Moving States After the MFT National Exam: Score Transfers, Score Validity and What Your New Board Decides

Where your MFT National Exam score goes by default

One board receives your score automatically: the one that issued your approval code. AMFTRB's FAQ says scores "can only go to the state board through which they applied for licensure," and that sending them anywhere else happens only after results are out, through PTC's score transfer.

Where you sit the exam doesn't matter. You can test at any Prometric center in the United States, its territories or Canada, and the score still goes to the approving board. What matters is which board approves you, and the FAQ describes two situations:

• You know where you're moving, and soon. Consider getting your approval code from the board where you'll practice, since passing the exam is only one of its requirements.
• You're moving but don't know where. You can get a code from your current board, test, and transfer the score later. You may still have to meet other requirements in the new state.

How to request an MFT score transfer through PTC

PTC's help article describes the online process at secure.ptcny.com/mftscoretransfer:

1. Open a New Application and create a profile.
2. Enter your exam details. At minimum your first and last name and the month and year of your exam. PTC lists your test date, Candidate ID and the destination state as the information you'll need.
3. Choose a state transfer or a duplicate. A state transfer asks you to pick the state; a duplicate score report comes to you by email.
4. Add each request separately. You can request several, one item at a time.
5. Certify, sign with your full name and pay by credit card.

Transfers are sent to the board electronically and you get a confirmation email. PTC says no paper copies are mailed. The 2027 handbook says you can request a transfer at the time of your exam or any time afterward, and that you need your PTC Candidate ID, so keep your Scheduling Authorization email or score report.

Older pages online show other amounts, so go by the current handbook and the fee PTC's form shows when you pay. Forgot when you tested or which state approved you? AMFTRB's roadmap says PTC has scores back to 1989 and can help you find your record.

What the transfer does and doesn't do

PTC sends the score with normative data so the board can interpret it, and keeps permanent score records. That's all. Both handbooks say PTC "registers only examination scores," and AMFTRB's score transfer page says that if you want a license in a state other than the one that approved you, you must confirm your eligibility with that board.

The new board decides everything else: degree and coursework, supervised hours, any extra state exams and any endorsement route for licensed MFTs. AMFTRB's Moving to a New State page puts it plainly: the most relevant information comes only from the state you're moving to. AMFTRB's licensure resources page offers its 2025 State Licensure Survey, a downloadable PDF with detailed information for each state, as a useful first look before you call.

New York shows how specific a board can be. Its LMFT licensure checklist, dated August 2019 and still posted by the State Education Department:

• requires a score transfer for applicants who passed the AMFTRB exam elsewhere, and doesn't accept scores sent by applicants or other jurisdictions
• doesn't accept exams taken under non-standard conditions, such as extra time for English as a second language or a translating dictionary
• offers licensure by endorsement to LMFTs licensed elsewhere with comparable education, experience and exam, plus at least 5 years of independent LMFT practice in the 10 years before applying

Other boards differ, which is why the checklist below starts with the new board. If you took the exam with ELL extra time, the accommodations and ELL guide explains why that can matter after a move.

Does an MFT National Exam score expire?

Usually not, but it depends on the state. AMFTRB's FAQ says that in most states the score has no expiration date, while a few limit how many years a score is valid and accepted. Ask the board where you plan to practice before you assume an old pass still counts. If it turns out you need to test again soon, the planned 30-day access option fits a short refresher before a near date.

One related detail: Florida and New York report a scaled score. AMFTRB's FAQ says candidates there who want the raw number correct can request it through the score transfer and duplicate report form, for a fee.

If you only took California's exam

California's LMFT exams aren't the AMFTRB exam, and AMFTRB says PTC holds no records of California scores. A new state may not accept a California exam score and may require the national exam. You can't sit the national exam on your own before choosing a state: AMFTRB's Moving page says you must apply through a state, whose board reviews your application and credentials before approving you to test. The California guide covers both directions of a California move and where BBS's planned switch stands.

If your new state does require the national exam, the content is the same six domains everyone takes. Full prep planned for launch has practice by domain for the national exam, useful if your graduate training is some years behind you.

Seeing clients in another state isn't a score transfer

Moving your score is about getting licensed. Treating a client who lives in another state, in person or by video, is a separate question of where you're allowed to practice:

• AMFTRB's FAQ says that normally you must be licensed in the state where your client resides, and to check that state's rules and any temporary orders.
• AMFTRB's teletherapy guidelines for member boards say therapists serving clients in another state must comply with the laws and rules of both jurisdictions.
• The AAMFT Code of Ethics, effective January 1, 2026, says in standard 6.6 that MFTs don't use technology to practice in jurisdictions where they aren't legally allowed to.

AMFTRB's Moving to a New State page describes applying to each state's board and doesn't mention a multistate license, so ask the new board what routes it offers.

A checklist before you move

1. Contact the new state's board first and get its list of requirements and forms.
2. Ask whether it accepts your score as is: how it must be sent, whether it expires, and whether ELL extra time matters.
3. Find your PTC Candidate ID on your Scheduling Authorization or score report, or ask PTC.
4. File the PTC transfer once the board is ready to receive it, and keep the confirmation email.
5. Plan for any gap. If the board needs the exam taken again, its approval code starts the usual registration steps in the registration guide.

If a retest is part of the move, Progress, planned to name the domain to focus on next, helps you spend limited time well. The 20 free MFT practice questions are a quick check of where you stand.