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LicenseReciprocity

Counseling License from Alabama to Pennsylvania: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors ↗

A counseling license transfers from Alabama to Pennsylvania by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, verify your Alabama license, and meet Pennsylvania's endorsement requirements. No exam retake on the endorsement route: 49 Pa. Code 49.18 issues the license 'without examination'. Under the separate reciprocity rule (49.16) the Board accepts exam grades from another jurisdiction (e.g., the NCE) if the exam is similar and the passing grade at least equals Pennsylvania's, but only where that state grants reciprocity to Pennsylvania licensees. No state jurisprudence exam is required..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

A counseling license moves from Alabama to Pennsylvania by endorsement. Both states have enacted the Counseling Compact, but neither was issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27. When both go operational, cross-border work between them could run on a privilege; a relocation would still need a Pennsylvania license. You apply to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, which verifies your Alabama license and standing, matches it to Pennsylvania's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Pennsylvania jurisprudence and background requirements.

What changes, Alabama → Pennsylvania

Side-by-side: Alabama vs Pennsylvania (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
Alabama (current)Pennsylvania (destination)
Counseling Compact statusCounseling Compact enacted — not yet issuingCounseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing
Application fee$200 (nonrefundable application fee payable by check or money order per the LPC Endorsement License Application (rev. May 2026) and the ABEC fee schedule; after Board approval the $300 LPC license fee is billed separately. The application lists no fingerprint or background-check fee. NBCC score-report fee is separate. Alabama has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational, so it charges no privilege fee.)$100 (application fee for licensure and original license issuance as an LPC per 49 Pa. Code 47.4(6); no separate endorsement fee is listed. Pennsylvania is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
Processing timethe Board states only that 'the application process could take several weeks depending on receipt and review of required documents'; no numeric timeframe is publishedthe Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion
Licensing authorityAlabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors

The destination column is what you must satisfy — Pennsylvania sets the rules for this move.

Step by step

  1. Confirm Pennsylvania's current requirements on the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a professional counselor license in good standing in another state, with a letter from that state certifying licensure and reporting any disciplinary history.
  5. Meet Pennsylvania's educational requirement (63 P.S. 1907(f)(2) and 49 Pa. Code 49.13(a)(3), a 60-semester-hour counseling graduate degree).
  6. Demonstrate at least 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience that conformed to the licensing state's rules.
  7. Demonstrate active practice of professional counseling for 5 of the last 7 years before applying (49 Pa. Code 49.18(5)).
  8. Complete 3 hours of Board-approved child abuse recognition and reporting training and submit two certificates of recommendation (49 Pa. Code 49.12).
  9. Pay the fees ($100 (application fee for licensure and original license issuance as an LPC per 49 Pa. Code 47.4(6); no separate endorsement fee is listed. Pennsylvania is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion.

Official links

Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors ↗Pennsylvania application ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Pennsylvania → AlabamaCounseling in AlabamaCounseling in PennsylvaniaAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Pennsylvania accept an Alabama counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from Alabama to Pennsylvania by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, verify your Alabama license, and meet Pennsylvania's endorsement requirements. No exam retake on the endorsement route: 49 Pa. Code 49.18 issues the license 'without examination'. Under the separate reciprocity rule (49.16) the Board accepts exam grades from another jurisdiction (e.g., the NCE) if the exam is similar and the passing grade at least equals Pennsylvania's, but only where that state grants reciprocity to Pennsylvania licensees. No state jurisprudence exam is required..

Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Alabama to Pennsylvania?

No exam retake on the endorsement route: 49 Pa. Code 49.18 issues the license 'without examination'. Under the separate reciprocity rule (49.16) the Board accepts exam grades from another jurisdiction (e.g., the NCE) if the exam is similar and the passing grade at least equals Pennsylvania's, but only where that state grants reciprocity to Pennsylvania licensees. No state jurisprudence exam is required.

What does the move cost?

$100 (application fee for licensure and original license issuance as an LPC per 49 Pa. Code 47.4(6); no separate endorsement fee is listed. Pennsylvania is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)

How long will it take?

the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion.

Pennsylvania joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?

Not yet. Pennsylvania had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Pennsylvania takes Pennsylvania's own authorization, normally a Pennsylvania license.

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.

Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27

How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]