What Is BBS Form 37A-525? The Weekly Log of Experience Hours
BBS Form 37A-525 is the official weekly log of experience hours issued by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS). Its printed title is “Trainee or Associate Marriage and Family Therapist Weekly Log of Experience Hours.” The current version was revised in August 2022 (footer: DCA BBS 37A-525, Revised 08/2022). MFT Trainees and Associate Marriage and Family Therapists (AMFTs) use it to document their clinical and non-clinical hours toward LMFT licensure.
You can find the official Form 37A-525 on the BBS LMFT page. Each form has ten Week of rows and a single Year box, and the form says to use a separate log for each supervisor and for each work setting.
You do not have to fill it out by hand every week. HourJourney maps your logged hours into this exact form.
Keep the originals
The BBS says you retain the original logs. Store them somewhere safe and back them up digitally. You do not submit them with your Application for Licensure unless the BBS asks for them.
Who Needs to Use Form 37A-525?
Form 37A-525 is specifically designed for individuals pursuing LMFT licensure in California. That means two groups: MFT Trainees (pre-degree students gaining practicum hours) and Associate Marriage and Family Therapists (AMFTs, formerly called “MFT Interns”).
If you are an Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC) pursuing LPCC licensure, you use a different form: Form 37A-638. If you are an Associate Clinical Social Worker (ASW) pursuing LCSW licensure, you use the ASW weekly log. Do not use Form 37A-525 unless you are on the MFT track. For a full comparison of how documentation requirements differ between these paths, see our guide on LMFT vs LCSW documentation and hour differences in California. If you are not sure which BBS hours log applies to your license type at all, start with our overview of the BBS hours log and which form to use.
If you are an AMFT working toward your 3,000 total hours requirement, this form is your primary tool for documenting those hours week by week.
Where to Download the LMFT Hours Tracking Form (PDF)
The MFT weekly log of experience hours is the LMFT hours tracking form PDF that AMFTs and MFT Trainees use to record hours toward LMFT licensure.
The official PDF, mfwkylog_37a-525_option1.pdf, is hosted on the BBS LMFT page. Download it from the Board rather than a copy someone re-uploaded, and check the revision date in the footer (08/2022 at the time of writing).
You do not have to fill this LMFT hours tracking form out by hand every week. HourJourney maps your logged hours into it automatically.
HourJourney can automatically generate your forms for you
Log your hours once a week. HourJourney writes them into BBS Form 37A-525, one log per supervisor and work setting, with your name, AMFT number, site address and the A, A1, B, B1, B2 and C columns totaled. The supervisor signature column stays blank for your supervisor. The 37A-301 experience verification comes from the same hours.
Understanding the Form's Column Structure
The weekly rows on Form 37A-525 contain six columns. Understanding which columns are primary totals and which are informational subcategories is essential to filling the form correctly.
| Column | What It Tracks | Add to C? |
|---|---|---|
| A | Direct counseling (individuals, groups, couples, families) | YES |
| A1 | Couples, families, and children (subcategory of A) | NO |
| B | Non-clinical experience (supervision, testing, notes, advocacy, training) | YES |
| B1 | Individual or triadic supervision (subcategory of B) | NO |
| B2 | Group supervision (subcategory of B) | NO |
| C | Total hours per week (A + B = C) | TOTAL |
The key insight: A1 is a subset of A, and B1 and B2 are subsets of B. They exist so you can see specific hour types, but they are already counted inside their parent columns. The form's own footnote says not to include the subcategories when totaling weekly hours; adding them double-counts.
The Column C Formula: What Gets Added and What Doesn't
The formula is simple but frequently done wrong:
C = A + B
A1, B1, and B2 are NEVER added to C
Here is a worked example. Suppose in one week you logged:
Column C = 18 + 4 = 22. Not 33. The 8 hours in A1 are already inside your 18 in Column A. The 3 hours in B1 are already inside your 4 in Column B. If you added everything (18 + 8 + 4 + 3), you would be double-counting 11 hours.
No more than 40 hours can be credited in any seven consecutive days, across all your forms combined. See the section below on the weekly cap for details.
HourJourney calculates this for you so you don't have to worry
You type A1, A2, B1, B2 and B3. HourJourney totals A and B, writes C, and carries the same numbers onto the form.
- Column A on the form is your total direct hours; its A1 is the couples, families and children part. The app keeps both straight.
