Florida RMHCI Requirements: Hours, Exams & Step-by-Step Guide

Florida uses the Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern (RMHCI) license as the mandatory, supervised stage between graduation and full Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) status. The same Board that licenses LMHCs (the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage & Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling) sets all intern requirements and defines the exact hours that must be completed.

Below is a step‑by‑step guide focused on:

• What you must have to be approved as a RMHCI, and
• The exact hour requirements you must complete while registered as an intern.

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1. Role of the RMHCI License

• The RMHCI license is specifically “for those earning two years of supervised post‑master’s experience.” (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)
• You cannot count post‑master’s experience toward LMHC until:
  • Your RMHCI registration number is issued, and
  • The Board has formally approved your Qualified Supervisor. (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

Intern registration is limited to 5 years and cannot be renewed; the expectation is that you complete all post‑master’s requirements for LMHC within that period. (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

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2. Educational Requirements Before You Can Become a RMHCI

2.1. Master’s degree and accreditation

To be approved as a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern in Florida, you must have: (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

• A minimum of an earned master’s degree (or higher) in mental health counseling or a closely related field;
• From a program that is:
  • Accredited by CACREP (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs), or
  • Accredited by MPCAC (Masters in Psychology and Counseling Accreditation Council), or
  • An “equivalent accrediting body”;
• With at least 60 semester hours or 80 quarter hours of graduate study.

Beginning July 1, 2025, Florida statute explicitly requires that LMHC applicants have a master’s degree from a CACREP, MPCAC, or equivalent program of at least 60 semester (or 80 quarter) hours; the Board is already applying that standard at the intern stage. (flsenate.gov)

2.2. Required graduate coursework

The Board’s RMHCI page specifically highlights that, at minimum, your transcript must show graduate‑level coursework (3 semester or 4 quarter hours each) in: (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

• Human Sexuality
• Substance Abuse

For full LMHC licensure, Florida Statute §491.005(4) and the LMHC application break this out further into 11–12 core content areas (counseling theories, human growth and development, diagnosis and treatment of psychopathology, group theories, assessment, career, research, social/cultural foundations, substance abuse, legal/ethical/professional issues, and diagnostic processes). (flsenate.gov)

In practice, the Board confirms that your degree covers these content areas during or before the transition from RMHCI to full LMHC. Florida Mental Health Counselors Association notes that you can be registered as an intern once you have completed at least 7 of these required courses (one of which must be psychopathology), and you then finish any missing courses before exam approval and full licensure. (fmhca.wildapricot.org)

2.3. Pre‑master’s practicum / field experience hours

Florida law and the Board require university‑sponsored supervised clinical training as part of your degree:

• For non‑CACREP (but otherwise qualifying) programs, the LMHC requirements—applied to intern eligibility—state that you must complete the equivalent of at least 700 hours of university‑sponsored supervised clinical practicum, internship, or field experience, which must include at least 280 hours of direct client services. (flsenate.gov)
• This pre‑master’s clinical experience cannot be used to satisfy your post‑master’s supervised experience requirement. (flsenate.gov)

On the RMHCI page, the Board adds that:

• If you graduated from a CACREP mental health counseling program, they do not require a separate practicum letter (they assume the CACREP program already meets practicum standards). (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)
• If you graduated from a non‑CACREP or “related” program, you must provide a practicum/internship letter from the university documenting the course title and total hours of supervised experience and direct client services. (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

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3. Qualified Supervision Requirement (Before You Start Counting Hours)

To register as a RMHCI, you must secure a Board‑approved Qualified Supervisor and submit their letter with your application. The Board requires that this letter: (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

• Originate from the supervisor (not the applicant);
• Contain the supervisor’s Florida license number;
• State that the supervisor agrees to provide supervision while you are a registered intern;
• Bear an original signature (even if sent electronically);
• Name you exactly as you appear on the application.

Your RMHCI intern number will not be issued until:

1. Your complete application and fee are received, and
2. The Board has the official transcript (and practicum letter, if required), and
3. Your supervisor’s letter is on file. (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

No post‑master’s experience hours will be credited before:

• The Board issues your intern registration number, and
• Your supervisor is formally approved. (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

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4. Application, Fees, and Fingerprinting

To obtain RMHCI status you must: (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

• Submit the RMHCI application (online or paper);
• Pay the $150 non‑refundable total fee;
• Have your university send an official transcript directly to the Board;
• Provide a practicum letter if you are not from a CACREP mental health counseling program;
• Submit the Qualified Supervisor letter;
• Complete electronic fingerprinting / background screening as required by House Bill 975 (2024).

