Nevada MFT License Requirements

Who Issues the License

The Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists and Clinical Professional Counselors (the MFT/CPC Board) licenses marriage and family therapists under NRS 641A and NAC 641A. The pre-license credential is the marriage and family therapist intern license, which the Board's pages call MFT-Intern (NRS 641A.287; NAC 641A.035(8)). The full credential is Marriage and Family Therapist, or MFT (NRS 641A.220). Both titles are protected: using "marriage and family therapist" or "marriage and family therapist intern" without a license is unlawful (NRS 641A.430).

Clinical professional counselors use the same board and the same internship rules under their own title; see Nevada CPC intern requirements. Social workers are licensed by a separate board with separate rules, covered in Nevada LCSW requirements. For all three paths side by side, start with how to become a therapist in Nevada.

The same application the intern files is used for full licensure on completion of the internship (NAC 641A.065(6)).

Getting the MFT-Intern License

An applicant must be at least 21, be of good moral character, hold a graduate degree in marriage and family therapy, psychology or social work from an accredited institution approved by the Board (or have completed other education and training deemed equivalent), and have entered into a supervision agreement with an approved supervisor (NRS 641A.287(2)). The degree must come from a regionally accredited institution (NAC 641A.075). The Board will consider a degree from a program accredited by COAMFTE or CACREP at the time the degree was conferred as fulfilling the educational requirements for licensure as an intern (NAC 641A.085(7)(a)).

Coursework is reviewed against NAC 641A.085. The required areas in subsection (1) are human development, marital and family systems, marital and family therapy, ethical and legal, supervised practice, diagnosis and assessment, social and cultural, research, substance use disorders, crisis or trauma, grief or loss, group counseling and individual counseling theories. The degree needs at least 60 semester hours or 72 quarter hours (NAC 641A.085(4)), and the supervised practice coursework must include clinical experience working with individuals, couples and families (NAC 641A.085(3)(a)). A deficiency is sent to the applicant in writing.

The application includes the Board's application form, official graduate transcripts, a government ID and fingerprints (NAC 641A.065(1)). It also includes a proposed plan for the internship and the supervision agreement with the names of the proposed supervisors, and an interview if the Board asks for one (NAC 641A.156(1)(b), (c)). The Board's supervisor pages say the Internship Proposal and Primary Supervisor Contract and the Secondary Supervisor Contract go in with the application before it can be approved. The Board acts at scheduled meetings, and a completed application must be filed at least 10 business days before the meeting (NAC 641A.065(2)). It "will issue a license as an intern" to each qualified applicant (NAC 641A.156(2)).

Fingerprints are required by statute (NRS 641A.213). The Board's Background Check Procedure, effective October 1, 2026, lists a Background Check Waiver, one FD-258 fingerprint card taken by a certified technician, and a $40.00 certified check or money order payable to the Department of Public Safety. The Board's application page says the background check takes 8 weeks to complete.

Active military members, spouses, veterans and surviving spouses pay one-half of the application fee and one-half of the initial issuance fee (NAC 641A.105(2)).

The 3,000-Hour Structure

The statute sets the total: at least 3,000 hours of supervised experience in marriage and family therapy, of which at least 1,500 hours consist of direct contact with clients (NRS 641A.220(4)). NAC 641A.146(5) builds that total from three separate parts.

Two wording points matter. Related work is "in addition to" the first two parts, so a client hour counted toward the 1,500 is not also a related-work hour. And paragraph (b) describes 300 hours of marriage and family therapy "supervised by" the primary and secondary supervisors; the Board's final report forms label that line supervision. The Board's Primary Supervisor Internship Proposal has the supervisor agree to meet with the intern weekly for a minimum of 160 hours, and the Secondary Supervisor Contract has the secondary supervisor agree to a minimum of 40 hours.

The rule does not state the sum of the three parts. The addition is arithmetic: 1,500 + 300 + 1,200 = 3,000, which matches the statute's total.

Practicum client-contact hours from the graduate program may count toward the 500-hour related-work cap (NAC 641A.146(5)(c)(1)). They are documented on the Practicum Internship Report from University Supervisor (Form #7), which the Board says can be submitted with the initial application or any time during the internship.

Two Years Minimum, and Credit for Earlier Work

The statute requires at least 2 years of postgraduate experience in marriage and family therapy (NRS 641A.220(4)(a)). The Board's final-report page adds that at least two years must have passed from the intern license issue date before the final hours application. The upper limit is the license term described in section 6.

Before the intern application, hours gained earlier can be credited, within limits. The Board "may approve" not more than 750 hours of direct contact with clients and 150 supervised hours, and any number of hours in the other categories (NAC 641A.146(6)). The request is made when the application is submitted, with documentation from the state of licensure or a letter from an approved supervisor (NAC 641A.146(6) to (8)). The text of NAC 641A.146(6) does not state any effect on the 2-year postgraduate minimum.

The Board's forms ask for hours by category and by supervisor, so keep dated totals that way from day one.

Two Supervisors and Two Report Dates

Before beginning an internship, an intern must have at least two Board-approved supervisors, a primary and one or more secondary (NAC 641A.178(1)). The primary supervisor meets with the intern for at least 160 hours, which must include at least 1 hour per week; the supervisor documents any variation from that weekly schedule. The secondary supervisor or supervisors meet with the intern for a combined total of at least 40 hours (NAC 641A.178(1)). The 1 hour per week is a minimum cadence for the primary supervisor. A supervisor may have not more than ten interns at one time unless the Board authorizes more (NAC 641A.178(2)).

