 non-refundable administrative fee and the test center's fees. Rescheduling within your window $60, paid to Prometric; moving once to another window within 12 months $199 (into a later year, that year's fee); score verification $50; score transfer $75; extra time for English language learners $85 (one hour) or $135 (two hours). New York doesn’t accept extra time for English language learners: NYSED accepts nonstandard testing only under the ADA.
• Rescheduling, in both handbooks: free 30 days or more before your appointment, the fee 29 to 5 days before, and not at all less than 5 days before; a missed appointment is a no-show and the fees are forfeited
• AMFTRB's own 90-question practice exams, taken through PTC, $70 each

Testing windows

Applications are due on the first of the month before the window. The windows on PTC's page on October 11, 2026, with each handbook's application deadline (by that date, the deadlines for the October and November 2026 windows had passed):

• October 17 to 24, 2026 (applications were due September 1)
• November 14 to 21, 2026 (due October 1)
• December 12 to 19, 2026 (due November 1)
• January 2 to 16, 2027 (due December 1, 2026)
• February 6 to 20, 2027 (due January 1)
• March 6 to 20, 2027 (due February 1); the 2027 handbook lists a window every month through December 4 to 18, 2027

How to apply

• Get approval from your state board, with a 13-character approval code
• Apply at apply.ptcny.com and pay the fee
• PTC emails you whether your application is approved, reopened or rejected
• Within 11 weeks before your window, PTC emails a Scheduling Authorization; then you book with Prometric
• One application per calendar quarter. Candidates in New York and Texas don't need a new approval code for each application

Where you take it

AMFTRB, PTC and the handbook say Prometric. NYSED's LMFT page still mentions PSI testing sites and a notice about six weeks before; follow PTC's instructions. You can't take it at home: AMFTRB's FAQ says the exam “is administered only by Prometric at proctored exam centers”.

Scoring

• The passing score was set by a panel of expert judges using the modified Angoff method, approved by AMFTRB, and is adjusted by equating so it means the same on every version
• Neither AMFTRB nor PTC publishes a number of correct answers needed to pass
• Results aren't given at the test center. The 2026 handbook: your total and domain scores by email, and to your board, within 20 business days after the window closes. The 2027 handbook: an email from PTC about four weeks after the window closes, and boards within 20 business days
• PTC checks by hand every exam scored within 3 points of passing

If you don't pass

Apply again with a new application and the full fee. You can sit for the exam once per calendar quarter. After three failures, AMFTRB recommends waiting at least a year before applying again.

The official handbooks

AMFTRB names two sanctioned sources of information for candidates: the Candidate Handbook and its own website. PTC publishes the 2026 and the 2027 handbooks.