How to Fill Out and Submit the BBS Supervision Agreement Form

The BBS Supervision Agreement form is a required document that every California associate mental health clinician and their supervisor must complete, sign, and date within 60 days of starting a supervisory relationship. You can download the current version (revised January 2025) from bbs.ca.gov. You do not mail it to the Board of Behavioral Sciences. You keep the signed original and submit it later with your Application for Licensure, so treat it as a document you’ll need to produce years from now.¹

Who Completes the Form

Three types of associates use this agreement: Associate Marriage and Family Therapists (AMFT), Associate Clinical Social Workers (ASW), and Associate Professional Clinical Counselors (APCC). All three need a qualified supervisor while accumulating the 3,000 supervised hours over at least 104 weeks required for full licensure.²³

Every unique combination of supervisor and supervisee needs its own agreement. Two supervisors means two forms. Same supervisor at two work sites also means two forms.

Verify Your Supervisor’s Qualifications First

Before signing anything, confirm your supervisor meets the BBS requirements. An unqualified supervisor means your hours will not count, and you may not discover the problem until you apply for licensure.

The supervisor must hold a current, active California license that is not suspended or on probation, and must have held an active license for at least two of the past five years immediately before starting supervision.¹

Training requirements depend on career stage. A licensee supervising for the first time in California must complete 15 hours of supervision training or coursework before starting.⁴ After that, the requirement drops to six hours of continuing professional development in supervision during each renewal period. The supervisor self-certifies these qualifications in Part I under penalty of perjury, so ask about their credentials before you sign.

First-time supervisors also submit a one-time Supervisor Self-Assessment Report to the BBS within 60 days of starting supervision.⁵ That’s their responsibility, but confirm they’ve handled it.

How the Form Is Organized

The agreement has three parts. Part I is filled out by the supervisor. Part II is filled out by the supervisee. Part III, the supervisory plan, is developed together and signed by both.¹ The entire form is signed under penalty of perjury.

Completing Part I: The Supervisor Section

Part I has four sections covering qualifications, work setting, supervision logistics, and general oversight duties.

Section A is where the supervisor verifies license status, confirms the two-of-five-years active licensure, and attests to completing the required supervision training. If they’ve completed the six hours of continuing professional development for their current renewal cycle, they check that box.

Section B covers where supervision takes place and the supervisee’s employment status. A critical requirement lives here: the supervisor must confirm that the supervisee is employed as a W-2 employee or a volunteer. Independent contractor arrangements for associates gaining supervised hours violate BBS rules and can invalidate your experience.¹

Section C is where the supervisor acknowledges supervisee limits and contact requirements. In a private practice or professional corporation (a “nonexempt setting”), a supervisor can provide individual or triadic supervision to no more than six supervisees who are not fully licensed. Group supervision sessions are capped at eight people.

Section D covers record-keeping and the supervisor’s duty to give at least one week’s written notice before refusing to sign for any further experience hours.

Completing Part II: The Supervisee Section

Part II is shorter. You affirm that you understand the licensing laws governing your registration, including documentation requirements for supervised experience and prohibited practices in the supervisory relationship.⁶ You also acknowledge that your supervisor must hold a current, active California license for your hours to count. If their license lapses or lands on probation during your time together, hours earned in that period are lost.

One provision catches people off guard: all experience hours must be completed within the six years immediately before you submit your Application for Licensure. LMFT applicants get a narrow exception for up to 500 supervised practicum hours, but everything else falls under that six-year window.¹ If licensure takes longer than planned, older hours may expire.

Completing Part III: The Supervisory Plan

Part III is written jointly. California regulations require the supervisor and supervisee to collaborate on a plan describing the goals and objectives of supervision, along with how the supervisor will monitor and evaluate the supervisee’s clinical development.⁶

The plan should reflect your actual clinical setting, caseload, and professional development needs. Common elements include the frequency of supervision meetings, methods for reviewing clinical work, and how feedback will be delivered. A vague plan won’t necessarily be rejected, but a thoughtful one protects both parties if questions later arise about whether supervision was adequate.

Signing, Storing, and What Not to Do

Both parties must sign and date the completed agreement within 60 days of beginning supervision.⁶ Missing that window can mean losing every hour worked during the undocumented period. Mark the date the day supervision starts. Use permanent ink or an approved digital signature.

Do not mail the agreement to the BBS. The supervisee keeps the original and submits it with the Application for Licensure once all required hours are complete.¹ Store it somewhere secure. A fireproof folder or a reliable digital backup with a hard copy is the safe approach. Supervisors must also retain their supervision documentation for seven years after supervision ends.⁵ Losing this form after years of clinical work can delay licensure by months.

When You Need a New Agreement

Complete a new Supervision Agreement whenever you begin working with a different supervisor, whether switching your primary or adding an additional one. The same rule applies if you move to a different employment setting, even with the same supervisor. Each distinct supervisory relationship needs its own agreement.¹

The 60-day signing deadline restarts with each new agreement, running from the date the new relationship begins.⁶ Career transitions are common across two-plus years of accumulating hours, so treat each change as a trigger to download a fresh form and get it signed promptly.

Common Mistakes That Cost Hours

Most problems trace to paperwork oversights rather than clinical shortcomings. The BBS doesn’t typically review supervision agreements until you submit your final application, so issues can accumulate silently for years.

Missing the 60-day signing window. This is the most frequent error. You start supervision, get busy with clients, and suddenly three months have passed without a signed agreement.
Supervisor license lapse. If your supervisor’s license becomes inactive, suspended, or subject to probation during your time together, hours earned in that period don’t count. Check status periodically through the BBS license verification tool on the BREEZE system.
Working as an independent contractor. Associates must be W-2 employees or volunteers. A 1099 classification can invalidate your hours regardless of the quality of supervision.
Not updating agreements after a change. Switching work sites without a new agreement is easy to overlook when nothing else about supervision changes.
Exceeding the six-year experience window. If your timeline stretches, your earliest hours may expire before you apply.

The best protection is treating each new agreement like a deadline with real consequences, because it is one.

1
Board of Behavioral Sciences. Supervision Agreement Between the Supervisor and Supervisee
2
Board of Behavioral Sciences. Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
3
California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 4980.43.1
4
Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 16 Section 1821.3
5
Board of Behavioral Sciences. Supervisor Self-Assessment Report
6
Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 16 Section 1820