The California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) is planning on transitioning from the California MFT Clinical Exam to the National MFT Exam. Here are answers to common questions about the planned MFT exam transition.
This page last updated August 19, 2026. This page is for educational purposes only, is subject to change, and is not legal advice.
Information about the National MFT Exam.
The National MFT Exam is the clinical exam used for MFT licensure in every US jurisdiction except California. California uses its own state-specific exam.
The National MFT Exam is developed by the Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB), an organization of licensing boards from around the United States and Canada. AMFTRB collaborates with its test administrator, Professional Testing Corporation (PTC), for some of its exam development and delivery functions.
California was the first state in the country to license MFTs, and for many years had a more secure exam development process. Now, the National MFT Exam has improved its processes, and the MFT profession is interested in creating a singular national clinical exam for MFTs.
The exam structures are similar. Both exams are four-option, multiple-choice exams delivered via computer. Both exams are 4 hours in duration for examinees without specific accommodations.
The California exam consists of 150 questions, of which 125 are scored. The other 25 questions are considered experimental items and are being evaluated for possible inclusion as scored items in future tests. The national exam consists of 180 questions, all of which are scored.
On both exams, in rare instances an item may be removed from scoring if it fails certain statistical tests or is otherwise problematic.
The exam outlines reflect similar but not identical content; there are several areas of knowledge unique to each exam. (It is for this reason that we do not recommend using a prep program designed for the California exam to prepare for the national exam or vice versa.)
At present, the California exam is offered continuously, while the national exam is offered for a single, eight-day window each month. Results for the California exam are typically delivered immediately, while results on the national exam take up to four weeks to be delivered.
The California exam is delivered at Pearson Professional Assessments testing centers. The national exam is delivered at testing centers operated by Professional Testing Corporation (PTC).
As of August 2026, the fee for the national exam is $370. The normal fee for the California exam is $250, though it is currently lowered to $125 under a four-year BBS fee reduction set to run through June 30, 2030.
How the change from the California MFT Clinical Exam to the National MFT Exam will work.
At this time, we don’t know. In previous meetings, the BBS expressed the intent to transition to the National MFT Exam as of January 2027. That later was revised to July 2027, and at its August 2026 meeting, the board simply said that conversations were ongoing, but that progress toward the transition was on “pause.” The issue is expected to be discussed again at the November 2026 BBS meeting.
Based on its prior statements, the BBS will work to ensure that active exam eligibility is carried forward to the National MFT Exam. You should not have to file a new application. As is the case under current rules, however, if you allow more than one year to go by between clinical exam attempts, your application is considered abandoned.
As the transition date becomes more solidly set, you may be able to choose which exam you take based on when you schedule your exam to take place.
When you are declared eligible for the clinical exam, that eligibility is good for one year. If your exam eligibility extends through the exam transition, you will be able to choose to schedule your exam earlier and take the California MFT Clinical Exam, or wait until the transition has completed and take the National MFT Exam.
Note that the scheduling processes and testing locations for the two exams are likely to differ, as they are administered by two different testing companies.
No. Once the National MFT Exam becomes available to those pursuing California MFT licensure, the California MFT Clinical Exam will no longer be offered.
By itself, the National MFT Exam does not grant any specific practice privileges. MFT licensure is, and will remain, a state-by-state process. However, the process of getting licensed in other states will become easier for California MFTs who pass the National MFT Exam.
At present, when a California-licensed MFT applies for licensure in another state, the other state may or may not accept the applicant’s result on the California MFT Clinical Exam as equivalent to passing the National MFT Exam. If the other state does not consider the two to be equivalent, the applicant may be required to take and pass the National MFT Exam in order to become licensed in the other state — a second clinical exam.
By using the National MFT Exam, California would help MFTs avoid this duplicative exam process, bringing the entire country under a single clinical exam standard for licensure.
If you're already licensed as an MFT in California, learn how the exam transition will impact you. (Spoiler alert: It will not impact you at all.)
It will not impact you at all. You will not need to take the National MFT Exam, nor will you be able to take it unless you are required to do so as part of the process of applying for licensure in another state.
No. Some states already treat the California MFT Clinical Exam as equivalent to the National MFT Exam for portability purposes, but California transitioning to the National MFT Exam does not change how states will consider prior passing scores on the California MFT Clinical Exam.
You can't (and will not be able to) sign up for the National MFT Exam simply on the basis that you're currently a California LMFT.
The only way to take the National MFT Exam will be to apply for licensure in a state that uses the National MFT Exam as a requirement for licensure, and have that state declare you eligible to take the exam as part of their licensure process.
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