The New York LMFT diagnostic privilege: the “D”, 60 credits and 2,000 hours

What it is

Education Law §8401-a took effect June 24, 2024. NYSED: “Future registration certificates will include the ‘D’ designation (e.g., D012345) when registration fees are paid.” There is no “P” qualification for LMFTs.

Separately, any LMFT may use accepted classifications such as the DSM in the practice of marriage and family therapy (8 NYCRR 79-10.5); that is not the privilege.

Education: 60 credits, not 45

The license needs a 45-semester-hour degree; the privilege needs a master's or higher in marriage and family therapy of at least 60 semester hours, with at least 12 semester hours of clinical coursework (8 NYCRR 79-10.6(e)). Many LMFTs have a gap.

A gap can be made up with post-graduate courses. NYSED says continuing education, experience and self-study don't count toward it. Each school sends Form 2D with a transcript.

The regulation says the degree is “in marriage and family therapy”. NYSED hasn't said how an LMFT licensed through an allied degree (social work, psychology, counseling) can qualify; ask NYSED.

Experience: 2,000 hours

• At least 2,000 hours of supervised, direct client contact that include diagnosis, psychotherapy and the development of assessment-based treatment plans (8 NYCRR 79-10.6(f)(1))
• Supervision averaging one hour a week or two hours every other week, face-to-face; secure video is allowed
• In a setting NYSED accepts, never a private practice you own or operate
• NYSED: “Any arrangement in which the applicant employs the supervisor is not acceptable.”

Who may supervise privilege hours

Authorized to diagnose, and one of these (8 NYCRR 79-10.6(d)(2)):

• A licensed clinical social worker (LCSW)
• A psychologist educated and trained in psychotherapy through a New York registered or APA-accredited psychology program
• A physician who, at the time of the supervision, was a diplomate in psychiatry of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, or had equivalent training
• On or after June 24, 2024, a licensed marriage and family therapist who holds the diagnostic privilege

Who can't

An LMHC or psychoanalyst with the privilege (Form 4D says the profession must match), an LMFT without the privilege, a physician without the psychiatry board, a physician assistant, a nurse or a nurse practitioner. Several of these can supervise license hours, so check your supervisor before counting the same weeks toward the privilege.

Hours before your license

When NYSED adopted the privilege rules in 2022 (for counselors, therapists and psychoanalysts together), its answers to public comment said supervised hours completed under a qualified supervisor who meets the privilege's requirements, “either prior to the effective date or after, those hours may be submitted toward the privilege after licensure.”

NYSED hasn't said for LMFTs specifically whether practicum hours from the degree count; ask NYSED before relying on them.

Licensed before June 24, 2024: the attestation route

Instead of the 2,000 hours, you may submit a supervisor's attestation of at least three years of direct client contact that included diagnosis, psychotherapy and assessment-based treatment plans.

The regulation and NYSED say the application, fee and all documents are due by June 24, 2027 (8 NYCRR 79-10.6(f)(2)). The statute asks only that the application be submitted within three years. File everything by June 24, 2027.

Diagnosing before you have the privilege: until June 24, 2027

Education Law §8410(11) lets a licensed LMFT without the privilege diagnose and develop assessment-based treatment plans under supervision in a setting NYSED approves. It took effect June 24, 2022 and, after Chapter 140 of 2025, ends June 24, 2027.

NYSED's page says the diagnostic limited permit (Form 5D, $70, with Form 5CS-D) was extended to that date too; the law's expiry clause names only §8410(11). Ask NYSED before relying on a diagnostic permit after June 24, 2027.

Applying

• Form 1D online, $175, non-refundable, once you are a licensed and registered LMFT
• Form 2D from each school
• Form 4D: Part B from your supervisor (up to 2,000 hours), or Part C from a licensed colleague with first-hand knowledge
• The privilege is renewed with each three-year registration: a $175 privilege fee with the registration and $45 continuing education fees