California's 2027 LMFT law changes: AB 1598 and SB 1445

The two laws

AB 1598 (Chapter 528, Statutes of 2026) and SB 1445 (Chapter 237, Statutes of 2026), both signed in September 2026. Both take effect January 1, 2027.

Your hours: seven years

Through December 31, 2026, hours can't be more than six years old on the date the Board receives your licensure application, except up to 500 practicum hours. From January 1, 2027 the limit is seven years, with the same 500-hour exception (§4980.43(c)(7), as amended by AB 1598).

Your registration: six renewals, seven years

Through December 31, 2026, an AMFT registration may be renewed at most five times and not beyond six years from the month it was issued. From January 1, 2027: six renewals and seven years (§4984.01(d)). After that you still need a subsequent registration number.

The Law and Ethics Exam: no yearly attempt

• Through December 31, 2026: take it within your first year of registration, and at least once in each renewal cycle until you pass
• From January 1, 2027: no first-year rule and no yearly attempt to renew. You must still pass it before the Clinical Exam and before a subsequent registration number
• A passing result must be no more than seven years old when the Board receives your application for the license or a subsequent registration number, but that limit doesn't apply to applications the Board receives on or before January 1, 2030 (§4980.399)

The Clinical Exam pass

Through December 31, 2026, a passing score is accepted for seven years from the exam date. From January 1, 2027, the Clinical Exam must be passed no more than seven years before the Board receives your application for initial license issuance (§4980.50).

A hardship extension for private practice

A subsequent registration number still can't be used in a private practice. From January 1, 2027, you can ask the Board for a one-time, two-year hardship extension to work at one private practice or professional corporation. Work there can't start until the Board approves it (§4984.01(f)).

What you tell clients

Through December 31, 2026, before services, you tell each client you are an unlicensed registered associate, give your registration number and your employer's name, and say what kind of license your supervisor holds. From January 1, 2027: tell each client you are unlicensed and under the supervision of a licensed professional, and name your employer, or the organization you volunteer for (§4980.44).

Video supervision: the assessment (SB 1445)

Through December 31, 2026, within 60 days of the start of any supervision, your supervisor assesses whether video supervision is appropriate. From January 1, 2027, that assessment is needed only if supervision is by video, within 60 days of the start of that supervision (§4980.43.2(d)).

What doesn't change

• 3,000 hours over at least 104 weeks, and every minimum and cap within them
• At least one unit of supervision in each week you count, in each setting
• The 90-day rule after your degree
• Which Clinical Exam you take: neither law changes that (only how long a pass counts, above). It is still the Board's own exam; the law already lets the Board adopt the AMFTRB national exam by regulation. The Board has proposed it from July 1, 2027 or later, but the proposal is on hold, and the Board's next meeting is on November 19–20, 2026; nothing is adopted

AMFT to LMFT in California: the requirements

What isn't settled yet

• A registration whose six years end before January 1, 2027: the law doesn't say whether it gets the seventh year. Ask the Board, and plan for a subsequent registration number until it answers
• The Board's regulations (16 CCR 1829.2 and 1829.3, as printed in January 2026) still describe a yearly Law and Ethics attempt; we haven't seen how the Board will apply them after January 1, 2027
• The current Supervision Agreement (Rev. 05/2026) still says a registration may be renewed five times, and the licensure application (Rev. 06/2026) still states the six-year limit; ask the Board whether revised forms will follow