Alaska MFTA Requirements & Hours Tracker

Alaska’s Board of Marital and Family Therapy uses a two‑tier system:

1. Marital and Family Therapy Associate (MFTA) – the supervised practice license, and
2. Licensed Marital and Family Therapist (LMFT) – the independent license. (aamft.org)

The MFTA license exists specifically so you can complete the post‑degree supervised experience and exams required for full licensure.

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1. What the MFTA license is, legally

Under Alaska statute, the board issues a “four‑year license for the supervised practice of marital and family therapy” to people who meet the base educational requirements for licensure. (law.justia.com)

By regulation:

• As an associate, you may practice only under supervision in a clinic, social service agency, or private marital and family therapy practice. (regulations.justia.com)
• You must use one of the protected titles:
  • “marital therapy associate,”
  • “family therapy associate,” or
  • “marital and family therapy associate.” (law.justia.com)

You cannot begin accruing Alaska supervised hours until this associate license is issued. The regulation states that a marital and family therapy associate candidate must attain associate licensure status before accruing hours in Alaska, and no therapy or counseling may begin before the applicant is licensed under this section. (regulations.justia.com)

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2. Educational prerequisites (before you can be an MFTA)

To qualify, you must meet the same graduate education standard that ultimately applies to LMFT licensure, set out in AS 08.63.100(a)(3)(B): (ak.elaws.us)

• A master’s or doctorate in marital and family therapy or an allied mental health field

  • From a regionally accredited educational institution
  • Approved by the Alaska board.

• Degree coursework must be “substantially equivalent” to all of the following (statute breaks this down explicitly):

  • 3 courses (9 semester / 12 quarter hours) in marital and family therapy
  • 3 courses in marital and family studies
  • 3 courses in human development
  • 1 course in professional studies / ethics and law
  • 1 course in research (ak.elaws.us)

• One year of supervised clinical practice in marital and family therapy within your training program. Statute and regulation define this “one year of supervised clinical practice” as at least an academic year, and as of July 1, 2025 it is further clarified as a minimum of 12 months of active clinical practice. (ak.elaws.us)

If your graduate program did not include all of the required coursework or the required supervised clinical practice, Alaska allows you to substitute post‑degree coursework or practice, as approved by the board, to make up the missing pieces. (ak.elaws.us)

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3. Applying for the Marital and Family Therapy Associate (MFTA) license

The current paper application is Form 08‑4378 – “Marital and Family Therapist Associate Application” (revised 07/01/2025), and you can also apply online through the state’s MY LICENSE portal. (commerce.alaska.gov)

Key pieces the board requires:

1. Completed, notarized application

   • Form 08‑4378, pages 1–4, signed and notarized (or accompanied by alternative ID if notarization is not possible). (commerce.alaska.gov)

2. Fees

   • As of the 07/01/2025 application:
     • Application fee: $350 (nonrefundable)
     • License fee: $350
     • Total due at application: $700 (commerce.alaska.gov)

3. Authorization for Release of Records

   • Form 08‑4378a. (commerce.alaska.gov)

4. Official transcripts and coursework documentation

   • Official transcript showing the qualifying master’s or doctoral degree in MFT or allied mental health, sent directly from the institution to the division. (commerce.alaska.gov)
   • Plus either:
     • Education Coursework Check Sheet (Form 08‑4378b), or
     • Post‑Degree Course Work Equivalency Worksheet (Form 08‑4378c) if you are using post‑degree work to meet any of the statutory coursework or clinical-practice requirements. (commerce.alaska.gov)

5. Verification of other licenses (if applicable)

   • If you hold or have ever held an MFT license in another jurisdiction, each licensing board must send verification directly, including any discipline history. Primary‑source online verifications are acceptable if clearly identified as such. (commerce.alaska.gov)

6. Plan of Supervision

   • You must submit a plan to satisfy the supervision requirements of AS 08.63.100(a)(3)(C) using Form 08‑4378d. (commerce.alaska.gov)
   • This plan outlines how you will obtain the required post‑degree clinical and supervision hours described in Section 4 below.

7. Teletherapy training (if you will practice via telehealth)

   • To practice teletherapy with clients in Alaska, you must:
     • Be licensed as an LMFT or MFTA in good standing, and
     • Complete at least 4 hours of initial teletherapy training in specified topics (appropriateness, theory/practice, modes, legal/ethical issues, handling online emergencies, best practices and informed consent). (law.cornell.edu)

Nature and term of the MFTA license

• The board issues a four‑year license for supervised practice under AS 08.63.110. (law.justia.com)
• Regulation now allows extension when needed to complete the required supervised experience, if there is reasonable cause or excusable neglect. (regulations.justia.com)

Crucial timing rule

• An associate may accrue supervised hours only under the direct supervision of a board‑approved supervisor, and only after the associate license is issued. (commerce.alaska.gov)

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4. The supervised experience you complete as an MFTA (hours and verbiage)

The supervised experience requirements that you must fulfill while holding the associate license are spelled out in AS 08.63.100(a)(3)(C). In plain terms, the statute requires that, after receiving your qualifying degree, you must:

1. Practice marital and family therapy, including 1,500 hours of direct clinical contact

   • The statute requires that you have “1,500 hours of direct clinical contact with couples, individuals, and families.” (ak.elaws.us)
   • These hours are face‑to‑face (or teletherapy, if compliant with teletherapy rules) treatment hours where you are providing marital and family therapy services to individuals, couples, or families.

