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A5116
ASSEMBLY, No. 5116
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MAY 18, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� YVONNE LOPEZ
District 19 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
���� Modifies requirements for licensure in marriage and
family therapy.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning licensure in marriage and family therapy and
amending P.L.1968, c.401.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� Section 14 of P.L.1968,
c.401 (C.45:8B-14) is amended to read as follows:
���� 14.� A person desiring to
obtain a license as a practicing marriage and family therapist or as an
associate marriage and family therapist shall make application therefor to the
board upon such form and in such manner as the board shall prescribe and shall
furnish evidence satisfactory to the board that
[
he
]
the person
:
���� (a)�� Is at least 21 years of
age;
���� (b)�� Is of good moral
character;
���� (c)�� Is not engaged in any
practice or conduct which would be a ground for refusing to issue, suspending
or revoking a license issued pursuant to this act; and
���� (d)�� Qualifies for licensing
by an examination of credentials or
[
for
admission to an assembled examination to be conducted by the board
]
meeting the qualifications set forth in section 18 of P.L.1968, c.401
(C.45:8B-18)
.
(cf: P.L.2017, c.350, s.5)
���� 2.��� Section 18 of P.L.1968,
c.401 (C.45:8B-18) is amended to read as follows:
���� 18.� A
person applying to the board to obtain a license as a practicing marriage and
family therapist
[
may
be admitted to an examination if he meets
]
or an associate marriage and family therapist shall meet
the
qualifications set forth in subsections (a), (b) and (c) of section 14 of
P.L.1968, c.401 (C.45:8B-14) and
[
provides
]
provide
evidence satisfactory to the board that
[
he
]
the person
has met educational
[
and
]
,
experiential
, and examination
qualifications
set forth in subsections
(a), (b), and (c) of this section, except that a person applying to the board
to obtain a license as an associate marriage and family therapist shall only be
required to meet the educational qualifications set forth in subsection (a) of
this section
as follows:
���� (a)�� Educational Requirement:
���� To meet the educational
requirements, an applicant shall have a minimum of a master's degree in
marriage and family therapy, a master's degree in social work, or a graduate
degree in a related field and shall demonstrate that
[
he
]
the applicant
has
completed course work content and training substantially equivalent to a
master's degree in marriage and family therapy; and the degree shall have been
obtained from an accredited institution so recognized at the time of granting
of the degrees.
���� Pursuant to regulations
adopted by the board, an applicant with a graduate degree in a related field
which does not provide training and course work substantially equivalent in
content to a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, shall be deemed to
meet the educational requirements set forth in this section upon satisfactory
completion of either a post graduate degree recognized by the board, or a
program of training and course work at an institute or training program
accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy
Education.
���� (b)�� Experience Requirements:
���� To meet the experience
requirements, an applicant shall have
[
three
]
two
years of full-time
[
counseling
]
supervised
marriage and family therapy
experience
[
,
or its equivalent, of a character approved by the board, two years of which
shall have been in marriage and family therapy; two of the three required years
shall have been
]
under the supervision of a person holding a degree specified in subsection (a)
of this section and who has
[
himself
had
]
no less than five full-time years of professional experience or the
equivalent.� For those with a master's degree,
[
two of the three
required years shall occur after the applicant has earned
]
up to 300
hours of client contact earned by the applicant while obtaining
the
master's degree
may be applied towards the experience qualifications set
forth in this subsection
, and for those with a post-master's or doctoral
degree, one of the
[
three
]
two
required years shall occur after the applicant has earned the post-master's or
doctoral degree.
����
(c)�� Examination
Requirement:
����
To meet the examination
requirement, an applicant shall pass an examination conducted by the board.� An
applicant shall be admitted to an examination conducted by the board if the
applicant provides evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant has
met the educational requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section and
may do so at any point prior to completing the experience requirements set
forth in subsection (b) of this section.
(cf: P.L.2017, c.350, s.6)
���� 3.��� Section 20 of P.L.1968,
c.401 (C.45:8B-20) is amended to read as follows:
����
20.
Any person who
shall have failed an examination conducted by the board may not be admitted to
a subsequent examination for a period of at least
[
6 months
]
90 days
and shall be admitted to a subsequent examination upon compliance with
applicable registration requirements including payment of a fee as prescribed
by the board
.
(cf: P.L.1968, c.401, s.20)
���� 4. (New section)� The State
Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, pursuant to the �Administrative
Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and
regulations to effectuate the purposes of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this act).
���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect on the 13th month next following enactment and shall apply to
applications for licensure received on or after the effective date of this act.
STATEMENT
���� This bill modifies the
requirements for licensure in marriage and family therapy.
���� Under current law, an
applicant for licensure as a practicing marriage and family is required to
complete three years of full-time counseling experience, which is to include
two years of supervised marriage and family therapy experience.� The bill
reduces this requirement to two years of full-time supervised marriage and
family therapy experience.�
���� The bill also permits an
applicant with a master�s degree to apply up to 300 hours of client contact
earned by the applicant while obtaining the master�s degree towards the
experience requirements for licensure as a practicing marriage and family
therapist.� An applicant with a post-master�s or doctoral degree is required to
complete one of the two years of full-time supervised marriage and family
therapy experience after the applicant obtains the post-master�s or doctoral
degree.
���� The bill requires the board to
admit an applicant for licensure to an examination conducted by the board if
the applicant meets the educational requirement but has not yet met the
experience requirements for licensure.� Under current law, an applicant for
licensure as a practicing marriage and family therapist is required to meet
both the educational and experience requirements for licensure before the
applicant can be admitted to an examination.
���� The bill clarifies that an
applicant for licensure as an associate marriage and family therapist is not
required to meet the experience and examination qualifications required for
licensure as a practicing marriage and family therapist.
���� The bill also shortens, from 6
months to 90 days, the period that an applicant who fails an examination is to
wait for admittance to a subsequent examination.