Washington · Counseling
LMHCA to LMHC: Washington's Mental Health Counselor Hour Requirements
Last updated August 7, 2026
Washington's LMHCA is a real license — you cannot legally practice as an unlicensed associate — and moving up to the full LMHC is a cumulative-hours game with no interim paperwork. The Department of Health verifies everything once, at the end, on a single form per supervisor. Here is what the road looks like.
LMHC hours requirements at a glance
| Requirement | Hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total postgraduate experience | 3,000 | Equivalent to about 36 months full-time |
| Direct client counseling | 1,200 | Individuals, couples, families, or groups |
| Immediate supervision | 100 | Sessions where the supervisor has no more than 2 candidates at a time |
| Minimum duration | 36 months | Cannot complete faster even if the hours are met |
How supervision is measured
Washington sets a proportional floor rather than a fixed monthly minimum: at least 1 hour of supervision per 80 hours of clinical practice, per WAC 246-809. The 100-hour immediate-supervision requirement is the tighter constraint — those are sessions where your approved supervisor has no more than two candidates. General group supervision (up to 6 candidates) is allowed but does not count toward the 100-hour immediate floor.
Credits that shorten the road
- CACREP-accredited degree: once DOH receives your official transcript, you are credited with 50 hours of immediate supervision and 500 hours of direct counseling or other qualifying clinical experience — leaving 50 immediate-supervision hours to earn and 500 fewer hours toward the 3,000 total.
- SUDP experience: 3+ years as a Substance Use Disorder Professional within the past 10 years reduces the total from 3,000 to 2,700 hours.
No interim reports — then DOH 670-128
Washington has no periodic reporting windows and no birth-month deadlines during your associate period. You track your hours across the whole supervised experience, and each supervisor completes a DOH 670-128 — the Mental Health Counselor Associate Supervision and Experience Verification form, one per supervisor and per practice setting — submitted with your final LMHC application packet. The tradeoff: "no reports" means no forcing function, so if your tracking drifts, nobody notices until the end, when reconstructing hours across supervisors and settings gets painful.
Renewals: the six-renewal cap is gone
The LMHCA license renews annually on the anniversary of its issuance date (WAC 246-809-990(2)), and — since June 6, 2024 — there is no limit on how many times it can be renewed. The old six-renewal cap was repealed (2024 c 371 s 15; RCW 18.225.145(6)), and anyone who lost an associate license to it can reactivate it as an ordinary expired credential. Each renewal carries 16 CE hours per year (WAC 246-809-632, effective October 2025 — 6 hours of ethics/law every two years, 2 hours of professional roles and boundaries, and 2 hours of health equity every four years). The repeal guide covers what changed and who can reactivate.
Exam
You must pass the NCE or NCMHCE, administered by NBCC/CCE, with scores submitted directly to DOH.
Common questions
What are the LMHC hours requirements in Washington?▾
3,000 total postgraduate hours over at least 36 months, including 1,200 hours of direct client counseling and 100 hours of immediate supervision (sessions where your approved supervisor has no more than two candidates at a time). A CACREP-accredited degree credits 50 immediate-supervision hours and 500 experience hours, and 3+ years as an SUDP within the past decade reduces the total to 2,700. You also pass the NCE or NCMHCE.
What hours do I need to move from LMHCA to LMHC?▾
3,000 total postgraduate hours over a minimum of 36 months, including 1,200 hours of direct client counseling and 100 hours of immediate supervision — sessions where your approved supervisor has no more than two candidates at a time. You also need a passing score on the NCE or NCMHCE.
How often do I need supervision as an LMHCA?▾
Washington sets a proportional floor rather than a fixed monthly minimum: at least one hour of supervision for every 80 hours of clinical practice, per WAC 246-809. General group supervision of up to six candidates is allowed but does not count toward the 100-hour immediate supervision floor.
Does a CACREP degree reduce my LMHC hour requirements?▾
Yes. Once DOH receives your official transcript, graduates of CACREP-accredited master's or doctoral programs are credited with 50 hours of immediate supervision and 500 hours of direct counseling or other qualifying clinical experience — leaving 50 immediate-supervision hours to earn and 500 fewer hours toward the 3,000 total.
Do I file interim reports during my LMHCA period?▾
No. Washington has no periodic reporting windows. You track hours throughout your supervised experience, and your supervisor completes the DOH 670-128 Supervision and Experience Verification form — one per supervisor and per practice setting — submitted with your final LMHC application packet.
Is there still a six-renewal cap on the LMHCA license?▾
No — it was repealed effective June 6, 2024 (2024 c 371 s 15; RCW 18.225.145(6)). The LMHCA now renews annually with no limit, carrying 16 CE hours per year, and anyone who previously lost an associate license to the old cap can reactivate it as an ordinary expired credential.
Official sources
This guide is informational, not legal advice. Licensure rules change — always verify current requirements with your board before making decisions about your supervision plan, and flag any discrepancies to support@almostlicensed.com so we can fix them.