Kansas LMFT Requirements & Hours Tracker

Kansas licenses marriage and family therapists at two levels through the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board (BSRB):

• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
• Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist (LCMFT)

The large “1,500 direct / 1,500 other” hours requirement applies to the clinical level (LCMFT), which you can pursue only after (or concurrently with) meeting all LMFT requirements. Below is a step‑by‑step outline focused on what Kansas law and regulation actually say, with special attention to hours and state‑specific terminology.

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1. Overview of the Kansas LMFT / LCMFT Path

In Kansas, the typical sequence is:

1. Complete an approved master’s or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy (or a qualifying related field).
2. Complete a graduate practicum that includes at least 300 hours of direct client contact (or a combination of practicum and additional supervised postgraduate experience to reach 300 hours). (kslegislature.gov)
3. Apply to the BSRB and pass the National Marriage and Family Therapy Examination to become an LMFT. (ksbsrb.ks.gov)
4. After you are an LMFT (or have met all LMFT requirements), submit a clinical supervision training plan and complete 3,000 hours of postgraduate supervised professional experience in clinical marriage and family therapy to qualify for LCMFT. (ksbsrb.ks.gov)

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2. Educational and Practicum Requirements (LMFT Foundation)

2.1. Degree requirements

By statute (K.S.A. 65‑6404), an applicant for licensure as a marriage and family therapist must: (kslegislature.gov)

• Be at least 21 years of age.
• Have a master’s or doctoral degree in:
  • A marriage and family therapy program at an institution with standards approved by the BSRB, or
  • A related field with coursework deemed equivalent by the BSRB, including at minimum:
    • 9 semester hours in human development
    • 9 semester hours in theories of marriage and family functioning
    • 9 semester hours in marital and family assessment and therapy
    • 3 semester hours in professional studies
    • 3 semester hours in research

Regulation K.A.R. 102‑5‑3 further details acceptable programs, accreditation, and specific content areas for non‑COAMFTE programs. (law.cornell.edu)

2.2. Practicum and “direct client contact” hours for LMFT

For the base LMFT license, the statute requires an “academically supervised practicum” during the master’s program with:

• At least 300 hours of direct client contact, or
• A combined 300 hours of direct client contact and additional postgraduate supervised experience, as approved by the Board. (kslegislature.gov)

Regulation K.A.R. 102‑5‑3 elaborates that the practicum (for programs not already COAMFTE‑accredited) must: (law.cornell.edu)

• Be a part‑time clinical experience integrated with didactic coursework.
• Consist of at least 300 total hours of client contact.
• Include at least 60 hours of supervision provided by program faculty and off‑site supervisors, with:
  • A minimum portion in individual supervision
  • A limited portion in group supervision, with supervision at least weekly

Kansas consistently uses the term “direct client contact” to mean contact hours in which you are directly providing clinical services (psychotherapy, assessment) to clients (individuals, couples, families, or groups). (kslegislature.gov)

If your graduate practicum fell short of the 300 direct‑contact requirement, the statute allows additional postgraduate supervised experience to bring you up to that 300‑hour minimum for LMFT eligibility. (kslegislature.gov)

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3. Initial Licensure as an LMFT (Non‑Clinical Level)

To be licensed as an LMFT in Kansas, you must: (kslegislature.gov)

1. Meet age and education requirements described above (including practicum hours).
2. Pass an examination approved by the Board – in practice, the National Marriage and Family Therapy Examination.
   • The BSRB FAQ notes this is the exam “which Kansas requires for licensure” for both LMFT and LCMFT. (ksbsrb.ks.gov)
3. Demonstrate that you are a person who merits the public trust (background/character review).
4. Pay the application fee set by the Board.

The BSRB issues LMFT licenses, and also allows for a temporary license after your application is reviewed and you have met the eligibility criteria; this temporary status does not change the practicum or hour totals but affects when you may begin practice under supervision. (ksbsrb.ks.gov)

At the LMFT level, beyond the practicum requirement, Kansas law does not require a large block (e.g., 3,000) of post‑degree hours just to hold the LMFT credential. Those extensive hours apply when moving to the clinical (LCMFT) level.

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4. Upgrading to Clinical Licensure (LCMFT): Hour Requirements

The postgraduate supervised hours you mentioned—split between “direct” and other experience—are specifically for the Licensed Clinical Marriage and Family Therapist (LCMFT) credential.

4.1. Basic clinical eligibility

To apply for licensure as a clinical marriage and family therapist, you must: (kslegislature.gov)

• Either:
  • Already be licensed as a marriage and family therapist in Kansas, or
  • Meet all requirements for LMFT licensure.
• Complete additional graduate education (15 credit hours) in content that supports diagnosis or treatment of mental disorders using the DSM, across areas such as:
  • Psychopathology
  • Diagnostic assessment
  • Interdisciplinary referral and collaboration
  • Treatment approaches
  • Professional ethics
• Complete a graduate‑level supervised clinical practicum (or supervised professional experience) that explicitly integrates diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders using the DSM, with not less than 300 hours of direct client contact (or additional postgraduate supervised experience to meet that threshold). (kslegislature.gov)

4.2. The 3,000‑hour postgraduate experience requirement

By statute and regulation, the core requirement for the clinical level is “postgraduate supervised professional experience” in marriage and family therapy totaling:

• 3,000 hours of supervised professional experience, obtained in not less than two years (24 months) from the date supervision begins. (kslegislature.gov)

