The Path From Resident to LMFT
The Virginia Board of Counseling, part of the Virginia Department of Health Professions (DHP), licenses the Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy as "an individual who has a supervisory contract and has been issued a temporary license by the board to provide clinical services in marriage and family therapy under supervision" (18VAC115-50-10). The residency begins "after the completion of a master's degree in marriage and family therapy or a related discipline" (18VAC115-50-60 B 5).
The degree has to come from a regionally accredited program that prepares individuals to practice marriage and family therapy; programs approved by CACREP as programs in marriage and family counseling or therapy, or by COAMFTE, meet that standard (18VAC115-50-50). The coursework runs 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours, with at least six semester hours (nine quarter hours) in marriage and family studies and in marriage and family therapy, and three semester hours (4.0 quarter hours) in each of seven more areas: human growth and development across the lifespan, abnormal behaviors, diagnosis and treatment of addictive behaviors, multicultural counseling, professional identity and ethics, research, and assessment and treatment. It also includes a supervised internship of at least 600 hours, with 240 hours of direct client contact, 200 of them with couples and families (18VAC115-50-55 A). A current, unrestricted licensed professional counselor, clinical psychologist or clinical social worker may instead have 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours of graduate study accepted if it includes six semester hours each in marriage and family studies and marriage and family therapy; the rule says the Board "may accept" that (18VAC115-50-55 B).
During the residency, residents may use their names, the initials of their degree, and the title "Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy" (18VAC115-50-60 B 7). Once the residency hours and supervision described below are complete and the exam is passed, the resident applies to the Board for the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) license.
The Board of Social Work runs a separate track for clinical social work, the Virginia LCSW requirements, with its own registration, hours and supervision rules that do not carry over to marriage and family therapy.
The 2,000-Hour Requirement and the Couples Split
The residency requires "at least 2,000 hours of face-to-face client contact in clinical marriage and family services, of which 1,000 hours shall be face-to-face client contact with couples or families or both" (18VAC115-50-60 B 2). Virginia does not publish a total hours figure covering supervision or other activities; the rule sets the 2,000-hour face-to-face minimum and the 200-hour supervision minimum as two separate requirements, not parts of one combined total.
| Requirement | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Face-to-face client contact | At least 2,000 hours | 18VAC115-50-60 B 2 |
| With couples or families or both | At least 1,000 of the 2,000 hours | 18VAC115-50-60 B 2 |
| Recency, face-to-face | 1,000 hours (500 with couples or families) in the 2 years before applying | 18VAC115-50-60 B 4 |
| Recency, supervision | 100 hours in the 2 years before applying | 18VAC115-50-60 B 4 |
The recency rule and the 21-month floor covered next are separate requirements. A resident who reaches 2,000 hours quickly still has to hold at least 1,000 of those hours, 500 with couples or families, and 100 supervision hours, inside the two years immediately before applying.
The 21-Month Floor and No Maximum Since December 2025
The residency must run "not less than 21 months" (18VAC115-50-60 B 9). Effective December 18, 2025, the Board removed the time limit that previously applied to this residency; there is now no maximum length (Board of Counseling's December 2025 regulation-change summary, revised 12/05/2025).
Residents approved before December 18, 2025 may elect to satisfy either all the residency requirements now in effect or all the requirements that applied when they were approved, whichever is less burdensome for them. Combining elements of both is not permitted (Board of Counseling's December 2025 regulation-change summary, revised 12/05/2025).
A resident stays in the residency, under supervision, until the exam is passed and the LMFT is granted; the removal of the maximum length means a longer residency no longer forces a restart.
Supervision: a Rate and a Total
Supervision in Virginia is both a rate and a total, and the residency requires both. The total is 200 hours of in-person supervision, and in-person may also include "the use of technology that maintains client confidentiality and provides real-time, visual contact between the supervisor and the resident" (18VAC115-50-60 B 1). The rate is "a minimum of one hour and a maximum of four hours of supervision for every 40 hours of supervised work experience" (18VAC115-50-60 B 1). At least 100 of the 200 hours must come from a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist specifically, and no more than 100 hours may be group supervision, with a group made up of no more than six residents (18VAC115-50-60 B 1).
