California BBS weekly logs: a guide for MFT trainees and AMFTs
How to prepare a reviewable MFT weekly record without double-counting nested categories.
The short answer
Use the current MFT form linked by California BBS, keep the supervisor, setting, and trainee or associate status clear, and obtain weekly review and signatures. Preserve the logs. A weekly log and formal experience verification serve different purposes.
Begin with the MFT form for your pathway
This guide is for California marriage and family therapist trainees and associate marriage and family therapists. Begin at the BBS LMFT applicant page and open the current forms from there. Check a saved copy against the linked form before using it, and confirm it is for MFT experience.
Read the instructions with your supervisor before establishing your weekly routine. Confirm which records you each need to keep and how questions will be resolved. If your school also requires a placement report, identify that as a separate obligation rather than assuming the BBS log satisfies it.
Make the supervisor and setting unambiguous
Prepare each record so a reviewer can tell whose supervision and which setting it describes. Check the trainee or associate status, reporting period, supervisor, and setting before filling in hours. Keep entries associated with the relationship that applied when the work occurred.
Form 37A-525 requires separate logs for each supervisor and work setting. The MFT FAQ, questions 49–50 (page 17), also explains the predegree/postdegree split and how to record experience when two supervisors work at one setting. Preserve the original history instead of renaming old records to match your current placement.
Read the category structure before adding columns
The MFT Weekly Log of Experience Hours, Form 37A-525 contains nested categories. A1 is a subcategory of A. B1 and B2 are subcategories of B. The form's total C is A plus B; the subcategories are not additional time to add again.
Before transferring a weekly total from another tool, map each source activity to the form's actual structure. A subtotal can describe part of a broader category without increasing the overall total. Check the instructions for what belongs in each field, and leave unresolved classification questions visible for review. Check eligibility as well as arithmetic.
Prepare for weekly review and signature
BBS MFT FAQ, question 48 (page 16) directs applicants to log experience weekly and obtain a supervisor signature weekly. Build that into the process you agree with your supervisor.
Before review, compare the log with your underlying entries. Check dates, actual durations, missing supervision, duplicates, and the correct supervisor/setting assignment. Bring any discrepancy as a specific question. After a correction, make sure the reviewed version and the version you retain agree. An app checkmark or generated PDF does not itself establish a supervisor's signature.
Keep weekly logs distinct from experience verification
Weekly logs document the experience over time. Formal experience verification is a different step. For California experience, use the In-State Experience Verification, Form 37A-301; BBS lists a separate form for out-of-state experience. The BBS Supervision Agreement, Part I.C, item 31 (page 6) addresses verification of completed experience when supervision ends; review that responsibility together before the relationship closes.
Prepare early by reconciling your source records and identifying the correct reporting dates. Do not assume a signed weekly log replaces every other required document or proves that all experience will be accepted. Use the current applicant instructions to determine which documents belong in the eventual application and how they must be completed.
Retain the record without submitting the wrong material
The BBS MFT FAQ, question 48 (page 16) says to retain weekly logs and not submit them unless requested. Keep them organized with the relevant supervisor and setting history. Also preserve all signed pages of the supervision agreement, as the agreement instructs.
A practical folder might hold the applicable instructions, signed agreement, weekly records, corrections, and completed verification. Use clear filenames and verify that saved documents open correctly. Keep client identifiers and clinical case details out of this administrative collection. Before leaving a placement, check that you have the records you will need rather than relying solely on future access to a site system.
Common questions
- Should I add A1, B1, and B2 to the overall total?
- No. They are nested within A or B on the cited MFT weekly log. The form's total C is A plus B; adding the subcategories again duplicates time.
- Does a completed weekly log mean BBS has accepted the hours?
- No. It documents reported experience. Qualifying conditions, accurate classification, supervision, and the required verification and application review remain separate considerations.
Sources
Sources checked
- California BBS: LMFT applicant forms and requirements
- California BBS: MFT Weekly Log of Experience Hours, Form 37A-525 (rev. 08/2022)
- California BBS: MFT FAQ, questions 48–50 (rev. 02/2025)
- California BBS: Supervision Agreement, Form 37M-300 (rev. 05/2026)
- California BBS: MFT In-State Experience Verification, Form 37A-301 (rev. 11/2024)
Confirm the requirements that apply to your profession, jurisdiction, program, and placement.