The BSRB FAQ and K.A.R. 102‑5‑7a specify how these hours must be structured:

Hours distribution

• Total: 3,000 hours of clinical marriage and family therapy experience. (ksbsrb.ks.gov)
• At least 1,500 hours must be direct client contact:
  • Kansas describes this as “direct client contact providing psychotherapy and assessments” with individuals, couples, families, or groups. (ksbsrb.ks.gov)
• Up to 1,500 hours may be “professional hours”:
  • The FAQ uses this term to differentiate non‑face‑to‑face clinical work from direct services. Typical professional hours include documentation, case consultation, treatment planning, collateral contacts, training directly supporting your clinical work, and similar professional activities (the Board does not list every activity exhaustively, so supervisors and supervisees normally align with this general understanding). (ksbsrb.ks.gov)

In the Board’s own structure, then, you can think of the requirement as:

• 1,500 hours – direct client contact (psychotherapy + assessment)
• 1,500 hours – other supervised professional activities
• Total: 3,000 hours over at least 24 months

4.3. Supervision requirements during those 3,000 hours

Kansas is very specific about supervision. The statute (65‑6404) and K.A.R. 102‑5‑7a, as summarized in the Kansas Register and BSRB FAQ, require: (kslegislature.gov)

• Overall ratio
  • At least 1 hour of clinical supervision for every 15 hours of direct client contact.
• Minimum supervision hours
  • No fewer than 100 hours of clinical supervision over the course of the 3,000 hours.
  • At least 50 hours must be individual supervision (one supervisor, one supervisee).
  • No more than half of the total supervision may be in group format.
• Frequency and modality
  • You must meet with your supervisor at least twice per month, and at least one of those meetings each month must be individual supervision.
  • Supervision is expected to be face‑to‑face either:
    • In person, or
    • By synchronous videoconferencing if confidentiality is adequately protected.
• Group supervision limits
  • No more than six supervisees may be in a group supervision session.

The Board refers to this overall requirement as “postgraduate supervised professional experience” in clinical marriage and family therapy, and to the supervisors as “board‑approved clinical supervisors” who meet specific licensure and experience criteria (generally an LCMFT with at least two years of clinical practice after licensure, with limited exceptions). (ksbsrb.ks.gov)

4.4. Timing rules

The FAQ emphasizes several timing points for the 3,000 hours: (ksbsrb.ks.gov)

• You may begin accruing supervised hours only after your clinical supervision training plan has been approved in writing by the BSRB.
• The 3,000 hours must be completed in not less than 24 months from when supervision begins.
• There is no maximum time limit to complete the hours; you may take longer than 24 months.
• There is no minimum weekly or monthly hour requirement (other than the two supervision meetings per month), so your workload can fluctuate as long as overall requirements are met.

4.5. Reduced hours for doctoral‑level applicants

The statute allows a partial waiver for applicants who hold a doctorate in marriage and family therapy or a related field acceptable to the Board:

• The Board may waive up to one‑half of the 3,000‑hour requirement (and the corresponding supervision), if:
  • You have the qualifying doctoral degree, and
  • You complete the remaining one‑half in not less than one year of supervised professional experience. (kslegislature.gov)

Even with this reduction, the experience must still meet the content, supervision, and DSM‑integration requirements described above.

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5. Examination Requirements for LMFT and LCMFT

Both LMFT and LCMFT licenses require passing the National Marriage and Family Therapy Examination:

• For LMFT, the BSRB FAQ notes Kansas sets a cut score below the national criterion‑referenced pass point (specifically, “12 points below” the test vendor’s criterion‑referenced standard). (ksbsrb.ks.gov)
• For the clinical level, the FAQ states the pass point is the full criterion‑referenced pass point established by the examination service for that administration. (ksbsrb.ks.gov)

The Board must approve your application before you can register for the exam.

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6. Summary of Kansas LMFT / LCMFT Hour Requirements

Putting the state’s terminology and numbers together:

For LMFT (base license)

• Graduate practicum:
  • 300 hours of direct client contact, or
  • A combination of direct client contact plus additional supervised postgraduate experience that totals at least 300 hours. (kslegislature.gov)

There is no statutory 3,000‑hour post‑degree requirement to hold the LMFT itself.

For LCMFT (clinical license)

• Postgraduate supervised professional experience (after LMFT‑level education and practicum):
  • Total: 3,000 hours of clinical marriage and family therapy experience over at least 24 months.
  • Direct client contact: At least 1,500 hours of direct client contact conducting psychotherapy and assessments with individuals, couples, families, or groups.
  • Other professional hours: Up to 1,500 hours of other supervised professional activities (documentation, consultation, case management, etc.). (ksbsrb.ks.gov)
• Supervision:
  • Minimum 100 hours of clinical supervision, with:
    • At least 50 hours of individual supervision
    • No more than half of supervision hours in group format
    • Ratio of at least 1 hour of supervision per 15 hours of direct client contact
    • At least two supervision sessions per month, one of which must be individual
    • Supervision conducted face‑to‑face (in person or secure synchronous video), absent Board‑approved extenuating circumstances. (ksbsrb.ks.gov)

These figures and terms—“direct client contact,” “professional hours,” “postgraduate supervised professional experience,” and the 3,000‑hour total with 1,500 direct and 100 hours of supervision—reflect the current wording used by the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board in statute, regulation, and its official FAQ.