Licensure and License Portability
About licensure in marriage and family therapy
Marriage and family therapy (MFT) licensure is regulated at the state level. Therefore, each state has its own specific requirements for the license, and some states’ requirements are more complicated than others.
In California, to pursue a license in marriage and family therapy, you must:
Graduate from a program approved by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education with an approved master’s degree.
Apply for and be granted an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) license.
Pass the California MFT law and ethics exam.
Collect 3,000 supervised clinical and non-clinical hours.
Pass the California MFT licensing exam.
Upon completing these steps, you can be granted a license to practice as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in the state of California. The California LMFT license does not have reciprocity in other states – that is, there is no state that will grant you their MFT license simply because you have an MFT license in California.
Why is Sentio University only intended for people who want to get licensed and work in California?
Most states outside California have laws that require that MFT students obtain a graduate degree from a school that has obtained accreditation from a national or regional association and/or the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy (COAMFTE). This effectively prohibits new MFT graduate schools from being started in those states. Fortunately, California is a very progressive state that welcomes new and innovative MFT graduate programs. Thus, we are starting in California and our program is only suitable for students who intend to get licensed and work in California. Sentio University is working towards national/regional accreditation, but is not allowed to apply for them until we have already been operating for some time.
We describe the Sentio University Marriage and Family Therapy program as being intended for individuals who intend to stay in California to qualify for licensure and work as a therapist because we care about our students’ careers! We want to be sure there are no unfortunate surprises for our students down the line and we want to be as transparent as possible about this so students can make the right decision for their future plans. This is why we feel it is most safe to describe our program as intended for future MFTs who intend to pursue licensure and work in the state of California. If you feel like Sentio University is a good fit for you, but you are considering moving to another state in the future, we encourage you to review the licensure process and regulations in that state to ensure that a degree from Sentio University will support your future plans.
Will a degree from Sentio University qualify for licensure in another state?
In the event that you wish to practice marriage and family therapy with residents of another state, you will need to apply for the MFT license in that state. Most states will not recognize the MFT degree from Sentio University until we obtain national/regional accreditation. However, some states allow therapists who have already been licensed in another state for some years to qualify for licensure regardless of how their graduate program was accredited, which is sometimes termed “licensure by endorsement.” The Association for Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB) has compiled a document where you can compare the requirements for each state. You can also go to the website for the licensing board in each state for complete information.
A case example
Let’s look at Florida as an illustrative example. If you graduated from Sentio University and became fully licensed (LMFT) in California, current Florida regulations would allow you to apply for a Florida MFT license by endorsement as long as you were a practicing MFT in California for three out of the past five years before you wished to apply. So, you could graduate from Sentio University, get licensed as an LMFT in California, work here for three years, then apply for MFT licensure by endorsement in Florida.
If, however, you graduated from Sentio University but moved to Florida before completing the licensure process in California, you would not be able to get an MFT license in Florida. That is because you would need to first apply for Registered Marriage and Family Therapy Intern (RMFTI) status (equivalent to California’s AMFT status) in Florida in order to complete the supervised hours necessary for licensure, but to apply for RMFTI status, applicants must have graduated from a COAMFTE-accredited program or a CACREP-accredited Florida university. Because Sentio University is not COAMFTE-accredited, you would not be able to continue pursuing MFT licensure in Florida with a degree from Sentio University. You would, essentially, need to pursue licensure in a different state with less stringent requirements, then achieve licensure and work for three years in that state before applying for MFT licensure by endorsement in Florida.
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Applications for our Marriage and Family Therapy Program’s Fall 2025 start date are open as of August 21st. Admission and scholarship decisions will be announced on October 15th, 2024 for early applicants, and January 21st, 2025 for remaining applicants.
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Mikaela Abundez
Director of Student Services
310-916-9378