Supervisors complete a Quarterly Evaluation at the end of each three-month period of the residency (18VAC115-50-60 D 1). The LMFT Supervision Verification form, filed with the license application, adds a question the counseling track's form does not ask: "How many of the face-to-face client contact hours listed above were specifically with couples, families, or both?" (LMFT Supervision Verification Form, Rev. 12/2025).
Who Can Supervise a Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy
An eligible supervisor holds a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) or Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) license, active and unrestricted in the jurisdiction where the supervision is provided, with at least two years of post-licensure marriage and family therapy experience and supervision training: three semester credit hours (or 4.0 quarter hours) of graduate coursework in supervision, or at least 20 hours of continuing education in supervision (18VAC115-50-60 C).
"LCSWs or Psychologists cannot supervise a Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy toward licensure" (LMFT Licensure Process Handbook, revised 04/2026). This is a different eligibility line than the Virginia LPC supervision requirements page describes for the counseling track: the MFT track's LMFT-share rule and the LPC track's LPC-share rule are separate requirements, and neither substitutes for the other.
For how the parallel counseling residency's hours and 200-hour supervision total work in practice, see Virginia counseling residency hours.
The AMFTRB Exam and the Approval Code
Virginia licenses on the national MFT examination administered by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB). The LMFT Licensure Process Handbook, revised 04/2026, states that a resident "can take the examination at any point during your residency, however you must email the Board prior to beginning the registration process," then receive an approval code from the Board before registering with AMFTRB. The exam costs $365 per the Handbook.
Do not skip the approval-code step. The Handbook requires a resident to email the Board and receive an approval code before registering for the AMFTRB exam. Registering without it is not the same as taking the exam "at any point during your residency."
The exam is waived for "an applicant who holds a current and unrestricted license as a professional counselor issued by the board" (18VAC115-50-70 A). That covers a Virginia LPC moving into the MFT track. Separately, the Code of Virginia says the Board "may issue a license, without examination, for the practice of marriage and family therapy" to persons who hold a current and unrestricted license as a professional counselor within the Commonwealth and who meet the clinical and academic requirements for licensure as a marriage and family therapist (Code of Virginia Section 54.1-3506).
Renewal and Fees
The LMFT license renews annually, on or before June 30, for $130, with 20 hours of continuing education per renewal, including at least 2 hours in ethics, standards of practice, or Virginia law; that CE requirement is waived at the first renewal after licensure by examination (18VAC115-50-90 A; 18VAC115-50-20; 18VAC115-50-95). The Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy license also renews every June 30, for $30, with 3 hours of continuing education in the same subjects from an approved provider (18VAC115-50-90 C).
For the full renewal calendar and CE rules across every Virginia counseling and social work credential, see Virginia license renewal and CE requirements.
Common Mistakes on the Virginia MFT Track
Assuming a fixed residency length still applies
Since December 18, 2025 the Board no longer sets a maximum length for the Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy license. Only the 21-month floor remains as a fixed duration rule (18VAC115-50-60 B 9; Board of Counseling's December 2025 regulation-change summary).
Counting the couples split as extra hours
The 1,000 hours with couples or families are not on top of the 2,000-hour total; they are a required subset of it (18VAC115-50-60 B 2).
Registering for the AMFTRB exam without an approval code
The LMFT Handbook requires an email to the Board and an approval code before registering with AMFTRB, even though the exam may be taken at any point during the residency.
Using an LCSW or psychologist as the residency's supervisor
Licensed Clinical Social Workers and psychologists cannot supervise a Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy toward licensure, regardless of their experience.
Treating the supervision rate and the supervision total as the same rule
The one-to-four-hours-per-40-hours-of-work-experience rate and the 200-hour total are two separate requirements that both have to be met (18VAC115-50-60 B 1).
Applying the LPC track's supervision rules to the MFT track
The MFT track requires at least 100 of the 200 supervision hours from an LMFT specifically. The LPC track's supervisor-share rule is a separate requirement under a separate section and does not carry over.
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More on Virginia licensure
Virginia's counseling track starts as a Resident in Counseling in Virginia on its own path to the LPC, and the social work track runs through a Registration of Supervision in Virginia on the way to the Virginia LCSW requirements, with its own Virginia LCSW supervision requirements. The full picture across all three Virginia tracks, and the forms each one files, starts at how to become a therapist in Virginia and Virginia supervised experience forms.