2. Obtain at least 200 hours of clinical supervision on that contact

   • The law requires that you have “been supervised in the clinical contact for at least 200 hours,” further specifying the split between:
     • 100 hours of individual supervision, and
     • 100 hours of group supervision,
       all of which must be approved by the board. (ak.elaws.us)

Taken together, Alaska’s supervised experience requirement for full licensure is:

• 1,500 hours of direct client contact, plus
• 200 hours of supervision (100 individual + 100 group)
• = 1,700 total supervised‑practice hours, but only 1,500 of these are direct clinical hours with clients; the remaining 200 are supervision hours discussing that work.

Who can supervise and how hours are validated

Regulation 12 AAC 19.130 provides that the board will approve supervised experience only if: (alaskamft.weebly.com)

• The supervisor is approved by the board; and
• The supervisor verifies your experience on a form provided by the department.

An “approved supervisor” must meet specific qualifications (summarized from 12 AAC 19.130 and 12 AAC 19.210): (alaskamft.weebly.com)

• Hold a license to practice marital and family therapy in Alaska (or another jurisdiction), and
• Either:
  • Have a master’s or doctorate in MFT and at least five continuous years of MFT practice; or
  • Be a master’s or doctorate‑level mental health professional whose education meets the same coursework requirements as MFT applicants.

Supervisors must also complete specific continuing education in supervision to obtain and maintain “board‑approved supervisor” status. (alaskamft.weebly.com)

Interaction with the “one year of supervised clinical practice” requirement

Your education must already include one year of supervised clinical practice in marital and family therapy (during or associated with your graduate program). (ak.elaws.us)

The 1,500 client hours + 200 supervision hours are an additional, post‑degree requirement that you complete while licensed as an MFTA.

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5. Additional mandated training: domestic violence

AS 08.63.100(a)(3)(D) requires that applicants have training related to domestic violence. (ak.elaws.us)

Regulation 12 AAC 19.110(d) specifies this as at least six contact hours of training related to domestic violence, in board‑approved coursework. (law.cornell.edu)

This training can be met through graduate courses or continuing education that the board recognizes.

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6. Moving from MFTA to full LMFT licensure

Once you:

• Have completed:
  • the 1,500 hours of direct clinical contact,
  • the 200 hours of supervision (100 individual + 100 group),
• Have met the domestic violence training requirement, and
• Have the board‑approved supervision properly documented,

you can apply for licensure by examination as an LMFT.

Key points:

1. Only an MFTA is eligible to sit for the national MFT exam in Alaska.
   The board’s exam page states that the candidate must first meet the requirements for licensure as a Marital and Family Therapy Associate, and a licensee under this title is eligible to take the national exam. (commerce.alaska.gov)

2. Exams required (12 AAC 19.110):

   • National Examination in Marital and Family Therapy (administered through AMFTRB/PTC).
   • State written (jurisprudence) examination, covering Alaska statutes, regulations, and the code of ethics adopted under 12 AAC 19.900. To pass, you must score at least the nationally recommended minimum on the national exam and 90% or higher on the state exam. (law.cornell.edu)

3. Application for LMFT by examination

   • After you are licensed as an MFTA, you submit the Marital and Family Therapist License by Examination Application (Form 08‑4933) with fees and supporting documentation (hour verification, exam scores, jurisprudence questionnaire). (commerce.alaska.gov)

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7. Quick numeric summary of Alaska’s supervised‑experience requirements

To put the Alaska Board of Marital and Family Therapy’s exact structure into the kind of breakdown you asked for:

• Graduate‑level clinical training (before MFTA):

  • One year of supervised clinical practice in marital and family therapy (minimum 12 months of active practice, as defined in regulation). (ak.elaws.us)

• Post‑degree supervised experience (completed while an MFTA):

  • 1,500 hours of direct clinical contact with couples, individuals, and families.
  • 200 hours of supervision of that clinical contact, divided as:
    • 100 hours of individual supervision, and
    • 100 hours of group supervision, all with a board‑approved supervisor. (ak.elaws.us)

• Additional mandatory training:

  • At least 6 contact hours of training related to domestic violence. (law.cornell.edu)
  • If providing teletherapy to Alaska clients, 4 hours of specific teletherapy‑related training. (law.cornell.edu)

All of this is layered on top of the specific graduate coursework (MFT, family studies, human development, ethics/law, research) that is explicitly defined in statute. (ak.elaws.us)

For the most current forms and any fee changes, the controlling sources are the Alaska Board of Marital and Family Therapy website and the text of AS 08.63 and 12 AAC 19. (commerce.alaska.gov)