This information is provided to assist applicants in meeting the requirements of associate registration. The Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists expects all registered associates to document the required experience and supervision according to its rules and instructions.
Important information on title usage. “Registered Interns” changed to “Registered Associates,” effective August 6, 2021 as a result of legislation. The titles “professional counselor associate” and “marriage and family therapist associate” must now be used an all signed materials, letterhead, business cards, advertisements and directory listings, brochures, and other representations. There are no acceptable abbreviations for these titles. Using titles that designate licensure- e.g. "LPCa" or "LMFT-A" or "LPC-Associate" or other variations, is NOT appropriate, as registration is a pre-licensed status.
Registered Associate Supervision Requirements
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Basic requirement: A minimum of 3 years (36 months) of supervised clinical experience, including at least 1,900 hours* of supervised direct client contact, are required for licensure. Refer to the Experience page for full detail.
- In order for hours accrued in Oregon on or after June 30, 2002 to count towards the licensure requirements, the person must be in a Board-approved associate registration plan.
- Registered associate status is a transitional step towards licensure and is not intended as a means to avoid licensure. Failure to meet the experience requirements for licensure within five years will result in expiration of registration and closure of the application file.
The change from 2,400 to 1,900 hours became effective July 1, 2023. Please see our
FAQ for more information.
Avoid processing delays- submit fully completed and signed forms!
Plan Changes
The supervisor and registered associate must explain to the Board any
significant interruption to supervision or expected termination of the
supervisory relationship with 14 days. You must request to place your registration on hold, or may voluntarily terminate your registration.
Promotion to Licensee
When
you have successfully completed and documented the experience
requirements, you will receive an email with instructions for submitting
your Promotion Application and remaining requirements for licensure.
You are required to maintain your registration, which includes your
annual renewal and submission of 6-month reports until you've been
issued a license. If your registration expires before you are issued a
license, you must reapply.
Supervisors
Registered associates may choose from a list of Approved Supervisors (LPCs and LMFTs only) posted on the Board's Supervisor Registry. The Supervisor Registry is integrated into the
License Search function. To search for supervisors, you can check the box to "only show results with supervisors." The online profile lists the supervisor's supervisory status and languages spoken. There is no requirement to choose a supervisor from the Registry. Other licensed mental health professionals (e.g., psychologists and social workers) may be registered associate supervisors. Please visit the
Becoming a Supervisor page for more information on qualifications.
Supervision Content
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Supervision does not need to be on site or come from within the same agency.
- Registered associates may pay for supervision by contracting with a supervisor.
- Supervision should include regular examination of a counselor’s work in order to:
- Encourage responsible provision of services
- Promote the best interests of clients
- Foster acquisition and refinement of skills
- Promote professional development
- Supervision includes review of case notes, charts, records, audio or visual tapes in order to evaluate the appropriateness of assessments, treatment plans, and therapeutic skills. It should take place privately in a professional setting, or within a small group of no more than six supervisees.
- Related activities NOT considered supervision include: groups larger than six supervisees; groups where leadership shifts; staff or team meetings, consultation sessions; quality assurance or review groups; or training seminars.
- Supervisors must abide by this Board’s Code of Ethics, which includes the ACA Code of Ethics as the code of professional conduct.
- Review the Supervisor's Responsibilities and the Registered Associate's Responsibilities. This includes title use, reporting of hours, and registered associate plan changes. Reminder: Registered Associates may NOT use "LPCi" or "LMFTa" or any other abbreviation as titles.
Individual and Group Supervision Frequency
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See OAR 833-050-0081 for the full list of requirements.
- Supervision is measured by client contact level per site or supervisor. Extra supervision hours from one supervisor cannot be “carried over” for credit, either into the future or to another site where the supervision level was not adequate.
- Supervision and clinical experience hours are measured on a monthly basis. Registered associates must report all direct client contact hours. If supervision in a particular month does not meet the rule requirements, then all client contact hours accumulated during that month will be disallowed.
- If no hours are submitted for a reporting period, then the associate registration will be expired.
Place of Practice
- Registered associates must receive and document supervision for and report all direct client contact hours at places of practice listed as part of their Board-approved plan.
- A change to the place of practice in an approved plan must be submitted for Board approval (see Plan Changes, below).
- Requests to Practice Outside of Oregon. The Oregon Board can only authorize a person to practice within Oregon. Other state board laws vary as to whether they consider the practice of the profession to be only where the client is located, or where the client and the practitioner are each located. The Oregon Board must respect the laws of other jurisdictions. Proposed associate registration plan (or change) requests where the listed place of practice is in another state (where the registrant will be physically located while providing services to Oregon clients) will be considered only when: 1) the supervisor is amenable to the arrangement (as evidenced by their signature on the form), and 2) the registered associate or proposed registered associate submits written authorization from the other jurisdiction (along with the form via the Licensee Portal). Requests that do not include these elements will be denied.
Maintaining Registration
Reporting Hours
Your hours must be timely submitted in the Licensee Portal* in order to count towards the post-degree experience requirement. You must upload a completed Registered Associate Supervisor Evaluation & Hours Report that is signed by you and your supervisor. This report is due at each registration renewal (as a step included in the online renewal), and at the conclusion of a plan (select the "Associate Registration Plan" menu item and click "Submit Supervision Report"). The report must contain original signatures and should reasonably show compliance with the terms of the contract. Please review the New Registration page for more information.
Registered Associates and their supervisors will need to remember to complete and sign the form timely for submission prior to the registration renewal due date.
Please do not resubmit months of supervision that have already been approved by the Board.
*Please click
here for more information on the Portal.
Annual Renewal
- A registered associate's renewal timeline is based on the month in which the person was initially registered.
- Renewal notices are sent as a courtesy. It is the registrant's responsibility to renew and take all necessary steps to maintain registration. A late fee is required for late renewals.
- Failure to renew within the renewal month will result in expiration of registration and closure of application.
Current Information to the Board
- Update contact information (including email address!) within 30 days of the change.
- Notify the Board immediately, but not less than within 30 days, if any information submitted in the application changes (complaints, disciplinary actions, litigation, criminal involvement, employment investigations which result in disciplinary action, etc.)
Although Professional Disclosure Statements are no longer submitted to the Board, effective June 7, 2024, registrants and their supervisors are strongly encouraged to regularly review the accuracy of these and other documents to avoid making misrepresentations.
Application Extension
Associate registration status is a transitional step toward
licensure and is not intended as a means to avoid licensure. Applicants
approved for registration as an associate will have five years to
complete the supervised direct client contact hours necessary for
licensure or for examination. Failure to meet the experience
requirements for licensure within five years will result in expiration
of registration and closure of the application file. The registered
associate may petition the Board to allow extension of registration for
up to one year beyond the maximum five years if the registered associate
can show good cause for such extension. Requests must be submitted no more than 30 days before the expiration of an application.
Request an Extension
Re-application/Re-Registration
- If your application is closed, you may submit a new application and associate registration plan for approval at the Board's discretion.
- Re-application will be under rules in place at time of re-application, rather than according to original application.
- Applicants who have met the experience requirement and failed to renew their annual registration or exceeded the five year registration period must submit a Direct method application.
- See the Apply for a License page for application instructions and forms.