Incomplete applications expire after one year from initial filing. (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

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5. The Post‑Master’s Supervised Experience You Must Complete as a RMHCI

Once you are registered as a RMHCI and your supervisor is approved, you begin accumulating the post‑master’s clinical experience required for full LMHC licensure. The Board describes this on the RMHCI page under “During Supervision.” (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

5.1. Overall duration

You must complete:

• Two (2) years of post‑master’s supervised experience under the supervision of a Board‑approved Qualified Supervisor.

This experience must be post‑master’s and is typically completed while you hold the RMHCI license. (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

5.2. Exact hour breakdown (Board’s wording)

Within those two years, your supervised experience must include all of the following components: (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

1. Supervision hours

   • At least 100 hours of supervision in no less than 100 weeks.
   • One (1) hour of supervision every two (2) weeks.

   These 100 supervision hours are separate from your client‑contact hours. They are hours spent in supervision (individual or group, following Rule 64B4‑2.002 F.A.C.), not counseling sessions with clients.

2. Direct client‑contact hours

   • 1,500 hours of face‑to‑face psychotherapy with clients.

   This is specifically direct clinical work—counseling/psychotherapy in person or via approved telehealth modalities, not paperwork or administrative tasks. Florida’s description emphasizes “face‑to‑face psychotherapy with clients,” which is the phrase the Board uses to define this category of hours. (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

Putting this together:

• You need 1,500 hours of direct, face‑to‑face psychotherapy with clients;
• Plus at least 100 hours of supervision over at least 100 weeks, with no less than one hour of supervision every two weeks;
• All completed under a Board‑approved Qualified Supervisor while you hold RMHCI status.

Florida does not require “1,500 hours of direct experience and 1,500 hours of supervised experience.” The Board’s numeric requirements are:

• 1,500 hours of direct face‑to‑face client psychotherapy, and
• 100 hours of supervision, spread across at least 100 weeks.

5.3. Practice setting and supervision logistics

Additional Board and statutory rules include: (flsenate.gov)

• A licensed mental health professional must be on the premises when a registered intern provides clinical services in a private practice setting.
• Group supervision and supervision via electronic methods are allowed only as detailed in Rule 64B4‑2.002, F.A.C.
• Registered interns must remain under supervision until fully licensed as LMHCs.

5.4. Documentation of hours

When you are ready to apply for full LMHC licensure, your supervisor(s) must complete and sign the Board’s Verification of Clinical Experience Form, documenting: (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

• Total face‑to‑face client hours;
• Total supervision hours;
• Dates supervision began and ended;
• Confirmation that requirements for supervision frequency and duration were met.

Hours not documented on this Board form will not count toward licensure. (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

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6. Brief context: Requirements you will complete after (or alongside) RMHCI

Although your question is focused on the RMHCI stage, it’s useful to know that full LMHC licensure (which you pursue after completing RMHCI requirements) also requires: (flsenate.gov)

• Completion of all required graduate content areas and diagnostics coursework;
• The 700‑hour university‑sponsored practicum/internship with at least 280 direct client hours (usually already done pre‑master’s);
• The two years / 1,500 client hours / 100 supervision hours of post‑master’s experience described above;
• Passing the NCMHCE (National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination);
• Completing Board‑approved CE courses:
  • 8‑hour Florida laws and rules
  • 3‑hour HIV/AIDS
  • 2‑hour domestic violence

These CE courses are tied to full LMHC licensure, not to initial RMHCI registration.

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7. Summary of Hours, in Plain Language

To become and practice as a RMHCI in Florida and progress to LMHC, you should plan on:

Before RMHCI (in your degree):

• At least 60 graduate semester hours in a CACREP/MPCAC (or equivalent) mental health counseling or closely related program;
• University‑supervised clinical practicum/internship/field experience totalling at least 700 hours, including at least 280 hours of direct client services, documented by your university if you are not in a CACREP mental health counseling program. (flsenate.gov)

After you become a RMHCI (post‑master’s):

• Two years of supervised post‑master’s mental health counseling experience, consisting of:
  • 1,500 hours of face‑to‑face psychotherapy with clients, and
  • At least 100 hours of supervision, completed in no fewer than 100 weeks, with at least one hour of supervision every two weeks, all under a Board‑approved Qualified Supervisor. (floridasmentalhealthprofessions.gov)

These are the core, Board‑defined hour requirements that govern the RMHCI pathway in Florida.