Each supervisor must be licensed for at least 3 years, be approved by the Board, not be related to the intern by closer than the fourth degree of consanguinity, and "have never professionally provided mental health therapy to the intern" (NAC 641A.182(3)). The direction of that last bar runs from supervisor to intern. See also Nevada MFT and CPC intern supervision.

Reports are due on or before March 15 and September 15 each year. The intern solicits the primary supervisor's written evaluation and submits it with the hours reports (NAC 641A.146(2)). The primary supervisor's evaluation carries total hours to date and the hours in the preceding 6 months (NAC 641A.178(5)). The Board's intern information page says that when no hours were earned in a six-month period, the forms are still completed with hours listed as 0 and submitted. The Board may revoke the license of an intern who fails to file a written report (NAC 641A.146(3)). See also the Nevada six-month internship report.

Three Years, One Renewal

The intern license is valid for 3 years and may be renewed not more than once (NRS 641A.2872(2)). If the hours are not complete within 3 years, the intern must request a renewal, and "the Board will only grant one 3-year renewal" (NAC 641A.146(4)). An intern who is still short after that must give the Board reasons and reapply for a new license (NAC 641A.146(4)). The renewal fee is $150 (NAC 641A.105(1)(a)). The Board's Internship Renewal Request form is signed by the intern and the primary supervisor. It prints that if the internship expiration date has passed, the intern must cease and desist the practice until the Board has the chance to consider the request.

The license also ends early in two cases: when the supervision agreement with an approved supervisor terminates, and when the MFT license is issued (NRS 641A.2872(2)). Each party to a supervision agreement must notify the Board in writing not more than 5 days after the date of termination (NRS 641A.2878). The Board's Internship Dissolution form (Form 9) states that the intern may not see clients after the effective date until a new primary supervisor and a new internship proposal have been approved.

Disclosure, Advertising and No Independent Practice

An MFT intern "shall not engage in the practice of marriage and family therapy independently" (NRS 641A.2874(2)). Except as NAC 641A.182 provides, an intern may perform marriage and family therapy only under the supervision of a marriage and family therapist or clinical professional counselor and in accordance with the supervision agreement (NAC 641A.186).

Before providing any service, an intern must tell the client that he or she holds a license as a marriage and family therapist intern and is practicing under the supervision of an approved supervisor, and must give the client the supervisor's name (NRS 641A.2876). The regulation adds two duties. The intern informs each client that he or she is not licensed to engage independently in the practice of marriage and family therapy (NAC 641A.196(2)), and puts a statement describing intern status on all forms of advertising, including business cards, directory listings and brochures (NAC 641A.196(3)).

For private practice, the rule is about the facility. Except in extenuating circumstances with Board-approved emergency supervision arrangements (NAC 641A.196(4)), an intern may engage in private practice only at facilities that have a licensed marriage and family therapist, clinical professional counselor, clinical alcohol and drug counselor, psychologist, psychiatrist or clinical social worker available to consult with the intern, in person or by telephone, during the intern's hours of employment at the site (NAC 641A.196(1)).

The AMFTRB Exam and the Final Hours Application

An applicant must pass a written examination given by the Board (NRS 641A.230(1)). The Board "shall accept" a passing grade on the national examination sponsored by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards in lieu of it (NRS 641A.230(2)), and the Board's pages name the AMFTRB National MFT Exam. The Board's internship exam page says interns are eligible "after their intern license has been issued and before the end of their internship." The request goes through the Testing Request step in the Board's Certemy portal with the completed MFT Testing Request Form. The Board's page says the authorization is valid for six testing cycles, about six months, and the code can be used once.

After an unsuccessful attempt, an applicant may retake not more than two more times in the 12-month period that starts on the date of the original exam. After a third failure the Board may require additional courses of study.

The final step is the MFT final hours application in the portal. The Board's final-report page lists three pieces: a six-month report form covering the date of the last reporting period through the end of the hours, a final hours report spanning the entire internship, and a copy of the passing test scores. It lists the conditions to submit: at least two years since the intern license issue date, the minimum hours acquired and a passing national score. Form #3, the MFT Final Internship Report from Primary Supervisor, is signed by the primary supervisor.

Renewing the MFT License

A full MFT license expires on January 1 of each even-numbered year (NRS 641A.235(2)). Renewal means applying, paying the $450 biennial fee (NAC 641A.105(1)(a)) and submitting continuing education evidence on or before 10 business days after the expiration date (NRS 641A.260(1)). Failure to pay the fee automatically revokes the license 10 business days after expiration (NRS 641A.270). The continuing education requirement is 40 hours per licensing period, including 6 hours on ethics and 4 on evidence-based suicide prevention and awareness (NAC 641A.131(1)), and at least 6 hours of instruction on cultural competency and diversity, equity and inclusion as part of the continuing education (NRS 641A.260(2)). Dates, fees and proration are in Nevada license renewal and CE requirements. Already licensed in another state? See Nevada license by endorsement.

Common Mistakes on the MFT-Intern Track

Related Nevada MFT and CPC Guides

FAQ: Nevada MFT License Requirements