How to Become a Therapist in Washington State

Three Licenses, One Agency, No Board

The Washington State Department of Health, not a licensing board, issues and disciplines every therapy credential under chapter 18.225 RCW; the secretary of health issues licenses and disciplines (RCW 18.225.090(1); RCW 18.225.010(6), 18.225.080). A nine-member advisory committee, the Washington state mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, and social workers advisory committee, only advises (RCW 18.225.060, 18.225.070).

Three pre-license credentials sit under that one agency, and each is called an associate license, not a registration or a permit: the licensed mental health counselor associate (LMHCA), which becomes a Washington LMHC; the licensed social worker associate-independent clinical (LSWAIC), which becomes a Washington LICSW; and the licensed marriage and family therapist associate (LMFTA), which becomes a full Washington LMFT. An associate is defined the same way on every track: "a prelicensure candidate who is working towards full licensure in their profession, has a graduate degree in a mental health field ... and is gaining the supervision and supervised experience necessary" (WAC 246-809-010(1)). An associate "may not independently provide social work, mental health counseling, or marriage and family therapy for a fee" (WAC 246-809-010(1); see RCW 18.225.145(2)).

The eight steps below are the same shape on every track. Where the numbers diverge, the comparison table in step 4 carries the detail. For every Washington page in one place, see all Washington guides, or browse the guides index for every state HourJourney covers.

Pick the License by Degree

The starting requirement is the same phrase on every track: a graduate degree in a mental health field (WAC 246-809-010(1)). The social work track is more specific about the degree itself: a Council on Social Work Education-accredited master's degree, or a social work doctorate from an accredited university (WAC 246-809-320(2)).

The practical choice usually comes down to your degree program and the client work you want to do long term: a counseling degree points toward the LMHCA, a CSWE-accredited social work degree toward the LSWAIC, and a marriage and family therapy degree toward the LMFTA. None of the three requires supervised experience before you can become an associate; the rule states it directly for every track: "applicants are not required to have supervised postgraduate experience prior to becoming an associate" (WAC 246-809-130(3)(d), -330(3)); the counseling rule says the same of an LMHCA applicant (WAC 246-809-230(5)).

Apply for the Associate License

The associate application includes a declaration "that the applicant is working toward full licensure in that category" (RCW 18.225.145(1)). Counseling applicants use packet DOH 670-100, social work applicants use DOH 670-105, and marriage and family therapy applicants use DOH 670-096, each revised March 2025; the LMHCA application specifically is covered in the LMHCA application in Washington.

You do not have to wait for the associate license to issue before you start working under supervision. Since October 1, 2025, an applicant may practice under a pending associate license for up to 120 days once the department has a completed application, under an approved supervisor (WAC 246-809-097(1),(2); RCW 18.225.145(2)). DOH's counselor FAQ describes a completed application as the application form, official transcripts sent directly by the school, an Approved Supervisor Form submitted directly by the supervisor, and the application fee, adding that "you cannot practice under the pending license rule until all items are submitted."

Find an Approved Supervisor

Every associate works under an approved supervisor, and the list of who qualifies is track-specific. For counseling, that is an LMHC, or an equally qualified practitioner: an LMFT, licensed clinical social worker, psychologist, psychiatrist, or psychiatric nurse practitioner, each licensed without restrictions for at least two years (WAC 246-809-210, -234(1)); the full list and training requirement are in Washington LMHCA supervision requirements. For social work, it is an LICSW, an LASW supervising an LASW candidate only, or the same equally qualified list, with at least two years of clinical experience after that supervisor's own license, covered in Washington LSWAIC supervision requirements. For marriage and family therapy, it is an LMFT or the same equally qualified list, licensed without restrictions for at least two years (WAC 246-809-110, -134(1)).

DOH has kept a supervisor directory on each profession page since October 1, 2023 (WAC 246-809-070(1)), but using it is optional: "participation in the directory is not required to be a supervisor" (WAC 246-809-070(5)). An associate can arrange supervision with anyone who meets their track's eligibility rule, listed or not.

