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LicenseReciprocity

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

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists ↗

A counseling license transfers from California to Tennessee by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists, verify your California license, and meet Tennessee's endorsement requirements. National exams are not retaken on the reciprocity route: the reciprocity rule (0450-01-.04(5)) and the Board's 2019 reciprocity policy require only the Tennessee Jurisprudence Exam, whose results are sent to the Board by NBCC. Exam-route applicants must pass the NCE and NCMHCE..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Tennessee is operational in the Counseling Compact, but California is not, so there is no home-state license here to anchor a privilege. Once you hold a Tennessee license and live in Tennessee, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. The route is endorsement through the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists: your California license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Tennessee's own exam rule, and Tennessee applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Tennessee tier corresponds to your California license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.

What changes, California → Tennessee

Side-by-side: California vs Tennessee (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
California (current)Tennessee (destination)
Counseling Compact statusLicensure by endorsementCounseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice
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 (LPC/MHSP application fee per Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0450-01-.06(4)(c) and the application checklist; + $10 state regulatory fee ($210 total at application); background-check vendor fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Tennessee's total privilege cost is $210 including the $30 commission fee, and it requires a jurisprudence exam, per the commission's fee table).)
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 timeframe published; files completed at least 30 days before a Board meeting are ordinarily processed at that meeting (0450-01-.05(5)(c)), and the application asks applicants to allow 14 working days for mailed documents to be filed
Licensing authorityCalifornia Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC)Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm Tennessee's current requirements on the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold the highest-level independent counselor license (LPC/MHSP or equivalent) in another jurisdiction, active for at least 3 of the 5 years before applying and not encumbered (2019 Board policy); under the named KY agreement, 5 years' experience as an LPCC or LPC/MHSP.
  5. Pass the Tennessee Jurisprudence Examination.
  6. Submit verification from every state where ever licensed, sent directly to the Board, plus a copy of the other state's licensing law and rules in effect when licensed.
  7. Submit two letters of recommendation from licensed mental health professionals, a certified birth certificate, a notarized Declaration of Citizenship and a passport-style photo.
  8. Complete a criminal background check through the Board's vendor.
  9. Pay the fees ($200 (LPC/MHSP application fee per Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0450-01-.06(4)(c) and the application checklist; + $10 state regulatory fee ($210 total at application); background-check vendor fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Tennessee's total privilege cost is $210 including the $30 commission fee, and it requires a jurisprudence exam, per the commission's fee table).)) and allow no timeframe published; files completed at least 30 days before a Board meeting are ordinarily processed at that meeting (0450-01-.05(5)(c)), and the application asks applicants to allow 14 working days for mailed documents to be filed.

Official links

Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists ↗Tennessee application ↗Counseling Compact ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Tennessee → CaliforniaCounseling in CaliforniaCounseling in TennesseeAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Tennessee accept a California counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from California to Tennessee by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists, verify your California license, and meet Tennessee's endorsement requirements. National exams are not retaken on the reciprocity route: the reciprocity rule (0450-01-.04(5)) and the Board's 2019 reciprocity policy require only the Tennessee Jurisprudence Exam, whose results are sent to the Board by NBCC. Exam-route applicants must pass the NCE and NCMHCE..

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

National exams are not retaken on the reciprocity route: the reciprocity rule (0450-01-.04(5)) and the Board's 2019 reciprocity policy require only the Tennessee Jurisprudence Exam, whose results are sent to the Board by NBCC. Exam-route applicants must pass the NCE and NCMHCE.

What does the move cost?

$200 (LPC/MHSP application fee per Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0450-01-.06(4)(c) and the application checklist; + $10 state regulatory fee ($210 total at application); background-check vendor fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Tennessee's total privilege cost is $210 including the $30 commission fee, and it requires a jurisprudence exam, per the commission's fee table).)

How long will it take?

no timeframe published; files completed at least 30 days before a Board meeting are ordinarily processed at that meeting (0450-01-.05(5)(c)), and the application asks applicants to allow 14 working days for mailed documents to be filed.

Will a Tennessee license get me into other compact states?

Yes, once Tennessee is your home state. Tennessee is operational, so an active, unencumbered Tennessee license held while you live there can anchor privileges into the other operational states through CompactConnect.

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]