New-mexico LMFT Requirements & Hours Tracker

In New Mexico, licenses for marriage and family therapists are issued by the Regulation and Licensing Department’s Counseling and Therapy Practice Board under the Counseling and Therapy Practice Act and Title 16, Chapter 27 of the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC).(srca.nm.gov)

Below is a step‑by‑step outline of what the Board itself requires to become an independently licensed LMFT, with the key hour types spelled out in the Board’s own terminology.

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1. Educational foundation: degree and practicum hours

1.1 Required degree

For LMFT by examination, you must:

• Be at least 21 years old; and
• Hold a master’s or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from an accredited institution that meets the “marriage and family therapy core curriculum” defined in rule.(srca.nm.gov)

NMAC 16.27.6 defines that core curriculum as 45 semester hours (or 67.5 quarter hours) of graduate‑level coursework that “embraces a family systems perspective” and covers:

• Marriage and family studies (min. 9 semester hours)
• Marriage and family therapy (min. 9 semester hours)
• Human development (min. 9 semester hours)
• Multicultural studies (min. 3 semester hours)
• Professional studies (min. 3 semester hours)
• Research (min. 3 semester hours)
• Supervised practicum (min. 6 semester hours), plus electives.(srca.nm.gov)

1.2 Supervised practicum hours (during the degree)

Within that degree, the Board requires a supervised practicum that includes both coursework and direct client work:

• At least 6 semester hours (or 8 quarter hours) of supervised practicum; and
• A minimum of 300 hours of supervised direct client contact over at least 12 months.(srca.nm.gov)

The rule specifies that practicum students may count only hours where they work directly with individuals, couples, and families for purposes of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of marriage‑ and family‑related issues.(srca.nm.gov)

These 300 practicum hours are educational hours. The required postgraduate hours described later are in addition to this practicum.

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2. Entry‑level license: Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (LAMFT)

After completing the qualifying degree, New Mexico uses the LAMFT as the supervised, post‑degree level:

• The LAMFT is “intended as a transition between the required degree and the completion of supervised training required for licensure as a marriage and family therapist.”
• All work at this level must be done under clinical supervision. There is no time limit on how long you may remain an LAMFT, but you cannot practice independently.(law.cornell.edu)

To obtain LAMFT by examination, you must:

1. Be at least 21 years of age;
2. Sign a statement that you have read and agree to be bound by the code of ethics;
3. Hold a qualifying master’s or doctoral degree (in a counseling‑related field) from an accredited institution and meet the marriage and family clinical core curriculum; and
4. Have arranged for appropriate clinical supervision with a “postgraduate experience plan,” including “one hour of face‑to‑face supervision for every five hours of client contact.”(law.cornell.edu)

The supervision ratio (“1 hour of face‑to‑face supervision for every 5 hours of client contact”) is defined at the LAMFT level and governs how you accrue your required postgraduate hours.

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3. Postgraduate experience required for LMFT

Once you hold LAMFT and are working under approved clinical supervision, the Board’s LMFT rule (16.27.6.9 NMAC) sets out the experience you must accumulate after the degree:

3.1 Minimum duration of experience

You must complete “a minimum of two years’ postgraduate marriage and family therapy experience.”(srca.nm.gov)

The rule does not prohibit taking longer than two years; two years is the minimum period over which the qualifying hours are accrued.

3.2 Required types and amounts of postgraduate hours

The LMFT rule breaks your postgraduate experience into two main hour categories, using the Board’s own terms:

1. Postgraduate clinical client contact hours
2. Postgraduate supervision hours

The regulation provides that an LMFT applicant must document:(srca.nm.gov)

• At least 1,000 hours of postgraduate marriage and family clinical client contact; and
• 200 hours of appropriate postgraduate marriage and family supervision, including at least 100 hours of individual supervision.

So in the Board’s terms, your post‑degree experience must include:

• 1,000 hours – “postgraduate marriage and family clinical client contact”
• 200 hours – “appropriate postgraduate marriage and family supervision,” with 100 of those hours specifically “individual” supervision

These are the core hour requirements for LMFT licensure in New Mexico.

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4. What counts as “client contact” and “clinical supervision”?

