Illinois ALMFT to LMFT: The 3,000-Hour, 200-Supervision-Hour Requirement (2026)

What an ALMFT Is in Illinois

Illinois defines the credential plainly: "'Associate licensed marriage and family therapist' means a person to whom an associate licensed marriage and family therapist license has been issued under this Act" (225 ILCS 55/10). IDFPR tracks it as license code 208, distinct from the full Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, code 166. As of September 1, 2026, IDFPR's Active License Report showed 674 active ALMFTs against 1,480 LMFTs (IDFPR Active License Report, September 1, 2026).

An ALMFT cannot practice independently: the license "may not practice independently and must be clinically supervised by a licensed marriage and family therapist or equivalent as defined by rule" (55/40(c)). The protected credentials printed on it are "A.M.F.T." and "A.L.M.F.T." (55/75(a)). The credential is relatively new: Illinois created it through Public Act 100-372 in 2017, and before that the state had no associate-level marriage and family therapy license at all.

ALMFT issuance is the one part of Illinois MFT licensure that runs entirely on education. The qualification sheet says it outright: "No experience is required" and it "does not require a licensing examination" (208 sheet). The application fee is $100 (1283.45), and issuance doubles as the applicant's exam clearance: when the ALMFT is issued, IDFPR "provides approval to sit for the National Marriage and Family Therapy Examination" (208 sheet).

The Five-Year, Non-Renewable Term

An ALMFT is valid for five years from the date it issues, and the rule leaves no ambiguity: "The license may not be renewed." (68 IAC 1283.45(b); 225 ILCS 55/40(c)). That is a hard difference from Illinois's other two pre-license credentials, which both renew on a fixed biennial calendar for as long as the holder stays in that tier.

Because the ALMFT never renews, it also carries no continuing-education obligation. The CE fact sheet states the reason directly: "ALMFT licenses cannot be renewed and are therefore not required to complete continuing education." (CE-MFT sheet).

The 3,000 hours of professional work experience toward the LMFT has to fit inside that five-year window, with a floor of its own: "Professional work experience shall be obtained in not less than 2 years and no more than 5 years." (1283.15(b)). IDFPR does not publish an extension or re-issue procedure for an ALMFT that expires before the hours are finished; nothing in Part 1283 or the Act addresses what happens next, so treat the five years as a hard deadline.

The 3,000-Hour Breakdown

The 3,000-hour total splits into a clinical floor, a supervision floor, and three smaller floors inside the supervision hours.

Group size is capped on both sides of supervision: individual supervision means "a maximum of two supervisees meeting with one supervisor," and group supervision means "a maximum of six supervisees meeting with one supervisor" (1283.25(f)(1),(2)).

What Counts as Clinical Experience

Clinical experience means "face-to-face client contact with individuals, couples and families for the purpose of evaluation and treatment of mental, emotional, behavioral and interpersonal disorders and psychopathology of couples and families" (1283.20). Conjoint therapy, one of the two required sub-categories, is defined separately: "working with two or more clients present in therapy sessions who are in significant relationships with each other outside the therapy context" (1283.20).

The 350-hour individual minimum and the 350-hour conjoint minimum sit inside the 1,000-hour clinical total, not on top of it. Between them they account for 700 of the 1,000 hours; the remaining 300 can fall into either category.

Supervision has to run alongside the clinical hours, not follow them: "The applicant shall be supervised as defined in Section 1283.25 of this Part during the whole period the applicant is accumulating clinical experience." (1283.20).

Professional Work Experience: The Full 3,000

Professional work experience is the broader category that the 3,000-hour total measures. It is defined as "providing professional services, including clinical activities as defined in Section 1283.20 as well as non-clinical activities related to the practice of the profession of marriage and family therapy" (1283.15(a)).

The 200 supervision hours are not a separate requirement stacked on top of the 3,000. The rule states the total "includes 1000 hours as defined in Section 1283.20 and 200 hours of clinical supervision as defined in Section 1283.25" (1283.15). So of the 3,000: at least 1,000 is direct clinical contact, 200 is supervision, and the rest is other professional work related to the practice of marriage and family therapy.

Spread evenly, 3,000 hours across the 2-year minimum works out to about 29 hours a week, or roughly 125 hours a month over 24 months. That is arithmetic, not a stated pace; the rule sets the hour total and the 2-to-5-year window, not a weekly or monthly minimum.

The 200 Supervision Hours

At least 100 of the 200 hours must come after the first qualifying degree, and up to 100 hours accumulated during graduate training for that degree may be counted toward the total (1283.25(a)). A separate 100-hour floor applies to format: "100 of the 200 hours must be individual supervision" (1283.25(d)).

