How to become an LMFT in New York

The degree

• A master's or doctorate in marriage and family therapy of at least 45 semester hours that is registered by New York, accredited by COAMFTE, or substantially equivalent (8 NYCRR 52.33, 79-10.1)
• Or a graduate degree in an allied mental health field, such as social work, psychology or mental health counseling, plus any coursework NYSED requires
• NYSED: “A graduate of a program in another field, including a marriage and family counseling program accredited by any other organization, will require individual evaluation.”
• Your school sends Form 2; Form 2INT is also needed unless your program was a 45-credit COAMFTE-accredited or New York registered MFT program

Apply first

• File Form 1 online with the $371 fee for licensure and first registration
• Complete training in identifying and reporting child abuse, required for the license and for the limited permit. If you graduated on or after January 1, 2005 from a New York State registered program leading to licensure in mental health counseling or marriage and family therapy, it was part of your degree: your application needs no more training or certificate. Separately, mandated reporters must complete its updated curriculum by November 17, 2026; if you took the training between November 1, 2022 and August 31, 2025, a short (15-minute) addendum brings you up to date.
• Be at least 21 and of good moral character

The limited permit

Experience in New York must be gained under a limited permit; NYSED may accept experience without one only “in limited circumstances” (8 NYCRR 79-10.3(a)(1)). You may not practice until the permit is issued.

• $70, filed on Form 5 with a Form 5CS from your supervisor
• Valid for up to 24 months, with up to two 12-month extensions at NYSED's discretion: 48 months at most (79-10.4; Education Law §8409)
• To extend it: a new Form 5, $70 and a justification, at least 60 days before it expires
• It names your setting and supervisor. NYSED's forms page has an online Limited Permit Change Form for a new setting or supervisor, with a Form 5CS from each new supervisor and no fee; its permit FAQ still describes a new Form 5, so check the forms page when you change
• When you leave a job, your employer returns the permit and, in NYSED's words, the “clock will stop”; the remaining time is available for a future permit
• Once the permit and its extensions are used up, you can't get another permit in any setting

The 1,500 hours: all direct

“All 1,500 clock hours of the supervised experience shall consist of direct contact with clients in the practice of marriage and family therapy” (8 NYCRR 79-10.3(a)). Supervision, notes and other work don't count toward them.

If your degree is in marriage and family therapy, supervised client contact hours from your program can count; NYSED says they still need a qualified supervisor's verification. If your degree is in an allied field, only hours after that degree count (79-10.3(b), (c)).

NYSED sets no minimum number of months; in New York, your permit and its extensions (48 months at most) set the practical limit. It judges hours against a typical 40 to 45 hour work week and says gaining experience “in an unreasonable amount of time is not acceptable.” There is no separate couples or family hours minimum.

Do video sessions with clients count?

NYSED's permit FAQ says “Only direct face-to-face sessions with clients count toward the 1,500 client contact hours.” It doesn't say whether sessions with clients by video or phone are face-to-face. The State Board's draft minutes of October 22, 2021 say client contact hours “completed through distance technology may be submitted on Form 4B”. Ask NYSED before counting them.

Supervision

“The supervisor shall provide an average of one hour per week or two hours every other week of face-to-face individual or group supervision” (8 NYCRR 79-10.3(d)(1)). Since September 25, 2024, face-to-face supervision may use secure video conferencing.

NYSED's requirements page, Appendix A and the permit FAQ still say in-person, and Appendix A says four hours a month: wording from before the change. The permit FAQ also says supervision is given in full one-hour sessions.

Your supervisor maintains the documentation of your supervised practice and supervision hours, and gives NYSED a copy if it asks (79-10.3(f)).

Who can supervise

Licensed and registered in New York, and competent in marriage and family therapy, as one of these (8 NYCRR 79-10.3(d)(2)):

• A licensed marriage and family therapist
• A physician or physician assistant
• A psychologist
• A licensed clinical social worker
• A registered professional nurse or nurse practitioner

Not on the list: a licensed mental health counselor

An LMHC can't supervise LMFT hours under the current regulation. A bill that would let some LMHCs supervise them (S8899/A9321) passed both houses in May 2026; when we checked, we hadn't found it signed, so it isn't law.

Limits on the arrangement

• No supervisor may supervise more than five permit holders at one time (8 NYCRR 79-10.4)
• Your supervisor can't be related to you or have a personal relationship with you (Appendix A)
• Form 4B says the supervisor must be employed by the same agency as you, with access to all patient files and records; hiring your own supervisor is, in NYSED's words, “as a general rule, unacceptable”
• Never a private practice you own or operate (79-10.3(e))

The exam

• The AMFTRB “Examination in Marital and Family Therapy”, administered by the Professional Testing Corporation
• You can take it once NYSED approves your education, including receipt of your degree; your experience doesn't have to be finished first (8 NYCRR 79-10.2)
• At most once per calendar quarter
• NYSED's page names PSI testing sites; AMFTRB and PTC say the exam is given at Prometric. Follow PTC's instructions when you register
• NYSED takes scores only from AMFTRB, not from you or another state; passed in another state, NYSED may accept a score transfer

The forms at the end

• Form 4, from you: each supervisor, the dates and your client contact hours
• Form 4B, one for each supervised experience on Form 4, from that supervisor (for experience in New York, the supervisor named on your permit), with Appendix A; NYSED accepts it by email at DPLSExperience@nysed.gov
• If a supervisor has died, list a licensed colleague on Form 4 who will attest to your supervised experience and your supervisor's qualifications

After the license: the diagnostic privilege

Diagnosing on your own needs the separate diagnostic privilege: a 60-credit degree and 2,000 hours under a supervisor who qualifies for it. If you want it, plan your supervisor now.

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