How Many Supervision Hours Do I Need for MFT Licensure? A State-by-State Guide

One of the first questions every pre-licensed MFT asks is: how many hours do I actually need?

The answer depends entirely on where you are getting licensed — and the variation is significant. Some states require 2,000 total supervised clinical hours. Others require 4,000. The number of those hours that must be spent in direct supervision (as opposed to clinical contact hours) also varies. And a few states have additional requirements that catch people off guard.

This guide covers the supervised hour requirements for every state I am currently licensed in. If you are working toward licensure in one of these states and want supervision that meets your board's requirements and centers your full identity as a clinician, I would love to connect.

Before diving into the numbers, it helps to understand the distinction most boards make:

Clinical contact hours (also called direct client contact hours) are the hours you spend actually providing therapy to clients. This is the bulk of your pre-licensed work.

Supervision hours are the hours you spend in supervision — meeting with your supervisor to discuss your cases, your clinical development, and your growth as a therapist. These are a subset of your total required hours, not in addition to them.

Most states require a specific minimum of supervision hours within your total clinical hour requirement. The ratio matters: you cannot simply accumulate thousands of client contact hours without adequate supervision alongside them.

Pre-licensed title: LMFT-Limited Permit
Total clinical hours required: 3,000
Minimum supervision hours: 100
Licensing board: New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions

New York requires 3,000 supervised hours for full LMFT licensure. At least 100 of those hours must be in direct supervision. New York has one of the most diverse pre-licensed therapist communities in the country — and one of the most underserved when it comes to queer-affirming supervision options.

→ Full New York MFT licensure requirements

Pre-licensed title: LMFT-Associate
Total clinical hours required: 3,000
Minimum supervision hours: 200
Licensing board: Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists (TSBEMFT)

Texas requires 3,000 total hours with a minimum of 200 supervision hours — one of the higher supervision minimums in the country. Texas also has a requirement that catches many supervisees off guard: supervisors must hold a separate state-issued TSBEMFT Approved Supervisor credential, in addition to (or instead of) AAMFT Approved Supervisor status. Not every AAMFT Approved Supervisor is also a TSBEMFT Approved Supervisor. I hold both.

→ Full Texas MFT licensure requirements

Pre-licensed title: MFT Intern
Total clinical hours required: 4,000
Minimum supervision hours: 200
Licensing board: Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR)

Illinois has one of the highest supervised hour requirements in the country — 4,000 hours, completed over a minimum of two years. If you are getting licensed in Illinois, you are in it for the long haul. That makes choosing the right supervisor even more important: you will be spending significant time in this relationship, and it should be one that actually supports your development.

→ Full Illinois MFT licensure requirements

Pre-licensed title: LMFT-Associate
Total clinical hours required: 3,000
Minimum supervision hours: 100
Licensing board: Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (AZBBHE)

Arizona requires 3,000 total hours with a minimum of 100 supervision hours. The Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners oversees MFT licensure alongside other behavioral health professions, and their requirements emphasize both clinical competency and direct supervision accountability.

→ Full Arizona MFT licensure requirements

Pre-licensed title: MFT Trainee
Total clinical hours required: 2,000
Minimum supervision hours: 100
Licensing board: Ohio Counselor, Social Worker, and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (OCSWMFT)

Ohio has one of the lower total hour requirements at 2,000 hours — but do not mistake a lower number for a less rigorous path. The Ohio board is thorough in its review process, and the quality of your supervision documentation matters. Ohio's combined board also means your supervisor needs to be familiar with MFT-specific requirements, not just general behavioral health standards.

→ Full Ohio MFT licensure requirements

Pre-licensed title: Limited Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LLMFT)
Total clinical hours required: 3,000
Minimum supervision hours: 100
Licensing board: Michigan Board of Counseling

Michigan uses a tiered licensure system. The Limited Licensed MFT (LLMFT) is the pre-licensed credential you hold while accumulating your 3,000 supervised hours toward full LMFT status. Michigan's Board of Counseling oversees the process, and supervision documentation needs to be thorough and consistent throughout your pre-licensed period.