A third 100-hour floor governs who provides the supervision. At least 100 of the 200 hours must come from an MFT-qualified supervisor: an AAMFT Approved Supervisor or supervisor-in-training, an LMFT with five years of post-degree MFT clinical experience, an AAMFT clinical member of five years, or an LCP, LCSW, LCPC, or psychiatrist with five years of MFT experience, 1,000 conjoint hours, and either two years supervising MFT or a 15-contact-hour MFT supervision course (1283.25(b)). The other 100 hours can come from a wider mental-health supervisor list: an LMFT, LCP, LCSW, LCPC, or psychiatrist "with at least five years of experience in the discipline" (1283.25(c)). The SR-MFT form tracks this split directly, labeling the two routes "MFT supervision" and "MH supervision."

Supervision itself is defined as "a face-to-face conversation with a supervisor that is live, interactive, and visual." Synchronous video counts, and sessions run "usually in periods of approximately one hour each" (1283.25(f)). Not acceptable: peer supervision, supervision from a family member or anyone whose personal relationship makes a professional supervisory relationship difficult, administrative supervision, a primarily didactic process, and staff development, orientation, or role-playing used in place of current clinical practice (1283.25(g)).

A doctoral practicum or internship may apply toward the 200-hour clinical supervision requirement (1283.25(h)).

Paid or Hired Supervision Is Not Accepted

This closes off a path that stays open on Illinois's other two tracks: the counselor and social work rules both let an applicant hire or contract their own supervisor. On the MFT track, from August 7, 2026 forward, that arrangement does not count.

The AMFTRB Exam

Illinois requires the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Board's Examination in Marital and Family Therapy (1283.40). An ALMFT becomes eligible as soon as the license issues; IDFPR's own description of ALMFT issuance is that it "provides approval to sit for the National Marriage and Family Therapy Examination" (208 sheet), so the exam can be taken before the 3,000 hours are complete.

IDFPR does not publish a passing score for the exam; that figure is set by the testing entity, not the state.

The LMFT Application in Illinois

The LMFT application has to be filed "at least 90 days prior to an examination date" (1283.46(a)). It runs on three forms plus verification. The applicant completes the PCE-MFT, the professional and clinical experience worksheet, whose grand-total line reads "3000 HOURS REQUIRED · 1000 HOURS REQUIRED · 350 HOURS REQUIRED · 350 HOURS REQUIRED," and the CSW-MFT, the clinical supervision worksheet that breaks the 200 hours out by supervisor.

Each supervisor separately completes an SR-MFT (IL 486-1832 1/24), and it never passes through the applicant: the supervisor mails it directly to IDFPR's Division of Professional Regulation at 320 West Washington, HSS1, Springfield, IL 62786.

Verification of the 3,000 hours must be "signed by an employer or supervisor"; an applicant who is self-employed instead submits three affidavits from peers, clients, or colleagues familiar with their work (1283.46(a)(1)). A photocopy of the ALMFT license substitutes for the education documents, and the application fee is $100.

Since January 1, 2026, an applicant does not have to sit idle while the LMFT application processes: "practice pending licensure" lets someone who has filed and received IDFPR's acknowledgment of receipt continue practicing under supervision while the application is pending (225 ILCS 55/43).

Education

The degree requirement is a master's or doctorate from a COAMFTE- or CACREP-accredited marriage and family therapy program, or an equivalent 48-semester-hour curriculum covering the required subject areas, including a 300-hour practicum with at least 100 conjoint hours (1283.30). Any shortfall in that practicum, below the 300-hour floor, has to be made up before an applicant's clinical experience hours can begin counting (1283.30(b)(10)).

Renewal After the LMFT

Once issued, the LMFT expires February 28 of odd-numbered years (1283.70(a)). Unlike the ALMFT, it renews indefinitely.

The Illinois LMFT renewal fee is $60 a year, billed on the two-year renewal cycle (1283.95(b)(1)).

Renewal requires 30 hours of continuing education per 24-month period, with none required at the first renewal (1283.110).

Endorsement From Another State

An MFT licensed in another state may apply by endorsement where that state's requirements were substantially equivalent to Illinois's (225 ILCS 55/65). An applicant licensed without discipline at the independent level for at least 30 months during the five years preceding application does not have to submit proof of the education, professional experience and supervision in Section 40 (55/65, as amended by Public Act 104-796, effective August 7, 2026). The endorsement application fee is $200 (1283.95).

Common Mistakes on the ALMFT to LMFT Track

These are errors that slow down an ALMFT's move to LMFT, all of them preventable with records that separate the categories from the first logged hour.

Related Illinois Guides

FAQ: Illinois ALMFT to LMFT Hours Requirements