Supervisor Requirements
What do you need to supervise an associate in California?
Clark Gudas
Published · 5 min read
Reviewed By Evalin Sosa, AMFT
To supervise AMFTs, APCCs or ASWs in California, you need a current, active California license as an LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, LEP, licensed psychologist, or board-certified psychiatrist, held for at least two of the last five years, with at least two of the last five years spent practicing psychotherapy or supervising. If you first supervised in California on or after January 1, 2022, you complete 15 hours of supervision training within 60 days of starting, send the Board a one-time Supervisor Self-Assessment Report within 60 days, and complete six hours of supervision professional development each renewal cycle. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and holders of an AAMFT, ABECSW, CAMFT, or CCE supervisor certificate are exempt from the training hours. In nonexempt settings, you may supervise no more than six people at once in individual or triadic supervision.
Which licenses qualify, the training and reporting you owe the Board, how many associates you can take, and what you sign are covered below.
Which licenses qualify you to supervise?
Six California license types qualify to supervise associates: LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, LEP, licensed psychologist, and physicians board-certified in psychiatry. Your license must be current and active in California. An out-of-state license alone does not qualify.
The Board publishes a supervisor information sheet for each track: AMFT, APCC, and ASW.
Note that LEPs have a tighter scope. The ASW sheet states that an LEP may supervise up to 1,200 hours, and only for educationally-related mental health services within LEP scope.
How long must you have been licensed?
You must have held an active license for at least two of the last five years, in California or another state. You also need at least two of the last five years spent practicing psychotherapy or supervising associates and trainees.
Both tests apply, so a newly licensed LMFT with no earlier license cannot supervise yet. Passing one test does not cover the other.
What training do you need before you start?
Anyone who first supervised in California on or after January 1, 2022 completes 15 hours of supervision training or coursework within 60 days of starting.
If you return to supervising after a lapse of two years or more, you must complete six hours within 60 days. That shorter refresher replaces the full 15 hours.
Some supervisors are exempt from the training hours. Psychologists and psychiatrists are exempt, as are supervisors certified by AAMFT, ABECSW, CAMFT, or CCE.
What is the Supervisor Self-Assessment Report?
The Supervisor Self-Assessment Report is a one-time report sent to the Board within 60 days of first starting supervision. This requirement began on January 1, 2022. Supervisors who were already supervising by that date had until January 1, 2023 to file the report. As a supervisor, you file it once only when starting supervision for the first time, not at each renewal and not for each associate. You must keep a copy of the report and qualification records for at least seven years after supervision ends.
What do you need every renewal cycle?
Each renewal cycle, you complete six hours of continuing professional development in supervision. Training, teaching, published research, peer consultation, and peer discussion groups all count.
Keep the documentation for seven years after the supervision ends. The Board can audit you, and you must hand over the records if it does.
How many associates can you supervise?
In nonexempt settings you may supervise no more than six people at once in individual or triadic supervision, counted across all your nonexempt employers (SB 1024, January 1, 2025).
Group supervision has its own cap of eight people, counting anyone being supervised for clinical mental health services. Group supervisees do not count toward your six.
Exempt settings have no cap. The law defines an exempt setting as a governmental entity, a school, a college, a university, or a nonprofit charitable institution. Private practices and professional corporations are nonexempt. If you work in both kinds of settings, only the nonexempt supervisees count toward the six.
What do you sign and keep?
A BBS supervisor signs six documents over a supervisory relationship and keeps records for seven years after it ends.
Document | When | Who Keeps It |
|---|---|---|
Within 60 days of starting | The supervisee, submitted with the licensure application | |
Weekly log | Every week, never signed by the supervisee on your behalf | The supervisee |
Within 60 days, only if you supervise by video | The supervisee, as part of the Supervision Agreement | |
Strengths and limitations assessment | At least yearly and at the end of supervision | You |
Experience Verification | One per setting, when your supervision ends | The supervisee, submitted with the application |
Written oversight agreement with the employer | Before supervision starts, if you are not employed by the employer or supervise as a volunteer | You and the employer |
Sign the weekly log every week. Your supervisee cannot sign it for you. Hours can be lost if you are unavailable to sign later. The Board accepts original, scanned, or electronic signatures.
In a private practice, you must be employed by, contracted with, or an owner of the practice, and either provide therapy there or hold a written contract giving access to clinical records (AB 690). The supervisee keeps the signed originals.
Who can't you supervise?
Three relationships bar you from supervising someone:
- You cannot supervise anyone you have treated, such as former clients.
- You cannot supervise your spouse, domestic partner, or relative.
- You cannot supervise anyone whose relationship with you would undermine your authority as supervisor.
Check each of the three before you say yes to a new associate.
Questions licensees ask about supervising
Can an LPCC supervise an AMFT?
Yes. Since AB 462 took effect on January 1, 2022, an LPCC who meets the supervisor qualifications can supervise AMFTs. The same qualification rules apply.
Can I supervise by video?
Yes, with the 60-day assessment. The video supervision guide covers the rest.
Do group supervisees count toward the six?
No. The six applies to individual and triadic supervision. Group supervision is capped at eight people.
What happens when I stop supervising someone?
Give your associate written notice at least one week before you stop signing hours. Then sign the Experience Verification form for the weeks you supervised.
Do I need a separate Supervision Agreement for each associate?
Yes. Each associate needs their own agreement, signed by you and that associate.
Can I supervise an associate I employ in my private practice?
Yes, if you meet the AB 690 private practice rule in the sign-and-keep section. Check that rule before you take the associate on.
Can I sign my associate’s hours from email?
Yes, if your associate tracks hours in a tool that automatically sends you their hours by email. Open the link in the message, review the week, and sign. No account required. This works because the Board accepts electronic signatures.
Sign each week from your inbox
Supervisor qualification requires a valid license, satisfying the two-of-five-years rule, training, the Self-Assessment report, the six-hour CPD, and the caseload cap. SparkHours for supervisors sends you each associate’s week by email. You review the log and sign from the link. No account required.