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LicenseReciprocity

Counseling License from California to Alaska: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor ↗

A counseling license transfers from California to Alaska by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor, verify your California license, and meet Alaska's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. For licensure by credentials, the Board checks that the applicant's licensing state requires a nationally recognized counselor exam; the Alaska exam rule (12 AAC 62.110) accepts the NCE or NCMHCE. No NBCC score transfer is listed among the required credentials documents. No state jurisprudence exam; the applicant certifies having reviewed AS 08.29 and 12 AAC 62..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Neither California nor Alaska is operational in the Counseling Compact, so it plays no part in this move. The route is endorsement through the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor: your California license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Alaska's own exam rule, and Alaska applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Alaska tier corresponds to your California license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.

What changes, California → Alaska

Side-by-side: California vs Alaska (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
California (current)Alaska (destination)
Counseling Compact statusLicensure by endorsementLicensure by endorsement
Application fee$125 (LPCC License Application fee under the Board's temporary 50% fee reduction for payments made 2026-07-01 through 2030-06-30 (statutory base in BPC 4999.120 is $250; applications paid before 2026-07-01 paid $250). Separate: initial license issuance fee $100 (reduced from $200), California Law and Ethics Exam fee $75 (reduced from $150), fingerprint (Live Scan / DOJ-FBI) fees not reduced and paid separately. California has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so no privilege route exists.)$200 (nonrefundable application fee per the License by Credentials instructions (form 08-4911, rev. 2026-08-21); the $270 initial license fee is also due with the application ($470 total). Name-based criminal-record report fees are paid to the Alaska Department of Public Safety and the home-state agency. No fingerprint check is required. Alaska is not a Counseling Compact state, so it has no privilege fee.)
Processing timethe Board's Path A guide gives no timeframe for the licensure application itself; it states only 'allow up to 30 days' for processing the Request for Initial License Issuance after the exam is passed. Board processing-time pages could not be read (bbs.ca.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27).the Division says only that 'the average processing time varies by program' and that applications are reviewed in order of receipt; no numeric timeframe is published
Licensing authorityCalifornia Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC)Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm Alaska's current requirements on the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a current professional counselor license from a jurisdiction whose requirements the Board finds substantially the same or higher (60 graduate semester hours in counseling, a national exam, and 3,000 supervised hours over at least 24 months).
  5. Submit a copy of the current licensing statutes and regulations of the jurisdiction where you are licensed.
  6. Have every jurisdiction where you have held a counseling, psychology, marital and family therapy or social work license send verification, including any disciplinary action.
  7. Submit a name-based Alaska criminal justice report, plus an equivalent report from your state of residence if not Alaska.
  8. Pay the fees ($200 (nonrefundable application fee per the License by Credentials instructions (form 08-4911, rev. 2026-08-21); the $270 initial license fee is also due with the application ($470 total). Name-based criminal-record report fees are paid to the Alaska Department of Public Safety and the home-state agency. No fingerprint check is required. Alaska is not a Counseling Compact state, so it has no privilege fee.)) and allow the Division says only that 'the average processing time varies by program' and that applications are reviewed in order of receipt; no numeric timeframe is published.

Official links

Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor ↗Alaska application ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Alaska → CaliforniaCounseling in CaliforniaCounseling in AlaskaAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Alaska accept a California counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from California to Alaska by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor, verify your California license, and meet Alaska's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. For licensure by credentials, the Board checks that the applicant's licensing state requires a nationally recognized counselor exam; the Alaska exam rule (12 AAC 62.110) accepts the NCE or NCMHCE. No NBCC score transfer is listed among the required credentials documents. No state jurisprudence exam; the applicant certifies having reviewed AS 08.29 and 12 AAC 62..

Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from California to Alaska?

National exam is not retaken. For licensure by credentials, the Board checks that the applicant's licensing state requires a nationally recognized counselor exam; the Alaska exam rule (12 AAC 62.110) accepts the NCE or NCMHCE. No NBCC score transfer is listed among the required credentials documents. No state jurisprudence exam; the applicant certifies having reviewed AS 08.29 and 12 AAC 62.

What does the move cost?

$200 (nonrefundable application fee per the License by Credentials instructions (form 08-4911, rev. 2026-08-21); the $270 initial license fee is also due with the application ($470 total). Name-based criminal-record report fees are paid to the Alaska Department of Public Safety and the home-state agency. No fingerprint check is required. Alaska is not a Counseling Compact state, so it has no privilege fee.)

How long will it take?

the Division says only that 'the average processing time varies by program' and that applications are reviewed in order of receipt; no numeric timeframe is published.

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]