BBS Processing Times for AMFT and LMFT Applications
The California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) took an average of 15 calendar days to process a complete application for registration as an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) in April to June 2026, and an average of 89 calendar days to process a complete application for licensure as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT). These are the Board's most recent published figures, from its August 2026 meeting materials. Both averages count only applications with no deficiencies; an application missing a transcript, hours or a signature takes much longer.
The Board does not keep a page of processing times on its website. Its figures appear each quarter in the licensing reports included in its Board meeting materials, and its tip sheet for associate applicants says that "standard processing is 30 business days but may be longer during graduation seasons."
What Are the Board's Most Recent Processing Times?
The most recent figures cover April to June 2026, when complete applications for the three associate registrations took 10 to 25 calendar days on average and complete licensure applications took 13 to 89 days, depending on the profession. The Board reports by state fiscal year, which begins on July 1, so April to June 2026 is the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025-26.
| Application | April to June 2025 | April to June 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) registration | 12 | 15 |
| Associate Clinical Social Worker (ASW) registration | 12 | 10 |
| Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC) registration | 17 | 25 |
| LMFT licensure | 68 | 89 |
| Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) licensure | 58 | 75 |
| Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) licensure | 7 | 14 |
| Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP) licensure | 18 | 13 |
Source: Board of Behavioral Sciences licensing update dated July 20, 2026. The licensure figures combine in-state and out-of-state applicants.
Each figure is an average for complete applications, so a single application may take more or less time. The July 2026 report gives no figure for applications with deficiencies.
How Long Does an AMFT Registration Application Take?
A complete AMFT registration application took an average of 15 calendar days to process in each of the first two quarters of 2026. Times run longer in the months after spring graduation. The Board's November 2025 report gave an average of 31 days for July to September 2025 and called the increase normal for that time of year, because graduates submit applications before their transcripts are released or with incomplete transcripts. Applications with deficiencies took far longer: 72 days on average in October to December 2025, compared with 27 days for approved applications without them.
Two Board statements set expectations alongside these averages. A regulation gives the Board up to 30 business days from the day it receives an AMFT application to tell the applicant whether the application is complete or deficient (California Code of Regulations, title 16, section 1805.1). The Board's tip sheet for associate applicants describes standard processing as 30 business days, longer during graduation seasons, and says applications are processed in the order they are received.
The time the Board takes to process your application does not count against the 90-day rule, which turns on the date the Board receives your application. The road to LMFT licensure in California explains that rule and the employer Live Scan it requires.
How Long Does the LMFT Licensure Application Take?
A complete application for LMFT licensure took an average of 96 calendar days to process in January to March 2026 and 89 days in April to June 2026, counting in-state and out-of-state applicants together. This is the application you file after completing 3,000 hours of supervised experience over at least 104 supervised weeks, and the Board must approve it before you can sit for the clinical exam. The same regulation that covers associate applications gives the Board up to 60 business days to tell a licensure applicant whether the application is complete or deficient.
The Board explains the length of the review by its depth. Its spring 2026 newsletter says staff verify the license of every supervisor listed and the supervision agreement for each one, check that all experience took place in permissible settings and met the hour minimums, maximums and supervision ratios, and review every document, including W-2 forms, for consistency. The Board's April 2026 licensing report adds that LMFT applications are "inherently more complex than others due to pre-degree allowable hours."
After approval, you must take the clinical exam within one year. Once you have passed both exams, the Board issues the license within 30 business days of the date you request it, either online in BreEZe or on its Request for Initial License Issuance form, with the initial license fee.
What Slows an Application Down?
Deficiencies slow applications more than anything else; in its account of how licensure applications are reviewed, the Board calls them "the primary cause of processing delays." An evaluator who finds one must document it, notify the applicant and later clear it, and that time comes out of the work on other applications. The Board's January 2026 report names the usual problems: missing transcripts and program certifications in registration applications, and short hours or a missing required course or signature in in-state licensure applications.
The Board's applicant materials name specific steps that help prevent delays:
- Request transcripts and degree program certifications no earlier than two weeks before you submit your application, because requesting them too early may cause delays.
- Fill out every section and check signatures and addresses, since even a missing signature or address can delay processing.
- Send your fingerprints and the fingerprint fee with your application, because the AMFT application packet says sending them separately will cause a delay.
- Leave documents unstapled and free of sticky notes, because the Board scans applications.
