How to track clinical hours for therapist licensure

Start with the requirements you actually report to

Your log needs to preserve both the work you did and the way each authority counts it. Start with the activity: the date, duration, and what happened. You can then apply the program and board definitions without rewriting the event.

Before your first placement, write down your program, intended license, jurisdiction, training phase, and each required reporting form. Save links to the instructions you used and note when you checked them. For social work, ASWB explains that licensing requirements vary by jurisdiction; avoid borrowing a classmate's rules without checking your own route.

Keep one clear record of each activity

Start with these fields, then add anything your required forms ask for:

• Date and actual start/end time or exact minutes.
• Activity, such as delivered therapy, documentation, or supervision.
• Site and the supervisor relationship associated with the work.
• Training phase, such as practicum or postdegree experience.
• Delivery format, where the reporting requirements distinguish it.
• A neutral administrative note for anything still needing clarification.

Keep client names, identifying details, and clinical notes out of your personal hours tracker. Store any necessary case material in the systems approved by your site.

Count distinct minutes before deciding what earns credit

Suppose your day includes a 50-minute session, 15 minutes of documentation, and a 60-minute supervision meeting. The source record contains three distinct activities:

Together, those activities took 125 minutes, or 2:05. Three entries do not make three hours. To determine credited time, check each activity's eligibility and any reporting conversions required by the program or board.

Keep school and board credit separate

Do not force every requirement into one running total. An activity might satisfy a program category while receiving different treatment in a board record. Keep the original event intact and show each reporting destination's decision separately.

If a category is unclear, flag it for review without changing the activity description. A note such as “awaiting program classification” keeps the question visible until the appropriate person can answer it. In Accrue, separate school/program and board ledgers are independently evaluated; the app's record remains a recordkeeping aid, not an eligibility determination.

Reconcile while the week is still familiar

Set aside a recurring review period. Compare your entries with an approved schedule or other source that can establish what actually happened. Look for canceled appointments, missing supervision, overlapping timers, duplicate imports, and entries assigned to the wrong site. A scheduled session is not evidence that it was delivered.

Resolve discrepancies before asking a supervisor to review the record. Follow your authority's actual signature and retention instructions rather than treating this suggested review rhythm as a universal rule. For example, California BBS MFT FAQ, question 48 (page 16) calls for weekly logs and weekly supervisor signatures. Other pathways need their own instructions.

Finish with a record you can recover

Keep submitted reports, signed documents, and the underlying entries connected by clear dates and supervisor/site names. Save a readable export before a placement ends, and check that you can open it outside the tracking tool. Give files consistent names that identify the reporting period without including client information.

If a reviewer questions a total, you should be able to find the activity behind it, the classification used, and its review or signature. Keep those records together instead of relying on the dashboard alone.