- HourJourney will not save a logged week over 40 hours across all your settings. The BBS rule is 40 in any seven consecutive days, so check the days around a week boundary yourself.
How Many Forms Do You Need Per Week?
The form says to use a separate log for each supervisor and for each work setting. Here is how that plays out:
2 supervisors, 1 site
The BBS recommends recording all your hours under your primary supervisor. Only the supervision hours your secondary supervisor gave go on separate logs that the secondary supervisor signs (BBS MFT FAQ Q50).
1 supervisor, 2 sites
You need 2 forms. Each form is tied to a specific work setting address. Even if the same supervisor oversees you at both locations, you track each site separately.
New year
The form has a single Year box and ten Week of rows, so start a new log when the year changes.
Pre-degree vs. post-degree
If you transition from Trainee to AMFT mid-year, use separate forms. Pre-degree and post-degree hours go on separate Experience Verification forms, so your weekly logs should mirror that separation.
The 104-week minimum means you will fill out many logs, so file each one as you finish it. See our complete breakdown of the 3,000-hour requirement for the full picture of what you are working toward.
HourJourney helps you manage forms across multiple supervisors
Log each week under the supervisor who oversaw it. At export, HourJourney makes a separate 37A-525 for every supervisor at every work setting, per calendar year, and a 37A-301 for each. Each exported page is totaled and the signature column is left blank.
Supervisor Signatures: What the BBS Accepts
The form has a Supervisor Signature box for each week, and the BBS says to have your supervisor sign weekly.
Original wet signatures
The traditional pen-and-paper signature. Always accepted.
Scanned signatures
A scanned copy of the signed original is accepted by the BBS.
Electronic signatures
Per the BBS MFT FAQ (02/2025), signed documents may be original, scanned, or electronic.
Sign weekly, not monthly
The BBS tells you to have your supervisor sign the log weekly.
If your supervisor leaves your agency mid-year, get all outstanding signatures before they depart, keep the partially completed form, and start a new form with your new supervisor.
Send it for signature from the HourJourney app
Every week needs its own signature, so the signature column is left blank for your supervisor. With HourJourney Plus you email the PDF to your supervisor from the export page, with you on reply-to, and see when it was delivered and opened.
Do You Submit Form 37A-525 to the BBS?
No. The BBS says to retain the original logs and not to submit them unless it requests them (BBS MFT FAQ Q48; the form's header says the same). What you submit with your Application for Licensure is the Experience Verification (Form 37A-301).
The BBS can ask for your weekly logs. Keep them complete and signed, because applicants can lose experience hours if forms are not signed as required.
Back up everything
Scan every signed log the same week your supervisor signs it and save it to cloud storage. Name files consistently (e.g., 37A525_SupervisorName_2026_Week12.pdf). Physical binders plus digital backups is the gold standard.
The 40-Hour Weekly Cap
No more than 40 hours of experience can be credited in any seven consecutive days, across all work settings combined. If you log 25 hours at Site A and 20 hours at Site B in the same seven days, your combined total is 45, only 40 can be credited, and the extra 5 are not credited.
No more than 6 hours of supervision can be credited in a week, whatever the type. The split between individual or triadic and group supervision still matters for the weekly supervision requirement.
If you are in your 90-day window, see how to count those hours. The 40-hour limit applies during the 90-day period too, and if you finished graduate study on or after January 1, 2020, the workplace must have required completed Live Scan before you gained those hours.
Pre-Degree vs Post-Degree: Using Separate Forms
MFT Trainees (pre-degree) and AMFTs (post-degree) both use Form 37A-525, but the BBS treats their hours separately. Pre-degree hours are subject to different caps and requirements than post-degree hours.
If you transition from Trainee to AMFT status during a calendar year, you should start a new form at the point of transition. The weekly logs you kept as a Trainee will be attached to a separate Experience Verification form (37A-301) covering your pre-degree period, while your AMFT logs go with a separate Experience Verification covering your post-degree period.
Before your degree is awarded you can gain at most 1,300 hours, and at most 750 of those can be counseling and direct supervisor contact (BPC 4980.43(c)(4)-(5)). Post-degree hours make up the remainder of your 3,000 total hours requirement. Keeping clean separation between pre-degree and post-degree logs from the start saves significant effort at application time.