Applicants who submit fingerprints on hard cards should allow for Department of Justice processing of 8 or more weeks, according to the AMFT application packet. A deficiency left unanswered has a lasting cost. The Board can close a file when the applicant does not correct deficiencies within one year of the deficiency letter, and a licensure applicant whose file is closed must reapply, with every hour judged again against the rule that hours be no more than six years old.
How Can You Check the Status of Your Application?
The Board does not describe an online status check for paper applications, and it says it "cannot confirm receipt of applications or payments due to application volume." Its tip sheet recommends mailing with postal tracking to confirm delivery, and the AMFT application packet suggests checking with your bank to see whether the Board has cashed your check or money order. The Board sends notices about application status to the email address on the application, so use one you will still have after graduation.
Some Board applications can be filed online in BreEZe, the Department of Consumer Affairs' licensing system. The Board's spring 2026 newsletter lists the initial Law and Ethics Exam application and initial license issuance among BreEZe services, marks an online associate registration application as coming soon, and says the Board planned to launch the online AMFT registration application that summer. The online AMFT registration application went live in October 2026, and the Board's applicant page for marriage and family therapists now links it alongside the mail-in packet. Once a registration or license is issued, it appears in the Board's "Verify a License" search, which shows issued registrations and licenses but not pending applications.
Under the heading "Be Aware of Processing Times," the Board's tip sheet tells applicants to "follow BBS on social media for weekly updates." The Board's accounts are on Facebook and X.
How Have Processing Times Changed Over the Past Year?
AMFT registration times peaked in the months after graduation and settled at about two weeks in 2026, while complete LMFT licensure applications took longer in every quarter the Board compared with a year earlier. The Board's quarterly reports give these averages:
| Quarter | AMFT registration | LMFT licensure | What the report measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| July to September 2025 | 31 | 85 | Average processing time, unit not stated, with no breakdown by deficiency status |
| October to December 2025 | 27 (72 with deficiencies) | 69 (123 with deficiencies) | Approved applications with no deficiencies, plus a separate average for applications with deficiencies |
| January to March 2026 | 15 | 96 | Complete applications with no deficiencies |
| April to June 2026 | 15 | 89 | Complete applications with no deficiencies |
Sources: Board of Behavioral Sciences licensing updates dated November 10, 2025; January 29, 2026; April 16, 2026; and July 20, 2026.
The Board explains the changes mostly in staffing terms. Its registration unit has added three positions since spring 2024, and the Board credits the added staff, along with cross-training evaluators on different applications, for shorter registration times: complete AMFT applications averaged 15 days in January to March 2026, compared with 18 days a year earlier. Licensure times rose over the same period, from 54 to 96 days for complete LMFT applications in January to March and from 68 to 89 days in April to June. The Board attributes the increase in part to staffing resources and has been cross-training staff from its LPCC unit to help review applications.
The July 2026 report adds two short-term factors. AMFT registration times rose slightly from a year earlier, which the Board said may be due to staff time spent testing updates to BreEZe, and fewer applications arrived than a year before, which the Board linked to a fee reduction that took effect on July 1, 2026; it expected more applications after that date.
A Closer Look at One Program: The Sentio MFT Program
Programs differ in how they prepare graduates for the registration application that follows the degree. The Sentio MFT program's first graduating class, the Class of 2026, finished in May 2026, and 100% of its graduates were registered as Associate Marriage and Family Therapists within six weeks of graduation; 100% were working in the field within three months.
The program is a 20-month, 60-credit Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy based in Los Angeles and open to students across California, taught in weekly live online classes with a short in-person residency in Los Angeles at the start of each semester. Every student has a guaranteed practicum at the Sentio Counseling Center, an online counseling center that serves diverse, low-income clients, where students begin seeing clients in their second semester and complete more than 400 supervised clinical hours before graduating.
Making Your Decision
Processing time is one part of licensure you can plan around. A graduate who wants post-degree hours to count from the first day of work can prepare the registration application before the degree is awarded: request transcripts and the degree program certification no earlier than two weeks before submitting, complete every section, and mail the packet with tracking so the Board receives it well inside the 90-day window. At the licensure stage, keeping supervision agreements, experience verification forms and W-2 forms complete as you go helps you avoid a deficiency notice, which the Board names as the main cause of delay.
The registration application and a first job are linked, because an employer's Live Scan and start date affect which hours count. How to find your first AMFT job in California covers where associates are hired and what employers check.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the BBS take to process an AMFT application?
