What is the BBS hours log?
The BBS hours log is the weekly record the California Board of Behavioral Sciences requires pre-licensed associates and trainees to keep of their supervised experience. Every week you work toward licensure, you log your direct clinical hours, your non-clinical hours, and the supervision you received, and your supervisor signs off on that week.
People search for “BBS hours log” as if it were a single document, but the BBS actually issues a different weekly log for each registration type. AMFTs and MFT Trainees, ASWs, and APCCs each have their own version, and the columns differ slightly between them even though the underlying idea is the same: track hours weekly, get them signed each week, and keep them.
One log per track
Your BBS hours log depends on your registration, not your license goal directly. An AMFT logs hours toward LMFT licensure using Form 37A-525. An APCC logs hours toward LPCC licensure using Form 37A-638. An ASW logs hours toward LCSW licensure using the ASW Weekly Log.
Which BBS hours log form applies to you
The form you use is tied to your BBS registration, not the license you eventually want. Here is the breakdown:
| Registration | Licensure track | BBS hours log form |
|---|---|---|
| AMFT / MFT Trainee | LMFT | AMFT Weekly Log (Form 37A-525) |
| APCC | LPCC | APCC Weekly Log (Form 37A-638) |
| ASW | LCSW | ASW Weekly Log of Experience Hours |
One quirk worth knowing: the ASW log's footer reads DCA BBS 37A-638 (Revised 08/2022), the same number as the APCC log, so go by the title at the top of the PDF. All three tracks require 3,000 total supervised hours over a minimum of 104 supervised weeks. What differs between AMFT, ASW, and APCC is the hour minimums within that total and the exact columns on the log, not the overall structure of logging weekly and getting a supervisor signature.
What gets logged on a BBS hours log each week
Every version of the log has a column for direct counseling hours (work with individuals, groups, couples, or families; the ASW log calls it clinical psychosocial diagnosis, assessment, and treatment), a column for non-clinical hours, and a total column that is the two added together. The AMFT and APCC logs list supervision, psychological testing, clinical reports, progress or process notes, client-centered advocacy, and approved workshops as non-clinical. The ASW log lists client-centered advocacy, consultation, evaluation, research, workshops and trainings, and direct supervisor contact, and prints two supervision columns of its own. Some versions break out subcategories, like couples/families/children hours on the AMFT form or individual versus group supervision on the APCC form, but those subcategories are already included inside the parent columns. They are not added again to the weekly total.
Across all three registration types, the BBS credits at most 40 hours of experience in any 7 consecutive days, combined across every work setting you log at, and at most 6 hours of supervision in a week. Associates need an additional supervision unit in a week with more than 10 hours of direct clinical counseling at a setting (ASWs: clinical psychosocial diagnosis, assessment, and treatment); MFT Trainees need one additional unit for every 5 hours.
Use a separate log for each supervisor and each work setting, as the form says. One supervisor across two sites means two logs. With two supervisors in one setting, the Board recommends recording all hours under your primary supervisor; only the supervision a secondary supervisor gave goes on separate logs they sign.
Supervisor signatures on the BBS hours log
Your supervisor signs the log for each individual week, not once at the bottom of the page. A single end-of-year signature does not satisfy the requirement. Per the BBS FAQs, signed documents may be original, scanned, or have an electronic signature.
If your supervisor leaves partway through the year, get the signatures for the weeks already worked before they go, then start a new log with your next supervisor.
Do you submit the BBS hours log, and how long do you keep it?
You do not send your BBS hours log to the Board on a weekly, monthly, or annual basis. You hold onto your signed logs yourself, and you send the Board the Experience Verification forms with your Application for Licensure. The logs go in only if the Board asks for them.
The Board can require you to submit logs when it needs to verify your hours, so keep them complete and signed as you go rather than reconstructed later. Keep the signed originals, and back up scanned copies somewhere separate from your paper files in case anything gets lost or damaged over a multi-year supervision period.
Registration comes first
You generally cannot accrue hours on a BBS hours log without being registered as an AMFT, ASW, or APCC first. The one exception is the 90-day rule, which lets post-degree hours from before your registration is issued count if the BBS receives your registration application within 90 days of your degree award date and then grants the registration. If you graduated on or after January 1, 2020, the workplace must also have required Live Scan before you gained the hours.
How HourJourney fills your BBS hours log from the hours you log
You do not need to know which form applies to you or track the column math by hand. HourJourney uses the track on your profile (AMFT, ASW, or APCC) and generates the correct BBS hours log from the hours you log in the app.
Generates the right form for the track on your profile: 37A-525 for AMFT/Trainee, 37A-638 for APCC, or the ASW Weekly Log for ASW
Maps your logged hours into the correct columns, including subcategories, so they are not double-counted in the weekly total
Will not save a week over 40 hours, and checks each week's supervision ratio and flags weeks that fall short
Pre-fills your name, supervisor, work setting, and every weekly total, ready for your supervisor's signature
Also generates the matching Experience Verification form for your licensure application
Instead of tracking your BBS hours in a spreadsheet and hand-filling a PDF every week, you log your hours once in HourJourney and export a correctly totaled weekly log on the BBS form whenever you need it, signature lines left blank for your supervisor.
30-day free trial.
FAQ: the BBS hours log
What is the BBS hours log?+
The BBS hours log is the weekly record the California Board of Behavioral Sciences requires associates and trainees to keep of their supervised experience hours. It is not one single form. AMFTs and MFT Trainees use Form 37A-525, APCCs use Form 37A-638, and ASWs use the ASW Weekly Log of Experience Hours. Each version tracks direct clinical hours, non-clinical hours, and supervision, with a weekly supervisor signature.
Which form do I use for my BBS hours log?+
It depends on your registration. AMFTs and MFT Trainees working toward LMFT licensure use Form 37A-525. APCCs working toward LPCC licensure use Form 37A-638. ASWs working toward LCSW licensure use the ASW Weekly Log of Experience Hours (aswlog.pdf).
Do I submit my BBS hours log every week?+
No. You keep your signed weekly logs yourself. The BBS can require you to submit them when it needs to verify your hours, so keep them complete and signed as you go. The Experience Verification form is what goes in with your Application for Licensure.
Does my supervisor need to sign the BBS hours log every week?+
Yes. Your supervisor signs the box for each individual week, not just once at the bottom of the form. Per the BBS FAQs, signed documents may be original, scanned, or have an electronic signature.
Do I need to be registered with the BBS to log hours?+
Yes, with one exception. The BBS requires AMFTs, ASWs, and APCCs to register before accruing supervised experience, except under the 90-day rule, which lets post-degree hours from before your registration is issued count if the BBS receives your registration application within 90 days of your degree award date and then grants the registration (for 2020 and later graduates, the workplace must also have required Live Scan before you gained the hours).
Related guides
BBS Form 37A-525: The AMFT Weekly Log
Every column explained, plus the C = A + B formula, for AMFTs and Trainees.
BBS Form 37A-638: The APCC Weekly Log
Column by column instructions for APCCs working toward LPCC licensure.
The ASW Weekly Log of Experience Hours
How ASWs log hours toward LCSW licensure, column by column.
The 90-Day Rule for AMFTs in California
What counts before registration, and how to protect those early hours.
This guide covers BBS Forms 37A-525, 37A-638, and the ASW Weekly Log. Always verify current requirements at bbs.ca.gov.