Ohio MFT Requirements & Hours Tracker

Licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) in Ohio is governed by the Ohio Revised Code (ORC 4757.30) and the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC Chapter 4757‑25) under the Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT Board). The state recognizes two primary levels:

• Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT)
• Independent Marriage and Family Therapist (IMFT)

Below is a step‑by‑step outline of what the Board requires, with emphasis on specific hours and the Board’s own terminology.

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1. Understand the License Levels and Scope

Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT)

• Licensed to practice “marriage and family therapy,” but:
• “A marriage and family therapist may diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders only under the supervision of a psychologist, psychiatrist, licensed professional clinical counselor, independent social worker, or independent marriage and family therapist.”(codes.ohio.gov)

Independent Marriage and Family Therapist (IMFT)

• May practice independently and supervise others:
• “An independent marriage and family therapist may diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders without supervision.”(codes.ohio.gov)
• May also “provide supervision to other mental health professionals including marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, licensed social workers and social work assistants.”(codes.ohio.gov)

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2. Educational Foundation for Both MFT and IMFT

The education requirements for admission to the MFT exam are in OAC 4757‑25‑01 and ORC 4757.30.(codes.ohio.gov)

You must have one of the following:

1. A master’s or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy from a regionally accredited institution; or
2. A graduate degree with at least ninety quarter hours or sixty semester hours of “graduate level course work in marriage and family therapy training grounded in systemic theory and systemic approaches” that is acceptable to the MFT professional standards committee.(codes.ohio.gov)

The Board defines a “graduate degree in marriage and family therapy” as a program that:

• Is clearly identified as marriage and family therapy (MFT),
• Includes a minimum of 90 quarter hours / 60 semester hours in MFT training,
• Has a curriculum focused on “marital and family systems and systemic therapeutic interventions,” and
• Includes a practicum/internship meeting specific direct client contact and supervision hour requirements.(codes.ohio.gov)

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3. Required Practicum/Internship Hours (Pre‑Licensure Clinical Training)

A key part of becoming an Ohio MFT is the practicum/internship built into the degree. The Board uses the terms “direct face‑to‑face client contact” and “supervision” in very specific ways.

Standard Requirement (Programs begun after January 2015)

For students who began their MFT program after January 2015, the practicum/internship must include:(codes.ohio.gov)

• 500 hours of direct face‑to‑face client contact with individuals, couples, and families; and
• 100 hours of supervision; and
• At least 250 of the 500 hours of direct client contact must be “with couples and/or families present.”

These hours must occur in a “qualified supervised clinical practicum and/or qualified internship” that consists of “the provision of marriage and family therapy to clients.” Supervision must be provided by:(codes.ohio.gov)

• An independently licensed marriage and family therapist with supervision designation, or
• An AAMFT approved supervisor, AAMFT supervisor candidate, or
• Another independently licensed mental health practitioner who has demonstrated competence in the area being supervised and appropriate training in legal and ethical issues relevant to MFT.

Earlier Programs (begun before January 2015)

For students who began their program before January 2015, the practicum/internship must include:(codes.ohio.gov)

• 300 hours of direct face‑to‑face client contact with individuals, couples, and families; and
• 60 hours of supervision; and
• At least 150 of the 300 hours must be with couples and/or families present.

Important Note About “Substitute” Hours

For applicants with a deficit in practicum/internship hours, the Board allows limited substitution:

• “Post‑graduate supervised direct client contact hours obtained out of state may satisfy a deficit in the number of practicum/internship hours…”
• However, “these substituted hours shall not be counted toward the two years of required supervised practice for IMFT licensure.”(codes.ohio.gov)

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4. Optional: Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee Status

Students completing practicum/internship may apply for marriage and family therapist trainee registration. This is not a license but allows you to function in an approved field placement under closer supervision.

Key points from Rule 4757‑25‑07:(codes.ohio.gov)

• A student may “voluntarily choose to apply for registration as a marriage and family therapist trainee.”
• You must:
  • Meet criminal background requirements,
  • Submit criminal records checks,
  • Apply on the Board’s form, and
  • Provide proof of enrollment in a master’s or doctoral‑level MFT practicum/internship course.
• Trainees “have the same scope of practice as a marriage and family therapist” under rule 4757‑27‑01 but require much closer supervision and may only practice at school‑approved field placement sites within the active trainee dates.

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5. Examination Requirement

Ohio requires the national MFT exam:

• The exam is the “Examination in Marital and Family Therapy” offered by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB).(codes.ohio.gov)
• It is used both for MFT and IMFT applicants.(codes.ohio.gov)

Under Rule 4757‑25‑02 and Rule 4757‑25‑03:

• Only applicants whose educational records show they meet MFT educational requirements may sit for the exam.(codes.ohio.gov)
• Applicants must have passed the required examination within seven years of application date, unless they are already licensed in an equivalent capacity in another state and used that exam for licensure there.(codes.ohio.gov)

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6. Licensing as a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT)

The general requirements for the initial MFT license are in Rule 4757‑25‑03 and ORC 4757.30.(codes.ohio.gov)

To become a licensed MFT in Ohio, you must:

1. Meet education requirements

   • As described in OAC 4757‑25‑01 (graduate degree and practicum/internship hours above).(codes.ohio.gov)

2. Pass the AMFTRB MFT exam

   • Per the exam policy in 4757‑25‑02.(codes.ohio.gov)

3. Complete criminal records/background checks and meet the Board’s requirements for criminal convictions under ORC 9.79.(codes.ohio.gov)

4. Submit a complete application

   • Including the application form, fee, and official transcripts, as required by Rule 4757‑1‑04 and referenced again in Rule 4757‑25‑03.(codes.ohio.gov)

Hour summary at this level

At the point you become an MFT (non‑independent), Ohio’s Board has already required, at minimum:

• 300–500 hours of direct face‑to‑face client contact during practicum/internship (depending on your program start date), and
• 60–100 hours of supervision, with a required proportion of hours “with couples and/or families present.”(codes.ohio.gov)

There is no additional post‑degree hour requirement to obtain the basic MFT license beyond what is embedded in your graduate program and documented for exam/license eligibility.