In the Board's most recent reports, a complete AMFT registration application took an average of 15 calendar days to process, in both January to March and April to June 2026. Applications with deficiencies take much longer: in October to December 2025 they averaged 72 days, compared with 27 days for applications without deficiencies. The Board's tip sheet for associate applicants says standard processing is 30 business days and may be longer during graduation seasons, and a regulation gives the Board up to 30 business days to say whether an application is complete or deficient.
How long does the BBS take to approve an LMFT application for the clinical exam?
A complete application for LMFT licensure took an average of 89 calendar days to process in April to June 2026 and 96 days in January to March 2026, counting in-state and out-of-state applicants together. Applications with deficiencies averaged 123 days in October to December 2025. The Board says these reviews take time because staff check every supervisor's license, every supervision agreement and every hour against the legal limits, and because pre-degree hours make LMFT applications more complex than others.
Where can I find current BBS processing times?
The Board does not keep a processing-times page on its website. It reports average processing times each quarter in the licensing report included in its Board meeting materials, which are posted on its website. The Department of Consumer Affairs also publishes quarterly licensing performance data for all of its boards, linked from the Board's home page as "Quarterly Licensing Data." The Board's tip sheet for associate applicants tells applicants to follow the Board on social media for weekly updates.
How can I check my BBS application status?
The Board does not describe an online status check for paper applications, and it says it cannot confirm receipt of applications or payments because of application volume. Mail your application with tracking, check with your bank whether the Board has cashed your check, and watch the email address on your application, where the Board sends notices about application status. Once your registration is issued, you can find it through the Board's "Verify a License" search.
Does slow BBS processing affect the 90-day rule?
The time the Board takes to process your application does not count against the 90-day rule. The rule turns on the date the Board receives your AMFT application, which must be within 90 days of your degree award date. If it arrives in time, your employer required Live Scan fingerprinting before you earned the hours, and the Board then grants the registration, post-degree hours earned while the application was pending can count toward licensure.
What happens if my BBS application is deficient?
The Board notifies you of the deficiency, and the application waits until you send what is missing. The Board's reports name missing transcripts and program certifications as the most common problems in registration applications, and short hours or a missing course or signature in in-state licensure applications. Respond quickly: both the AMFT application packet and the Board's spring 2026 newsletter say a file can be closed if the deficiency is not corrected within one year of the deficiency letter, and a closed licensure file means reapplying.
How long after passing the clinical exam is the LMFT license issued?
The Board's FAQ says that once you have passed both exams, your license will be issued within 30 business days from the date you either apply to upgrade to fully licensed online in BreEZe and pay the initial license fee, or submit a Request for Initial License Issuance form with the fee. The Board warns not to apply until all licensure requirements are complete, and independent practice cannot begin until the Board issues the license.
References
Board of Behavioral Sciences. (n.d.). Top tips for a smooth associate application process. https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/publications/top_tips_smooth_associate_app.pdf
Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2018). Application processing and registrant advertising: Adopted text (California Code of Regulations, title 16, section 1805.1). https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/regulation/2018/adv_adopt.pdf
Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2025). Application for Associate Marriage and Family Therapist registration (Form 37A-580). https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/forms/mft/imfapp.pdf
Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2025). Important answers to frequently asked questions for Associate Marriage and Family Therapists and MFT Trainees. https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/publications/mft_faq.pdf
Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2025, November 10). Licensing update [Board meeting materials, November 20-21, 2025, item 21]. https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/agen_notice/2025/20251120-21_item_21.pdf
Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2026). BBS newsletter: Spring 2026. https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/newsletters/spring2026.pdf
Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2026). BBS newsletter: Winter 2026. https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/newsletters/winter2026.pdf
Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2026, January 29). Licensing update [Board meeting materials, February 19-20, 2026, item 14]. https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/agen_notice/2026/20260219_20_item_14.pdf
Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2026, April 16). Licensing update population report [Board meeting materials, May 7-8, 2026, item 20]. https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/agen_notice/2026/20260507_item20.pdf
Board of Behavioral Sciences. (2026, July 20). Licensing update [Board meeting materials, August 13-14, 2026, item 17]. https://www.bbs.ca.gov/pdf/agen_notice/2026/20260813-14_agenda_item17.pdf
California Legislature. (n.d.). Government Code section 13290. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=13290
Department of Consumer Affairs. (n.d.). Licensing performance measures. https://www.dca.ca.gov/data/license_performance.shtml
