The California LMFT Clinical Exam: format, cost, eligibility and retakes

Which exam it is

The LMFT Clinical Exam is a Board-administered exam (16 CCR 1829.1(b)), given by Pearson VUE. It isn't the AMFTRB national exam: the law allows the Board to adopt that 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: the current Clinical Exam stays.

The other BBS licenses use national clinical exams: the LCSW the ASWB Clinical exam, and the LPCC the NCMHCE.

How many questions are on the LMFT Clinical Exam?

150 questions in 240 minutes: 125 scored and 25 unscored pretest questions, mixed in and not marked (Pearson VUE's candidate handbook).

What it covers

The outline in effect since January 1, 2021:

• Clinical evaluation, 27%
• Developing a diagnostic impression, 11%
• Managing crisis situations, 11%
• Case conceptualization and planning, 12%
• Treatment, 29%
• Managing legal and ethical obligations within the therapeutic relationship, 10%

When can I take it?

• Once you have completed all of your supervised experience and all of your education, and passed the California Law and Ethics exam (B&P §4980.397(c))
• Your Application for Licensure must be approved
• If you were an AMFT and paid the clinical exam fee with your Application for Licensure, Pearson VUE emails you when you are eligible; you don't file a separate exam application

How much does it cost?

$125 from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2030; the regular fee is $250 (16 CCR 1816.2). It is normally paid with the Application for Licensure, whose own fee is $125 in the same period.

The one-year deadlines

• Take it within one year of becoming eligible: one year from your Law and Ethics pass if that came after your application was approved, or one year from the approval if you had already passed
• After a failed attempt, retake it within one year
• Miss either and the Board closes your licensing file: a new application and fee, the requirements in force at the time, and possibly the loss of some approved hours (the Board's LMFT exam page)
• Once your application is approved, you keep it active by taking a required exam at least once every 365 days (16 CCR 1806(b))

If you don't pass

Wait 90 days between attempts. The Board cut the wait from 120 days to 90 from January 1, 2025 (the Board's update of February 2025), and its exam page and Pearson's July 2026 handbook say 90. The Board sends your eligibility to Pearson once the 90 days have passed. Two older texts still print 120 days: the regulation (16 CCR 1805.05(b), which lets the Board's Executive Officer allow a shorter wait) and the Board's re-exam application (37A-298, revised July 2026); follow the exam page, and ask the Board if your dates are tight.

You can file the re-exam application at any time after an attempt, online in BreEZe or by mail (4 to 6 weeks).

Scoring and results

Neither the Board nor Pearson publishes a passing number. Scores are based on the number of questions answered correctly and equated across versions of the exam. You get a pass or fail report at the test center; a numeric score and diagnostic information only if you don't pass.

How long a pass counts

• Through December 31, 2026: the Board accepts a passing score for seven years from the date of the exam, and if seven years pass from your first attempt without a pass, you pass the current Law and Ethics Exam again before retaking it (B&P §4980.50(g))
• From January 1, 2027 (AB 1598): it must be passed no more than seven years before the Board receives your application for the initial license

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

After you pass

Pay the initial license fee within one year of the Board telling you that you've completed the exam requirements, or the application is treated as abandoned (16 CCR 1806(c)).

Booking and the day itself

The same as the Law and Ethics exam: book with Pearson VUE online or at (888) 281-0402 at least 24 hours ahead, cancel or reschedule at least 48 hours ahead, bring two current signature IDs, one of them a government photo ID, with your name matching exactly, and arrive 30 minutes early.

The California Law and Ethics Exam: questions, time, cost and when to take it