Kentucky LMFT Requirements: Hours, Exams & Step-by-Step Guide

Licensure as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in Kentucky is a two‑stage process: first you practice under a Marriage and Family Therapist Associate permit, then you upgrade to full LMFT once you have completed specified education, experience, and supervision requirements. The Board’s regulations are quite explicit about both the types and amounts of hours you must earn.

Below is a step‑by‑step guide grounded in the actual Kentucky statutes and administrative regulations.

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1. Educational foundation

Kentucky law (KRS 335.330 and 201 KAR 32:020) requires that an LMFT applicant complete:

• A master’s or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy, or
• A related field degree (psychology, community mental health, social work, or professional counseling) with an “equivalent course of study” as defined by the Board. (law.justia.com)

For an equivalent course of study, 201 KAR 32:020 requires specific graduate coursework in:

• Marriage and family studies (min. 9 semester hours)
• Marriage and family therapy (min. 9 semester hours)
• Human development (min. 9 semester hours)
• Psychopathology and DSM use (min. 3 semester hours)
• Professional studies (min. 3 semester hours)
• Research (min. 3 semester hours) (apps.legislature.ky.gov)

Required practicum / internship hours (pre‑licensure training)

The regulation also requires a practica or internship component:

• “The practicum or internship shall include a minimum of one (1) year or 300 hours of supervised direct client contact with individuals, couples, and families for family therapy.” (apps.legislature.ky.gov)

If your graduate program did not include this practicum:

• You may make it up with your first 300 post‑master’s client contact hours, but
• Those 300 hours “shall not be counted toward the two (2) years of required post master’s experience or the 200 hours of clinical supervision.” (apps.legislature.ky.gov)

So, for Kentucky licensing purposes, the 300 practicum hours are a separate requirement from the post‑master’s experience and supervision described below.

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2. Step one: Marriage and Family Therapist Associate permit

Before you can start accruing post‑master’s experience toward LMFT licensure, you must hold a Marriage and Family Therapist Associate permit under KRS 335.332 and 201 KAR 32:025. (codes.findlaw.com)

Key points:

• You apply on the Board’s “Application for Permit as a Marriage and Family Therapist Associate” and pay a fee (currently $50 for the first year). (regulations.justia.com)
• Your initial application must include a supervisory contract (a “Supervision Plan for Clinical Experience”) with a board‑approved supervisor. You may not practice until this contract is approved. (regulations.justia.com)
• The associate permit is limited: “all current and future associate permits shall be limited to a total of five (5) years” to meet the requirements for full licensure. (regulations.justia.com)

The associate stage is when you earn the post‑master’s experience and supervision hours that qualify you for LMFT.

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3. Post‑master’s experience: client hours required

Statutory requirement

KRS 335.330(2)(a) requires that an applicant for LMFT licensure have:

• “At least two (2) years’ experience in the practice of marriage and family therapy, acceptable to the board and subsequent to being granted a master’s degree.” (law.justia.com)

Board’s quantitative standard

The Board implements that statutory “two years’ experience” requirement with a specific client‑hour standard in 201 KAR 32:030:

• Your LMFT application must “document professional experience obtained as a marriage and family therapy associate, including 1,000 client hours over a minimum of two (2) years” and you must verify clinical supervision as required by 201 KAR 32:035. (regulations.justia.com)

In other words, for full LMFT licensure in Kentucky you must complete, after the master’s degree:

• At least 1,000 client contact hours (“client hours”) in the practice of marriage and family therapy; and
• Those hours must have been accumulated over no fewer than two (2) years while practicing under an associate permit.

Professional summaries (such as AAMFT’s Kentucky state resource) characterize this as:

• Two years of supervised experience with
• A minimum of 1,000 hours of client contact. (aamft.org)

These 1,000 client hours are direct psychotherapy services with individuals, couples, and families in a marriage and family therapy context; Kentucky does not impose a separate “indirect” service‑hours quota for LMFT.

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4. Post‑master’s supervision: 200 hours and how they must be structured

Statutory requirement

KRS 335.330(2)(b) adds that, in addition to the two years of experience, an applicant must have:

• “A minimum of two hundred (200) hours of clinical supervision acceptable to the board and subsequent to being granted a master’s degree.” (law.justia.com)

Board regulation: frequency and format

201 KAR 32:035 governs “Supervision of marriage and family therapy associates.” It requires that clinical supervision:

• Be “equally distributed throughout the qualifying period and shall average at least four (4) hours per month as specified in the supervision contract”; (apps.legislature.ky.gov)
• Involve direct, face‑to‑face contact (which may be in person or via live video, if both supervisor and supervisee meet the telehealth training requirements in 201 KAR 32:110); and
• Continue until the supervisee is licensed. (apps.legislature.ky.gov)

Most importantly for hour counting, the regulation specifies:

• Total required supervision hours:

  • “The use of raw data in a supervision session shall constitute a minimum of fifty (50) hours of the 200 hours of required supervision.” (apps.legislature.ky.gov)
  • This 200‑hour figure is the same “200 hours of clinical supervision” required by statute.

