Skip to content
LicenseReciprocity

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

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) ↗

A counseling license transfers from California to South Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR), verify your California license, and meet South Carolina's endorsement requirements. No exam retake and no exam verification requested: the endorsement application asks only for an official license verification from the state where actively licensed. No jurisprudence exam; the applicant instead certifies having read the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics..

Verify this exact pair in the checker

Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.

Run the Reciprocity Checker →

Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

A counseling license moves from California to South Carolina 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. You apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR), which verifies your California license and standing, matches it to South Carolina's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any South Carolina jurisprudence and background requirements.

What changes, California → South Carolina

Side-by-side: California vs South Carolina (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
California (current)South Carolina (destination)
Counseling Compact statusLicensure by endorsementCounseling 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.)$130 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1); the Board's LPC initial license fee under S.C. Code Regs. 10-33(B)(2) is also $130. Returned-check fee up to $30. Applicants disclosing a conviction must add a SLED and other-state background check. South Carolina is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
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 Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications
Licensing authorityCalifornia Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC)South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR)

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm South Carolina's current requirements on the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a current, active and unrestricted LPC-equivalent (independent-level) license in good standing in another state, with no current or pending investigation (S.C. Code Regs. 36-14(A)).
  5. Have an official license verification sent directly to the Board by the state board where actively licensed.
  6. Certify on the application that you have read and understand the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics.
  7. Submit a copy of a driver's license or other photo ID, a copy of the Social Security card, and a notarized Verification of Lawful Presence.
  8. Pay the fees ($130 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1); the Board's LPC initial license fee under S.C. Code Regs. 10-33(B)(2) is also $130. Returned-check fee up to $30. Applicants disclosing a conviction must add a SLED and other-state background check. South Carolina is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications.

Official links

South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) ↗South Carolina application ↗

Related guides

Reverse: South Carolina → CaliforniaCounseling in CaliforniaCounseling in South CarolinaAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does South Carolina accept a California counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from California to South Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR), verify your California license, and meet South Carolina's endorsement requirements. No exam retake and no exam verification requested: the endorsement application asks only for an official license verification from the state where actively licensed. No jurisprudence exam; the applicant instead certifies having read the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics..

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

No exam retake and no exam verification requested: the endorsement application asks only for an official license verification from the state where actively licensed. No jurisprudence exam; the applicant instead certifies having read the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics.

What does the move cost?

$130 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1); the Board's LPC initial license fee under S.C. Code Regs. 10-33(B)(2) is also $130. Returned-check fee up to $30. Applicants disclosing a conviction must add a SLED and other-state background check. South Carolina 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.

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

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