Related Virginia Guides
Virginia LPC Requirements
The Resident in Counseling track: degree, residency hours, supervision and the exam.
Virginia Counseling Residency Hours
The 2,000-hour face-to-face minimum and recency rule for the counseling residency.
Virginia LPC Supervision Requirements
Who may supervise a Resident in Counseling and the LPC-share rule.
Virginia License Renewal and CE Requirements
Renewal dates, fees and CE hours across every Virginia counseling and social work credential.
Virginia Supervised Experience Forms
The Quarterly Evaluation, Verification of Supervision and other forms each Virginia track files.
How to Become a Therapist in Virginia
The full picture across Virginia's counseling, social work and marriage and family therapy tracks.
FAQ: Virginia LMFT Requirements
What are the Virginia LMFT requirements?▾
Virginia's path runs through the Board of Counseling. After a master's degree in marriage and family therapy or a related discipline, a candidate becomes a Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy under a supervisory contract (18VAC115-50-60 B 5). The residency requires at least 2,000 hours of face-to-face client contact in clinical marriage and family services, of which 1,000 hours must be with couples or families or both, plus 200 hours of in-person supervision, over not less than 21 months (18VAC115-50-60 B 1, B 2, B 9). The resident then applies for the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) license.
How many hours do you need for LMFT in Virginia?▾
At least 2,000 hours of face-to-face client contact in clinical marriage and family services, and at least 1,000 of those hours must be with couples or families or both (18VAC115-50-60 B 2). Virginia does not publish a total hours figure that includes supervision or other activities. Separately, the resident needs 200 hours of in-person supervision, at a rate of one to four hours per 40 hours of supervised work experience, with at least 100 of the 200 hours from a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (18VAC115-50-60 B 1).
How long does the Virginia MFT residency take?▾
The residency runs not less than 21 months (18VAC115-50-60 B 9). Since December 18, 2025, there is no maximum length. Residents approved before that date may elect to satisfy either all the current residency requirements or all of the requirements that applied when they were approved, whichever is less burdensome; combining elements of both is not permitted (Board of Counseling's December 2025 regulation-change summary, revised 12/05/2025). In the two years immediately before applying for licensure, a resident also needs at least 1,000 face-to-face hours, 500 of them with couples or families, and 100 supervision hours (18VAC115-50-60 B 4).
Who can supervise a Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy in Virginia?▾
A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) or a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), with an active and unrestricted license where the supervision is provided, at least two years of post-licensure marriage and family therapy experience, and supervision training of three semester credit hours (or 4.0 quarter hours) of graduate coursework, or at least 20 hours of continuing education in supervision (18VAC115-50-60 C). Licensed Clinical Social Workers and psychologists cannot supervise a Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy toward licensure.
Do I need Board approval before taking the AMFTRB exam in Virginia?▾
Yes. The LMFT Licensure Process Handbook (revised 04/2026) states that a resident can take the exam at any point during the residency, but must email the Board before beginning the registration process and receive an approval code before registering with the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB). The exam costs $365 per the Handbook. A resident who holds a current, unrestricted Virginia Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) license does not have to take the exam (18VAC115-50-70 A).
What does it cost to renew an LMFT license in Virginia?▾
An LMFT license renews annually, on or before June 30, for $130, with 20 hours of continuing education including at least 2 hours in ethics, standards of practice, or Virginia law (18VAC115-50-90 A; 18VAC115-50-20; 18VAC115-50-95). The exemption applies at the first renewal after licensure by examination. A Resident in Marriage and Family Therapy license also renews every June 30, for $30, with 3 hours of continuing education in the same subjects from an approved provider (18VAC115-50-90 C).
Can a Virginia LPC become an LMFT without taking the exam?▾
Two provisions cover this. The Board may license a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) without examination if the applicant meets the marriage and family therapy clinical and academic requirements (Code of Virginia Section 54.1-3506). Separately, the national MFT examination is waived for an applicant who holds a current and unrestricted Virginia LPC license (18VAC115-50-70 A).
Requirements verified against 18VAC115-50 (Virginia Board of Counseling regulations governing marriage and family therapy, amended effective December 18, 2025) and the Code of Virginia, Title 54.1, current as of September 2026. Regulations, statutes and fees can change. Confirm current requirements at the Virginia Board of Counseling before making decisions about your licensure path. This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or professional advice.