Counseling License from California to North Dakota: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) ↗
A counseling license transfers from California to North Dakota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE), verify your California license, and meet North Dakota's endorsement requirements. National exams are not retaken, but the sending state must have REQUIRED them: the LPC reciprocity route is open only if the applicant's state requires the NCE (the form says the NCMHCE 'does not apply to LPC licensure' and an either/or NCE-or-NCMHCE state does not qualify), and the LPCC tier requires a passing NCMHCE. Proof of passing a board-approved counselor exam is submitted with the reciprocity application. No state jurisprudence exam was found in the Board's rules or forms..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Neither state gives you a working compact route here: a state that has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational behaves like a non-member. The route is endorsement through the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE): your California license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under North Dakota's own exam rule, and North Dakota applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which North Dakota tier corresponds to your California license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, California → North Dakota
| California (current) | North Dakota (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| 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.) | $150 (LPCC application fee per NDAC 97-02-01.1-04 and the LPCC application form. Because the LPCC is a specialty license issued only to ND LPCs, an out-of-state applicant also files the LPC reciprocity application ($150, of which $50 is non-refundable per the form; NDAC 97-02-01-01.1), so the realistic total is $300. LPCC renewal $75 biennially on top of the $150 LPC renewal. NBCC score-report and transcript fees are separate. North Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.) |
| Processing time | the 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 in the Board's rules or application forms; applications are valid for one year from submission |
| Licensing authority | California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) | North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — North Dakota sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm North Dakota's current requirements on the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Obtain the North Dakota LPC first (by reciprocity, which requires a state whose law requires a 60-semester-hour counseling master's, a 100-hour practicum plus 600-hour internship, the NCE, and 100 hours of supervision by a licensed counselor); the LPCC application requires an ND LAPC or LPC license number.
- Hold a current LPCC-equivalent clinical license from a state whose requirements are equal to or more stringent than North Dakota's (NDAC 97-02-01.1-03).
- Submit a copy of the other state's license and a copy of its licensing statute and rules, with the name and address of its licensing board (NDAC 97-02-01-04).
- Have an official graduate transcript sent directly to the Board and list all 60 required semester hours by content area.
- Submit proof of a passing NCMHCE score for the LPCC tier.
- Pay the fees ($150 (LPCC application fee per NDAC 97-02-01.1-04 and the LPCC application form. Because the LPCC is a specialty license issued only to ND LPCs, an out-of-state applicant also files the LPC reciprocity application ($150, of which $50 is non-refundable per the form; NDAC 97-02-01-01.1), so the realistic total is $300. LPCC renewal $75 biennially on top of the $150 LPC renewal. NBCC score-report and transcript fees are separate. North Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow no processing timeframe published in the Board's rules or application forms; applications are valid for one year from submission.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does North Dakota accept a California counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from California to North Dakota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE), verify your California license, and meet North Dakota's endorsement requirements. National exams are not retaken, but the sending state must have REQUIRED them: the LPC reciprocity route is open only if the applicant's state requires the NCE (the form says the NCMHCE 'does not apply to LPC licensure' and an either/or NCE-or-NCMHCE state does not qualify), and the LPCC tier requires a passing NCMHCE. Proof of passing a board-approved counselor exam is submitted with the reciprocity application. No state jurisprudence exam was found in the Board's rules or forms..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from California to North Dakota?
National exams are not retaken, but the sending state must have REQUIRED them: the LPC reciprocity route is open only if the applicant's state requires the NCE (the form says the NCMHCE 'does not apply to LPC licensure' and an either/or NCE-or-NCMHCE state does not qualify), and the LPCC tier requires a passing NCMHCE. Proof of passing a board-approved counselor exam is submitted with the reciprocity application. No state jurisprudence exam was found in the Board's rules or forms.
What does the move cost?
$150 (LPCC application fee per NDAC 97-02-01.1-04 and the LPCC application form. Because the LPCC is a specialty license issued only to ND LPCs, an out-of-state applicant also files the LPC reciprocity application ($150, of which $50 is non-refundable per the form; NDAC 97-02-01-01.1), so the realistic total is $300. LPCC renewal $75 biennially on top of the $150 LPC renewal. NBCC score-report and transcript fees are separate. North Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
no processing timeframe published in the Board's rules or application forms; applications are valid for one year from submission.
North Dakota joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. North Dakota had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in North Dakota takes North Dakota's own authorization, normally a North Dakota license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- North Dakota Administrative Code ch. 97-02-01.1 (LPCC requirements, reciprocity 97-02-01.1-03, fees 97-02-01.1-04) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- North Dakota Administrative Code ch. 97-02-01 (LPC requirements, fees, reciprocity 97-02-01-04) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- North Dakota Century Code ch. 43-47 (43-47-06 licenses, qualifications, reciprocity; 43-47-06.1 specialty licenses) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NDBCE Reciprocity Application for LPC (Internet Archive copy of the official PDF, 2026-05-15 snapshot; live board site refused connections) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NDBCE LPCC page (Internet Archive copy, 2026-03-10 snapshot) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NDBCE LPCC Application form (Internet Archive copy of the official PDF) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- California BPC 4999.60 (LPCC licensure for out-of-state licensees, Path A) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- California BPC 4999.61 (out-of-state education and experience, Path B; clinical exam waiver) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- California BPC 4999.120 (LPCC statutory fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- BBS Guide to Licensure Requirements, LPCC Out-of-State and Out-of-Country Applicants, rev. 10/2024 (Internet Archive copy of official BBS PDF, captured 2026-04-15) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- BBS Temporary Fee Reduction FAQ, effective 2026-07-01 (Internet Archive copy of official BBS PDF, captured 2026-05-20) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- BBS LPCC applicant page (Internet Archive copy, captured 2026-09-03) ↗ (accessed 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]