The North Carolina Marriage and Family Therapy Licensure Board has procedures for expedited review of license applications for applicants who are in the military or military spouses in accordance with NC Gen Stat § 93B‐15.1.
Although the military does not provide military training or award a military occupational specialty license in marriage and family therapy, if an applicant is a member of the military or military spouse, they may apply for licensure under the requirements listed below for military members or for military spouses.
A member of the military who is seeking to become licensed as a marriage and family therapist in North Carolina shall meet the following criteria:
- Has engaged in the active practice of the occupation for which the person is seeking a license, certification, or permit from the occupational licensing board in this State for at least two of the five years preceding the date of the application under this section.
- Has not committed any act in any jurisdiction that would have constituted grounds for refusal, suspension, or revocation of a license to practice that occupation in this State at the time the act was committed and has no pending complaints.
No later than 30 days following receipt of an application, an occupational licensing board shall notify an applicant when the applicant’s military training or experience does not satisfy the requirements for licensure, certification, or registration and shall specify the criteria or requirements that the board determined that the applicant failed to meet and the basis for that determination.
An occupational licensing board, as defined in G.S. 93B-1, shall issue a license, certification, or registration to a military-trained applicant to allow the applicant to lawfully practice the applicant’s occupation in this State if the military-trained applicant, upon application to the occupational licensing board:
- Presents official, notarized documentation, such as a U.S. Department of Defense Form 214 (DD-214), or similar substantiation, attesting to the applicant’s military occupational specialty certification and experience in an occupational field within the board’s purview; and
- Passes an examination (National MFT Exam); however, if an applicant fails the National MFT examination, then the applicant is required by the board to retake and pass the National MFT Exam before a license may be issued.
A military spouse who is seeking to become licensed as a marriage and family therapist in North Carolina shall meet the following criteria:
- Holds a current license, certification, or registration from another jurisdiction, and that jurisdiction’s requirements for licensure, certification, or registration are substantially equivalent to or exceed the requirements for licensure, certification, or registration of the occupational licensing board for which the applicant is seeking licensure, certification, or registration in this State.
- If licensed at least two years in another state, preceding the date of the license application, the usual reciprocity consideration requirement period of five years is reduced to two years.
- Has not committed any act in any jurisdiction that would have constituted grounds for refusal, suspension, or revocation of a license to practice that occupation in this State at the time the act was committed.
- Is in good standing; has not been disciplined by the agency that had jurisdiction to issue the license, certification, or permit; and has no pending complaints.
- Repealed by Session Laws 2017-28, s. 3, effective July 1, 2017, and applicable to applications submitted on or after that date.
All relevant experience of a military service member in the discharge of official duties or, for a military spouse, all relevant experience, including full-time and part-time experience, regardless of whether in a paid or volunteer capacity, shall be credited in the calculation of years of practice.
