Counseling License from California to Oregon: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT) ↗
A counseling license transfers from California to Oregon by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT), verify your California license, and meet Oregon's endorsement requirements. Competency exam (NCE, NCMHCE or CRC) is not retaken if passed within 10 years of applying; reciprocity applicants whose exam is 10+ years old must retake it or document CE meeting Division 80 in the prior 24 months, and applicants who have held a comparable license for at least two years may substitute that CE for exam verification (OAR 833-020-0081). All applicants must also pass the Oregon Law and Rules exam..
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from California to Oregon by endorsement. Neither California nor Oregon is operational in the Counseling Compact, so it plays no part in this move. You apply to the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT), which verifies your California license and standing, matches it to Oregon's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Oregon jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, California → Oregon
| California (current) | Oregon (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Licensure 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.) | $175 (application fee per OAR 833-070-0011(1) and the Board's Apply page; + $45 fingerprint-based background check (Board page: $220 total at application); initial license fee $115 after approval; exam fees paid to exam providers. Oregon has not enacted the Counseling Compact.) |
| 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). | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications |
| Licensing authority | California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) | Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Oregon sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Oregon's current requirements on the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, active license to practice professional counseling issued by another state (OAR 833-020-0051(2)).
- Submit official verification of every healthcare license, registration or certification ever held.
- Document education and supervised clinical experience equivalent to Oregon's; three or more years of active out-of-state licensure is presumed to meet the experience requirement and may substitute for the degree-content requirements (OAR 833-030-0021(4)(b), 833-030-0011).
- Submit competency exam verification (or the CE substitute) and pass the Oregon Law and Rules exam.
- Complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check within 90 days before applying.
- Pay the fees ($175 (application fee per OAR 833-070-0011(1) and the Board's Apply page; + $45 fingerprint-based background check (Board page: $220 total at application); initial license fee $115 after approval; exam fees paid to exam providers. Oregon has not enacted the Counseling Compact.)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Oregon accept a California counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from California to Oregon by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT), verify your California license, and meet Oregon's endorsement requirements. Competency exam (NCE, NCMHCE or CRC) is not retaken if passed within 10 years of applying; reciprocity applicants whose exam is 10+ years old must retake it or document CE meeting Division 80 in the prior 24 months, and applicants who have held a comparable license for at least two years may substitute that CE for exam verification (OAR 833-020-0081). All applicants must also pass the Oregon Law and Rules exam..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from California to Oregon?
Competency exam (NCE, NCMHCE or CRC) is not retaken if passed within 10 years of applying; reciprocity applicants whose exam is 10+ years old must retake it or document CE meeting Division 80 in the prior 24 months, and applicants who have held a comparable license for at least two years may substitute that CE for exam verification (OAR 833-020-0081). All applicants must also pass the Oregon Law and Rules exam.
What does the move cost?
$175 (application fee per OAR 833-070-0011(1) and the Board's Apply page; + $45 fingerprint-based background check (Board page: $220 total at application); initial license fee $115 after approval; exam fees paid to exam providers. Oregon has not enacted the Counseling Compact.)
How long will it take?
the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- OBLPCT: Apply for a License (reciprocity method, required materials, $175 + $45 fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- OBLPCT: ORS 675 (2025) and OAR 833 compilation, revised 2/26 (ORS 675.735; OAR 833-020-0051, 833-020-0081, 833-030-0011, 833-030-0021, 833-030-0041, 833-070-0011) ↗ (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]