Counseling License from California to Washington: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program ↗
A counseling license transfers from California to Washington by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program, verify your California license, and meet Washington's endorsement requirements. Applicants from a substantially equivalent state obtain the license 'without repeating education or exams already completed in another state' (DOH out-of-state page); the specific national exam Washington accepts was not stated on the pages read. No Washington jurisprudence exam is listed for out-of-state applicants..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from California to Washington 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 Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program, which verifies your California license and standing, matches it to Washington's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Washington jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, California → Washington
| California (current) | Washington (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.) | $95 (LMHC application fee per WAC 246-809-990; initial license fee $80 and UW HEAL-WA online access fee $16 are charged separately. Applicants on the reciprocity/probationary route also pay the probationary 'application and initial license' fee of $175. Washington 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). | DOH publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state LMHC applications on the pages read |
| Licensing authority | California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS), Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) | Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Washington sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Washington's current requirements on the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current license in a state DOH considers substantially equivalent, held for at least two years, with no history of disciplinary action (RCW 18.130.077).
- Have been first licensed in a substantially equivalent state; a later license from a universal-licensure state does not cure a non-equivalent original license (SHB 1724).
- From a state whose scope DOH found not substantially equivalent (Arkansas, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Carolina, Wisconsin), apply for both the probationary license and the full LMHC and close the gap within the probationary period.
- Use the DOH state credential search tool to confirm which out-of-state pathway applies.
- Pay the fees ($95 (LMHC application fee per WAC 246-809-990; initial license fee $80 and UW HEAL-WA online access fee $16 are charged separately. Applicants on the reciprocity/probationary route also pay the probationary 'application and initial license' fee of $175. Washington is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow DOH publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state LMHC applications on the pages read.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Washington accept a California counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from California to Washington by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program, verify your California license, and meet Washington's endorsement requirements. Applicants from a substantially equivalent state obtain the license 'without repeating education or exams already completed in another state' (DOH out-of-state page); the specific national exam Washington accepts was not stated on the pages read. No Washington jurisprudence exam is listed for out-of-state applicants..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from California to Washington?
Applicants from a substantially equivalent state obtain the license 'without repeating education or exams already completed in another state' (DOH out-of-state page); the specific national exam Washington accepts was not stated on the pages read. No Washington jurisprudence exam is listed for out-of-state applicants.
What does the move cost?
$95 (LMHC application fee per WAC 246-809-990; initial license fee $80 and UW HEAL-WA online access fee $16 are charged separately. Applicants on the reciprocity/probationary route also pay the probationary 'application and initial license' fee of $175. Washington is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
DOH publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state LMHC applications on the pages read.
Washington joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Washington had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Washington takes Washington's own authorization, normally a Washington license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Washington DOH: Mental Health Counselor, Out-of-State Applicants (probationary license, substantial equivalency, universal licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- WAC 246-809-990, mental health counselor fees ↗ (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
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