Every track also bars specific relationships between supervisor and candidate, worded slightly differently by profession (WAC 246-809-234(2), -334(2), -134(2)). Confirm the exact wording on your track's supervision page before supervision begins, since the social work rule words the bar differently from the counseling and marriage and family therapy rules.

Accrue Your Hours: the Three Tracks Compared

All three totals are postgraduate. No pre-degree hours count on any track, with one narrow exception: an LMHC candidate doing supplemental behavioral-science coursework can count postgraduate hours earned concurrently with that coursework (WAC 246-809-220(3)). Here is where the totals split.

Every track also carries the same supervision rate underneath its total: "regular supervision, meeting at least one hour for every 80 hours of the licensure candidate's clinical practice time" (WAC 246-809-020(2)(b)). At 3,000 hours, that rate alone works out to at least 37.5 supervision hours, which is arithmetic, not a rule; it does not replace the 100-hour or 200-hour totals above, each of which still has to be met on its own.

For the full mechanics of each track, see Washington LMHC requirements, Washington LICSW requirements and Washington LMFT requirements. For how the social work associate license differs from the full one, see LSWAIC vs LICSW in Washington.

Keep Up Continuing Education as an Associate

An associate license is valid one year and renewed "every year on the date of issuance," not on a birthday (WAC 246-809-990(2)). Every renewal carries 16 hours of continuing education, with 6 hours of professional ethics and law owed every two years, attested at the second, fourth and sixth renewal, 2 hours of professional roles and boundaries, and 2 hours of health equity every four years (WAC 246-809-632(1) to (4)). Social work associates owe one more item: 6 hours of suicide assessment, treatment and management before their first renewal (WAC 246-809-632(5)).

None of that renewal work is capped by count. The former limit of six associate-license renewals ended June 6, 2024; an associate license "may be renewed" with no stated maximum (RCW 18.225.145(6)(a)). The full renewal and CE picture, including what happens if a license lapses, is in Washington associate license renewal and CE.

Complete 36 CE Hours Before the Full License Issues

Before DOH issues a full license on any of the three tracks, the applicant completes 36 hours of continuing education, including 6 hours of professional law and ethics, after meeting the academic requirements and before the department issues the license (DOH continuing education page; DOH 670-209). Applicants attest to it on the Continuing Education Attestation form, DOH 670-209 (December 2018). This 36-hour requirement sits outside the yearly associate CE described above; it is a one-time item tied to the move from associate to full license.

Get Each Supervisor to Verify Your Hours

Each track has its own verification form: the applicant fills in the first section and forwards it, the supervisor completes and signs the rest, and a separate form is used for each supervisor and each practice setting: DOH 670-027 (July 2020) for counseling, DOH 670-011 (May 2023) for social work, and DOH 670-005 (May 2023) for marriage and family therapy. What each form asks for is in the Washington supervised experience verification forms.

Apply for the Full License

With the hours, supervision, exam and 36 CE hours in hand, the full-license application goes to DOH on its own packet: DOH 670-036 (July 2025) for the LMHC, DOH 670-085 (March 2025) for the LICSW, and DOH 670-042 (March 2025) for the LMFT. A full license renews yearly on the licensee's birthday, unlike the associate license's date-of-issuance renewal, and carries 32 CE hours every two years, including 6 hours of ethics and law and 2 hours of professional roles and boundaries, plus 2 hours of health equity every four years and 6 hours of suicide training every six years (WAC 246-809-630(3), -990(1)).

None of the three tracks requires a jurisprudence or law exam in addition to the profession's clinical exam (chapter 18.225 RCW; chapter 246-809 WAC).

What DOH Publishes for Fees

Figures are from WAC 246-809-990 and the matching DOH licensing-information pages; the $16 line is the HEAL-WA fee. All fees are nonrefundable (WAC 246-809-990(3)). Exam fees are set by the testing organizations and are not published by DOH.

Common Mistakes on the Washington Path

Related Washington Guides

FAQ: Becoming a Therapist in Washington State