→ Full Michigan MFT licensure requirements

Pre-licensed title: MFT-A (Associate)
Total clinical hours required: 2,000
Minimum supervision hours: 100
Licensing board: Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board (IBHHSLB)

Indiana requires 2,000 total hours with 100 supervision hours — one of the more accessible pathways in terms of total volume. Indiana's licensing board oversees multiple behavioral health professions, so it is important to work with a supervisor who understands MFT-specific requirements and can document your hours in the format the board expects.

→ Full Indiana MFT licensure requirements

Pre-licensed title: MFT Training License
Total clinical hours required: 3,000
Minimum supervision hours: 150
Licensing board: Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling, and Social Work Examining Board

Wisconsin requires 3,000 total hours with a minimum of 150 supervision hours — slightly above the typical 100-hour minimum you see in many states. Wisconsin's combined examining board sets rigorous standards, and the MFT Training License is the credential you hold throughout your pre-licensed period.

→ Full Wisconsin MFT licensure requirements

Pre-licensed title: LMFT Intern
Total clinical hours required: 3,000
Minimum supervision hours: 100
Licensing board: New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board (NMCTPB)

New Mexico requires 3,000 total hours with 100 supervision hours. The Counseling and Therapy Practice Board has a stated commitment to culturally responsive practice — a value that should extend to the supervision relationship itself. New Mexico's diverse communities deserve clinicians who have been supervised with that same cultural responsiveness in mind.

→ Full New Mexico MFT licensure requirements

Pre-licensed title: MFT Intern
Total clinical hours required: 2,000
Minimum supervision hours: 100
Licensing board: Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, MFT Licensing Board

Hawaii requires 2,000 total hours with 100 supervision hours. The Hawaii MFT Licensing Board places a strong emphasis on cultural humility — essential in a state with such rich Indigenous and Pacific Islander communities. Supervision that takes cultural identity seriously is not optional in Hawaii; it is built into the professional expectation.

→ Full Hawaii MFT licensure requirements

The hour requirements are the floor, not the ceiling. What the numbers don't capture:

The quality of the supervision relationship matters more than the quantity of hours. Two hundred hours of supervision with someone who doesn't understand your clinical context, your identity, or the populations you serve will not prepare you the way 100 hours with the right supervisor will.

Documentation requirements vary. Most boards have specific forms, log formats, and attestation requirements for supervision hours. Your supervisor needs to know what your board expects — not just how to provide good supervision in general.

Telehealth supervision is widely accepted. Most state boards now explicitly allow supervision to occur via telehealth, which means you are not limited to supervisors in your immediate geographic area. This matters enormously for queer and trans clinicians in areas where affirming supervision is scarce.

Some states have additional requirements. Texas is the clearest example — the TSBEMFT Approved Supervisor credential is a state-specific requirement that goes beyond AAMFT Approved Supervisor status. Always verify your state's current requirements directly with your licensing board, as rules do change.

I am licensed in all ten states listed above and hold the AAMFT Approved Supervisor credential (and the TSBEMFT Approved Supervisor credential for Texas supervisees). My supervision hours will count toward your licensure requirements.

But more than that: I built this practice because the supervision I needed as a pre-licensed queer therapist didn't exist. I wanted a supervisor who already understood what it meant to hold queer grief, to navigate chosen family dynamics in session, to work with clients whose relationships didn't map onto the models we learned in grad school.

If that is the kind of supervision you are looking for — rigorous, identity-affirming, and built around how you actually learn — reach out to schedule a free consultation.

Mx. Love C. Dialogos is an LMFT and AAMFT Approved Supervisor licensed in New York, Texas, Illinois, Arizona, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, New Mexico, and Hawaii. Verify credential in the AAMFT directory.