• Distribution between individual and group supervision:

  • “No more than 100 hours of supervision shall take place in group supervision.”
  • “At least 100 hours shall take place in individual supervision.” (apps.legislature.ky.gov)

Definitions in the same regulation clarify:

• Individual supervision = supervision of 1–2 supervisees with the supervisor.
• Group supervision = supervision of 3–6 supervisees with the supervisor. (apps.legislature.ky.gov)
• Raw data = video‑recorded sessions, live observation, or co‑therapy with a board‑approved supervisor. (apps.legislature.ky.gov)

Putting that together, during your associate period you must accrue:

• Total clinical supervision:
  • 200 hours minimum post‑master’s, concurrent with your practice.
• Within those 200 hours:
  • At least 100 hours must be individual supervision.
  • No more than 100 hours may be group supervision.
  • At least 50 hours must involve raw data (live or recorded session material or co‑therapy).

AAMFT’s Kentucky summary aligns with this, stating that to move from associate to LMFT you must complete two years of supervised experience including four hours of direct supervision per month, for a total of 200 hours, with up to 100 hours in group format. (aamft.org)

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5. Board‑approved supervisors and their experience standard

While not strictly part of becoming an LMFT, the regulations also define “two (2) years of post‑licensure experience” that a person must have to become a board‑approved supervisor (the people who can supervise associates).

201 KAR 32:035 states:

• “Two (2) years of post‑licensure experience in the practice of marriage and family therapy” means 1,000 hours of direct, face‑to‑face or telehealth contact with individuals, couples, families, and groups in the practice of marriage and family therapy, under supervision of an approved supervisor. (apps.legislature.ky.gov)

This definition is relevant if you later intend to supervise associates yourself.

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6. Examination and application for LMFT

Once you have satisfied:

• The degree and practicum requirements;
• At least 1,000 client hours over at least two years as an associate; and
• At least 200 hours of clinical supervision structured as described above,

you then complete the LMFT application process.

LMFT application requirements

Under 201 KAR 32:030 you must:

1. Submit the LMFT application with the required fees (initial application fee and initial licensure fee). (regulations.justia.com)
2. Document your qualifying experience as a marriage and family therapy associate, including:
   • “1,000 client hours over a minimum of two (2) years”, and
   • Verified clinical supervision as required by 201 KAR 32:035. (regulations.justia.com)
3. Complete mandatory trainings:
   • Six (6) hours of training in suicide assessment, treatment, and management every six years. (regulations.justia.com)
   • Three (3) hours of training in domestic violence, elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation within three years of licensure. (regulations.justia.com)
4. Pass the National Marital and Family Therapy Examination administered by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB). (regulations.justia.com)

When the Board approves your application, fees, documented hours, supervision, and exam, it issues your Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) license.

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7. Numerical summary of Kentucky LMFT hour requirements

Putting all of the above into a single snapshot:

Pre‑licensure (education/practicum)

• 300 hours of supervised direct client contact in a graduate practicum or internship with individuals, couples, and families.
  • If missing, you may use your first 300 post‑master’s client contact hours instead, but those cannot count toward the post‑master’s two years or the 200 supervision hours. (apps.legislature.ky.gov)

Post‑master’s, as a Marriage and Family Therapist Associate (qualifying experience for LMFT)

• Client contact (“client hours”)

  • 1,000 client hours in the practice of marriage and family therapy.
  • Must be accrued over at least two (2) years while practicing as a marriage and family therapy associate under an approved supervision contract. (law.justia.com)

• Clinical supervision (post‑master’s)

  • 200 hours of clinical supervision total, after the master’s degree. (law.justia.com)
  • Supervision must:
    • Average at least 4 hours per month across the qualifying period. (apps.legislature.ky.gov)
    • Include at least 100 hours of individual supervision (1–2 supervisees).
    • Allow no more than 100 hours of group supervision (3–6 supervisees).
    • Use raw data (recordings/live observation/co‑therapy) for at least 50 of the 200 supervision hours. (apps.legislature.ky.gov)

Exam and training

• Pass the National Marital and Family Therapy Examination (AMFTRB). (regulations.justia.com)
• Complete required suicide assessment and domestic violence/elder abuse training hours. (regulations.justia.com)

These are the core, quantitative requirements established by the Kentucky Board of Licensure for Marriage and Family Therapists for attaining LMFT status as of the most recent regulations (through mid‑2025).