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LicenseReciprocity

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

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) ↗

A counseling license transfers from California to Massachusetts by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC), verify your California license, and meet Massachusetts's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken, but the NCMHCE is the only exam accepted ('no other exam will be accepted'); an NCE-only licensee does not qualify. The applicant must show an NCMHCE pass either as part of the original license requirements or within the previous five years (262 CMR 2.03(2)(c)), with an official NBCC score report. No Massachusetts jurisprudence exam..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

A counseling license moves from California to Massachusetts by endorsement. Neither California nor Massachusetts is operational in the Counseling Compact, so it plays no part in this move. You apply to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC), which verifies your California license and standing, matches it to Massachusetts's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Massachusetts jurisprudence and background requirements.

What changes, California → Massachusetts

Side-by-side: California vs Massachusetts (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
California (current)Massachusetts (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.)$117 (non-refundable LMHC application fee paid online (LMHC Application Guide); + $155 license fee paid after staff find the application complete and eligible. Massachusetts has not enacted the Counseling Compact.)
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).no processing timeframe published; if the application is incomplete, staff re-review it 30 days after notifying the applicant and close it if still incomplete
Licensing authorityCalifornia Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC)Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC)

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm Massachusetts's current requirements on the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold an independent-level (unsupervised) mental health counselor license or equivalent in another state, in good standing, whose standards are substantially equivalent to or exceed Massachusetts'.
  5. Show at least 3 years of continuous full-time (or part-time equivalent) licensed practice in the issuing state.
  6. Show a passing NCMHCE score via an official NBCC score report.
  7. Have a final graduate transcript sent showing 60 semester (80 quarter) credits and the required coursework.
  8. Have official license verification sent from every jurisdiction where you hold or held a license.
  9. Submit a signed, notarized CORI form and complete Board-approved domestic and sexual violence training.
  10. Pay the fees ($117 (non-refundable LMHC application fee paid online (LMHC Application Guide); + $155 license fee paid after staff find the application complete and eligible. Massachusetts has not enacted the Counseling Compact.)) and allow no processing timeframe published; if the application is incomplete, staff re-review it 30 days after notifying the applicant and close it if still incomplete.

Official links

Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) ↗Massachusetts application ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Massachusetts → CaliforniaCounseling in CaliforniaCounseling in MassachusettsAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Massachusetts accept a California counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from California to Massachusetts by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC), verify your California license, and meet Massachusetts's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken, but the NCMHCE is the only exam accepted ('no other exam will be accepted'); an NCE-only licensee does not qualify. The applicant must show an NCMHCE pass either as part of the original license requirements or within the previous five years (262 CMR 2.03(2)(c)), with an official NBCC score report. No Massachusetts jurisprudence exam..

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

National exam is not retaken, but the NCMHCE is the only exam accepted ('no other exam will be accepted'); an NCE-only licensee does not qualify. The applicant must show an NCMHCE pass either as part of the original license requirements or within the previous five years (262 CMR 2.03(2)(c)), with an official NBCC score report. No Massachusetts jurisprudence exam.

What does the move cost?

$117 (non-refundable LMHC application fee paid online (LMHC Application Guide); + $155 license fee paid after staff find the application complete and eligible. Massachusetts has not enacted the Counseling Compact.)

How long will it take?

no processing timeframe published; if the application is incomplete, staff re-review it 30 days after notifying the applicant and close it if still incomplete.

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]