However, as noted earlier, MFTs may only diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders under supervision until they become IMFTs.(codes.ohio.gov)

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7. Post‑Licensure Supervised Experience for IMFT

To move from MFT to Independent Marriage and Family Therapist (IMFT), you must complete substantial post‑master’s supervised experience that the Board describes as “two calendar years of supervised training.”

The specific requirements appear in ORC 4757.30(C) and OAC 4757‑25‑04:(codes.ohio.gov)

Time Requirement

• You must “complete at least two calendar years of supervised training while engaged in the practice of marriage and family therapy.”

Hour Requirements

Within those two years, the Board requires:

1. Client contact hours

   • You must complete “a minimum of one thousand hours of documented face‑to‑face client contact in marriage and family therapy.”
   • “Of the required one thousand hours of client contact, a minimum of five hundred hours shall be with couples and/or families present.”(codes.ohio.gov)

2. Supervision hours

   • You must obtain “two hundred hours of face‑to‑face supervision” while completing those 1,000 client contact hours.
   • “Of the required two hundred hours of face‑to‑face supervision, a minimum of one hundred hours shall be individual supervision.”(codes.ohio.gov)

3. Type of supervision and supervisor qualifications

   • The Board calls this “training supervision” and requires that it “shall be performed by a supervisor whose training and experience meet the standards established in paragraph (C) of rule 4757‑29‑01 of the Administrative Code.”(codes.ohio.gov)
   • Under Rule 4757‑29‑01(C), qualifying supervisors typically include:
     • An Ohio independent marriage and family therapist with training supervision designation, and in limited amounts, certain other independently licensed mental health professionals with appropriate supervision designation.(codes.ohio.gov)

4. Documentation

   • “Records of training supervision shall be maintained by the supervisee… The supervision records shall contain information concerning the dates/times of supervision, content and goals of supervision, and shall be signed or acknowledged by the supervisor at least quarterly.”(codes.ohio.gov)
   • On completion of the required hours, your last training supervisor submits your accumulated hours and an evaluation to the Board using its online form.(codes.ohio.gov)

In effect, for IMFT you must document at least:

• 1,000 hours of face‑to‑face client contact in marriage and family therapy
  • ≥ 500 hours with couples and/or families present
• 200 hours of face‑to‑face supervision
  • ≥ 100 hours of individual supervision
• All completed over a minimum of two calendar years of supervised training.

These are post‑degree, post‑MFT licensure supervised hours; the Board explicitly distinguishes them from practicum/internship hours and from any substituted hours used to make up practicum deficits.(codes.ohio.gov)

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8. Applying for the IMFT License

Rule 4757‑25‑07 explains how applications are reviewed. An application for IMFT will be approved when all the following are met:(codes.ohio.gov)

1. Education

   • A master’s or doctoral degree in marriage and family therapy or related degree that meets Rule 4757‑25‑01.

2. Post‑master’s supervised experience

   • Proof of completion of “at least two years of post‑master’s degree marriage and family therapist experience” that meets OAC 4757‑25‑04(A), i.e., the two years of supervised training, 1,000 client hours, 500 relational hours, 200 supervision hours, and required supervisor type.(codes.ohio.gov)

3. Examination

   • Proof of passing the national “Examination in Marital and Family Therapy” acceptable to the Board.

4. Clean background and complete application

   • Similar to the MFT application: criminal background, full application, and fee.

Once approved, the Board issues the Independent Marriage and Family Therapist license, which allows unsupervised diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders and eligibility (with further training) for supervision designation.

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9. Continuing Education (After Licensure)

Although not part of initial licensure, ongoing requirements come from Rule 4757‑9‑01:

• “Marriage and family therapists and independent marriage and family therapists require thirty hours of approved continuing professional education for licensure renewal,” including:
  • Three hours in the area of ethics every renewal cycle.(codes.ohio.gov)

For IMFTs with a supervision endorsement, there is an additional recurring requirement in supervision‑focused continuing education.(codes.ohio.gov)

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Summary of Key Hour Requirements in Ohio

During graduate training (standard, post‑2015 programs):

• 500 hours direct face‑to‑face client contact (≥ 250 with couples/families present)
• 100 hours of supervision

Earlier programs (pre‑2015):

• 300 hours direct face‑to‑face client contact (≥ 150 with couples/families present)
• 60 hours of supervision

Post‑master’s, for Independent MFT (IMFT):

• At least two calendar years of supervised training in the practice of MFT
• 1,000 hours documented face‑to‑face client contact in MFT
  • 500 hours or more with couples and/or families present
• 200 hours face‑to‑face supervision
  • 100 hours or more of individual supervision

These figures and terms—“direct face‑to‑face client contact,” “face‑to‑face supervision,” “documented client contact,” “training supervision,” “two calendar years of supervised training”—are all taken directly from the Ohio Revised Code and Ohio Administrative Code provisions that govern MFT and IMFT licensure.(codes.ohio.gov)