How the Weekly Log Fits the LMFT Timeline
The MFT weekly log is the raw material for everything downstream. AMFTs accrue 3,000 total hours over a minimum of 104 weeks toward LMFT licensure, with a minimum of 1,750 direct clinical hours (including at least 500 hours with couples, families, and children), a maximum of 1,250 non-clinical hours, and up to 1,300 hours earned before the degree. The weekly logs record the hours behind those totals.
The full breakdown lives in our guide on California LMFT hours requirements. You can see where you stand with the LMFT hours calculator for California, and read how to become an MFT in California for the full journey from registration to license.
FAQ: BBS Form 37A-525
What is the BBS Weekly Log of Experience Hours?+
It is the official weekly log for MFT Trainees and Associate Marriage and Family Therapists (AMFTs), Form 37A-525, printed with the title 'Trainee or Associate Marriage and Family Therapist Weekly Log of Experience Hours'. Trainees and AMFTs use it to record clinical and non-clinical hours week by week toward LMFT licensure, using the A/B/C column structure where Column C = Column A + Column B.
What is BBS Form 37A-525?+
BBS Form 37A-525 is the official weekly log of experience hours issued by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. It is used by MFT Trainees and Associate Marriage and Family Therapists (AMFTs) to document clinical and non-clinical hours toward LMFT licensure. The current version was revised in August 2022. Find it on the BBS LMFT page.
What is the Column C formula?+
Column C = Column A + Column B. That is it. Column A1 is a subcategory of A, and Columns B1 and B2 are subcategories of B. Subcategories are never added to the total. For example, 18 hours in Column A plus 4 hours in Column B equals 22 in Column C, regardless of what A1, B1, or B2 show.
Do I submit Form 37A-525 to the BBS every week?+
No. You keep your completed, signed logs. The BBS says to retain the original logs and not to submit them unless it requests them (BBS MFT FAQ Q48). What you submit with your Application for Licensure is the Experience Verification (Form 37A-301).
How many forms do I need per week?+
One log per supervisor and per work setting, as the form says. If you have 1 supervisor at 2 sites, that is 2 logs. If 2 supervisors share one setting, the BBS recommends recording all your work experience hours under your primary supervisor; only the supervision hours your secondary supervisor gave go on separate logs that the secondary supervisor signs (BBS MFT FAQ Q50). The form has a single Year box, so start a new log when the year changes, and keep pre-degree and post-degree hours on separate logs.
What is the maximum hours per week on Form 37A-525?+
No more than 40 hours of experience can be credited in any 7 consecutive days, across all work settings combined. No more than 6 hours of supervision can be credited in a week, whatever the type.
Does the BBS accept electronic signatures on Form 37A-525?+
Yes. The BBS MFT FAQ (revised 02/2025) says signed documents may be original, scanned, or have an electronic signature.
What is Form 37A-301 and how is it different?+
Form 37A-301 is the Experience Verification. Form 37A-525 is your weekly log, the week-by-week record you keep; Form 37A-301 is the summary your supervisor signs to verify your hours for that supervisor and setting. You keep the 37A-525 logs, and the 37A-301 is what you submit with your Application for Licensure.
Can HourJourney auto-fill Form 37A-525?+
Yes. HourJourney puts your logged hours in the right BBS columns, totals A and B into C (A1, B1 and B2 stay out of the total), and exports a pre-filled PDF of Form 37A-525 per supervisor, site and calendar year, with every page totaled and the signature column blank for your supervisor. It also generates the Experience Verification form (37A-301) from the same hours.
Licensing in Texas instead? Our guide to Supervised Experience Verification form is the Texas equivalent on the marriage and family therapy track, filed once per supervisor at upgrade.
Related Guides
How to Track Your LMFT Supervised Hours
The BBS A/B/C structure explained step by step.
California LMFT Hours Requirements (2026)
Every hour minimum, maximum, and deadline in plain English.
BBS Form 37A-638: The APCC Weekly Log
The equivalent weekly log for LPCC candidates, column by column.
The ASW Weekly Log of Experience Hours
The equivalent weekly log for LCSW candidates, column by column.
California LCSW Hours Requirements (2026)
The LCSW-track counterpart: 3,000 hours, 2,000 clinical, 750 psychotherapy.
The 90-Day Rule for AMFTs in California
What counts, what doesn't, and how to protect your early hours.
This guide reflects BBS Form 37A-525 revised 08/2022. Always verify current requirements at bbs.ca.gov.