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For California MFT students · trainee stage

Everything a California MFT student needs, in one place.

In short

What do I need while I am an MFT student in California?

The practicum search, the trainee rules, the Bay Area seats by name, and the two deadlines that start before the degree

Up to 1,300 pre-degree hours can bank toward the 3,000

12 guides for the years between enrolling and your associate number — how the practicum actually works and who finds your site, the seven rules that decide whether a placement counts, the Bay Area seats laid out by name, and the two pieces of paperwork that start before you graduate. Every figure comes from a named source, and the whole site is free.

Free, no account · nothing you read or type here is stored or sent anywhere

Where to startEvery guide for this stageSources

Start here

Four questions bring most students to this page.

Written for MFT trainees. Where a rule differs for an MSW or counseling student, the page says so and links the difference.

How do I actually find a practicum site?The search in order, and the six questions that protect your hoursWhat am I allowed to do as a trainee?The seven rules, and which of the 78 programs finds your siteWhat paperwork starts before I graduate?The 90-day rule, and the Live Scan that has to come firstDo my practicum hours count later?Up to 1,300 can bank toward the 3,000 — see what yours are worth

All 12 guides

Everything on this site written for somebody still in the degree.

The line under each title is not the page’s summary — it is what that page tells a student specifically. The same page says something different to an associate counting hours.

BBS fees halved in July 2026What registering will cost when you file - the application fees halved in July 2026, and revert in 2030.BBS hours trackers compared: five products, and who is behind themLog like the Board reads logs from week one - five trackers compared, and what counts as a signature.Bay Area agencies with published clinical training programsTen agencies with a training program in writing - supervision hours and stipends where stated, and the page each fact came from.Bay Area practicum sites: where an MFT trainee can be placedThe Bay Area settings the code lets you be placed in — and the site-agreement question to ask your program before contacting any of them.Becoming an LMFT in CaliforniaEvery requirement between today and the license, each with its code section - the map your program does not hand you.East Bay practicum sites: EB CAMFT directory, annotatedThe 21 sites in EB CAMFT's own 2026-27 directory — who was accepting at the dated read, hours, supervision, and the named contact to write to.Getting hired as a California associate: why half your applications never replyRead before your final term: which settings can legally bill for a pre-licensed clinician decides where applications land.How long the BBS takes: California license and registration timesHow long the Board takes on a new associate application - worth knowing before your final term, not after.How long to 3,000 hours? An AMFT hours calculator for CaliforniaUp to 1,300 pre-degree hours can bank toward the 3,000 - what your practicum pace is worth after you graduate.How to find a practicum site in California, and what to askThe search in order: your program's model first, the five statutory strikes, then six-plus applications across the four shelves of seats.The 90-day rule: when post-degree hours count in CaliforniaThe one deadline that starts before you graduate: get the employer Live Scan stamped before your award date.The practicum year in California: rules, hours and placementWho finds your practicum site at each of the 78 programs, and the seven rules that decide if a placement counts.

Where every figure came from

Sources.

The statutes this stage runs on

  1. Business and Professions Code § 4980.42 — the practicum course, the site agreement your school must hold, and the under-90-day gap
  2. § 4980.43.3 — what a trainee may and may not do, and the settings that can never count
  3. § 4980.43 — the 1,300 pre-degree hours that can bank, and the 750-hour inner cap

This page is a door, not advice. Every rule above is quoted and sourced in full on the pages it links; where this stage touches money or law, those pages link the statute rather than summarizing it. Nothing here is legal advice.

Figures checked, narrative not re-read

The numbers are current. The argument around them has not been reviewed since it was written.

You should not have to work this part out on your own.

Once a month: free tools and apps worth having, better ways to run the admin side of a practice, what other California therapists are actually doing, and anything new here that might save you an afternoon.

About monthly. One click to leave. Never sold, never shared. The consent box is separate and unticked because California requires it — and because it should be.