4.1 Direct client contact

The Board’s practicum rule clarifies how it views direct client contact in this discipline:

• It is time spent directly with individuals, couples, or families,
• For the purpose of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of marriage‑ and family‑related issues.(srca.nm.gov)

In practice, the same concept applies to postgraduate “clinical client contact” hours for LMFT:

• Face‑to‑face or synchronous telehealth psychotherapy with individuals, couples, and families;
• Sessions where you are actively providing clinical services, not purely administrative or observational time.

Administrative duties, case notes, or staff meetings do not normally count as “clinical client contact” for hour‑counting purposes.

4.2 “Clinical supervision” and acceptable supervisors

The Board’s supervision definitions in 16.27.19 NMAC state that:(regulations.justia.com)

• “Clinical supervision” means supportive and educational activities by a supervisor that improve the application of counseling theory and technique directly to clients.
• Clinical supervision is the only supervision acceptable for licensure.

“Supervisors” are defined as independently licensed professionals (including LMFTs, LPCCs, LPATs, LCSWs, psychologists, and others) who have completed required continuing education in supervision and are registered as supervisors with the Board.(regulations.justia.com)

For LAMFTs specifically, your postgraduate plan must provide one hour of face‑to‑face supervision for every five hours of client contact, and all work must remain under “appropriate clinical supervision.”(law.cornell.edu)

The LMFT rule then requires that, out of all supervision you receive after the degree, at least 200 hours are marriage‑and‑family‑focused supervision, with at least 100 of those hours conducted individually (one‑on‑one with the supervisor).(srca.nm.gov)

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5. Examination requirement

The Board requires LMFT applicants to “demonstrate professional competency” by passing the examination for marital and family therapy (often referred to as the AMFTRB national MFT exam; the rule refers to it as the “PES” exam).(srca.nm.gov)

You normally sit for this exam while you are an LAMFT or after completing the required postgraduate experience, depending on timing and Board procedures.

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6. Application for LMFT license

When you have:

• Completed the qualifying degree and core curriculum, including the 300‑hour supervised practicum;
• Held LAMFT and practiced under appropriate clinical supervision;
• Accrued at least 1,000 hours of postgraduate marriage and family clinical client contact;
• Accrued at least 200 hours of appropriate postgraduate marriage and family supervision, with 100 hours individual; and
• Passed the national MFT examination,

you may apply for LMFT licensure by examination under 16.27.6 NMAC. The rule specifies that your application must include, among other items:(srca.nm.gov)

• A completed application form;
• Official transcripts documenting the degree and core curriculum;
• Documentation of 1,000 postgraduate direct client contact hours and 200 hours of appropriate postgraduate supervision in marriage and family therapy;
• Applicable fees (the Board’s current schedule lists a $75 application fee and a $220 initial LMFT license fee).(srca.nm.gov)

Once the Board approves your application and issues the LMFT, you hold an independent license. The current LMFT rule notes that no supervision is required to practice with an LMFT independent license, though the Board “strongly recommends” continuing consultation or peer review.(srca.nm.gov)

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7. Hour requirements in plain summary

Putting the Board’s requirements into a single snapshot:

During the graduate program (educational):

• Supervised practicum
  • At least 6 semester hours (or 8 quarter hours) of practicum coursework, and
  • Minimum 300 hours of supervised direct client contact over at least 12 months (individuals, couples, families; assessment/diagnosis/treatment of marriage‑ and family‑related issues).(srca.nm.gov)

After the degree (postgraduate, while an LAMFT):

• Experience duration

  • Minimum of 2 years postgraduate marriage and family therapy experience.(srca.nm.gov)

• Client contact hours

  • At least 1,000 hours of “postgraduate marriage and family clinical client contact.”(srca.nm.gov)

• Supervision hours

  • At least 200 hours of “appropriate postgraduate marriage and family supervision,” including at least 100 hours of individual supervision.(srca.nm.gov)
  • While accruing these hours as an LAMFT, your supervision plan must provide 1 hour of face‑to‑face clinical supervision for every 5 hours of client contact.(law.cornell.edu)

These hour types and amounts are the ones explicitly set out by the New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board in statute and regulation for LMFT licensure.