Counseling Compact: Operational States and How the Privilege Works (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · live membership: counselingcompact.gov ↗
The Counseling Compact lets a professional counselor with an active, unencumbered independent-level license in an operational home state buy a privilege to practice in any other operational state, in person and by telehealth. As of 2026-09-27, 9 jurisdictions are operational and 31 more have enacted the compact but are not yet issuing or accepting privileges. The privilege is not a license and does not cover relocation.
Membership right now
Interactive version with every compact: Compact Membership Map
Does the Counseling Compact cover your move?
Pick your two states — the checker applies the compact rules for you.
Who qualifies: the 7 uniform licensure requirements
A multistate license is issued only if you meet every one of these, in addition to living in a member state:
- Hold an active license in your home state at that state's independent-practice level (LPC, LPCC, LMHC, LCPC, LPC-MHSP or equivalent), and that home state must be an operational compact member
- Your home state must be your primary state of residence (proof such as a driver's license may be requested)
- No encumbrance or restriction on any license or privilege to practice within the previous two years
- Have a valid U.S. Social Security Number or National Practitioner Identifier
- An FBI fingerprint-based criminal background check on record with your home-state board
- Apply and pay through CompactConnect: a $30 commission administrative fee per privilege plus the remote state's fee ($25-$250 among the nine operational states as of 2026-09-27)
- Meet any jurisprudence requirement the remote state sets (as of 2026-09-27: Arizona, Arkansas and Tennessee require one, Ohio requires a laws-and-rules video, the other five require none)
The Counseling Compact is ACTIVE: the commission began issuing privileges to practice on 2025-09-30 (Arizona and Minnesota first), then Ohio (2026-01-05), Louisiana (2026-04-20), Georgia (2026-06-02), Indiana (2026-06-08), Arkansas (2026-07-30), Wyoming (2026-08-31) and Tennessee (2026-09-01). As of 2026-09-27 those nine states are operational, meaning they issue privileges to their own resident licensees and accept privileges from the others. A privilege only works when BOTH the home state and the remote state are operational. Thirty-one more jurisdictions (30 states plus the District of Columbia) have enacted the compact but are not yet issuing or accepting privileges; Pennsylvania is the newest, signed 2026-07-12 as the 40th member, with the law taking effect 60 days later. The privilege is a full practice authorization in the remote state, covering in-person and telehealth counseling (Compact Sections 4 and 7), and it does not expire separately: it runs to the home-state license's expiration date and must be renewed in CompactConnect after each home-state renewal. It is not a license transfer. A counselor who moves between two member states must obtain a new home-state license, which the compact streamlines (Section 5: verification through the data system with no primary-source verification except an FBI background check, any state background check, and the new state's jurisprudence requirement). A counselor who moves to or from a non-member state must use that state's ordinary licensure-by-endorsement path. Only the independent, highest-level counselor license qualifies (LPCC in Ohio and Minnesota, LMHC in Indiana, LPC-MHSP in Tennessee, LPC elsewhere among the nine); LMFT, LCSW and dependent or associate counselor licenses are not covered. Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Texas have not enacted the compact. Always confirm live status on counselingcompact.gov before relying on it; states are moving from pending to operational every few weeks in 2026.
Primary state of residence: the rule that decides everything
Your home state is your primary state of residence, the one on your driver's license, and the compact asks for proof of it. Your license lives there, and every privilege you buy hangs from it. A counselor who lives and is licensed in Arizona can hold privileges in Ohio, Georgia, and Wyoming at once, all anchored to the one Arizona license, provided every one of those states is operational.
The anchor sets the terms. A privilege does not expire on its own schedule: it runs to your home license's expiration date and has to be renewed in CompactConnect after each home renewal. An encumbrance on your home license, or any restriction on a license or privilege within the previous two years, blocks eligibility. And the home license has to be at the independent-practice level. An associate or supervised-tier license does not qualify, even where its title looks like another state's independent one.
Practice happens where the client is located. A telehealth session with a client sitting in Tennessee is counseling in Tennessee and needs a Tennessee license or privilege, wherever your office is. The compact covers telehealth explicitly, which is why counselors with an online caseload spread across state lines are its heaviest users, and why the right privilege needs to be in place before the first session, not after.
Moving scenarios
Operational home state to operational remote state (buy the privilege)
You live and hold an LPCC in Minnesota and want to see clients located in Louisiana, both operational. You do not apply to the Louisiana board for a license. You apply through CompactConnect, pay the $30 commission fee plus Louisiana's state fee, meet any Louisiana jurisprudence requirement, and practice there on the privilege, in person or by telehealth. Your Minnesota license and residence stay where they are.
Enacted but not yet operational (the waiting room)
Most compact states are here: the law has passed but the board is not yet issuing or accepting privileges. No privilege reaches a client located in one of these states, and a license from one of them cannot anchor privileges elsewhere. Until the commission lists the state as operational, treat it as outside the compact and use that state's ordinary license route.
Home or destination outside the compact
If either state has not enacted the compact, the privilege is unavailable in that direction. Serving clients in a non-member state means holding that state's own authorization, usually a license by endorsement. Coming from a non-member state, you have nothing to anchor a privilege to; endorse into an operational state, make it your home, and that license opens every other operational state to you.
Relocating between two member states (new home-state license required)
Say you move from Ohio to Indiana. A privilege lets you work away from home; it does not let you move home. You apply for an Indiana license, and because both states are members the compact streamlines it: Indiana verifies you through the compact's data system rather than requiring primary-source verification, and you complete the FBI and state background checks and any jurisprudence requirement Indiana sets. Your privileges then re-anchor to the new home license.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Counseling Compact?
The Counseling Compact lets a professional counselor with an active, unencumbered independent-level license in an operational home state buy a privilege to practice in any other operational state, in person and by telehealth. As of 2026-09-27, 9 jurisdictions are operational and 31 more have enacted the compact but are not yet issuing or accepting privileges. The privilege is not a license and does not cover relocation.
How do I get a Counseling Compact privilege?
Apply and pay through CompactConnect. You need an active, independent-level license in an operational home state that is your primary residence, no encumbrance on any license or privilege in the previous two years, a Social Security Number or National Practitioner Identifier, and an FBI fingerprint background check on file with your home board. You pay a $30 commission fee plus the remote state's fee and meet that state's jurisprudence requirement if it has one.
Can I use a privilege for telehealth?
Yes. The privilege is a full practice authorization in the remote state and covers both in-person and telehealth counseling with clients located there.
If a state has joined the Counseling Compact, can I practice there now?
Only if it is operational. 31 jurisdictions, including Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, have enacted the compact but were not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27. Until a state is operational, no privilege reaches it and its licenses cannot anchor one.
Does a privilege let me move to another compact state?
No. A privilege covers practice while you live in your home state. If you relocate, the new state becomes your home state and you must obtain its license. Between two member states the compact streamlines that application, but it is still required.
Where do I check a state's compact status?
On the commission's site, https://counselingcompact.gov/, which publishes operational-state announcements and the per-state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements. Privileges themselves are verified in CompactConnect. Rely on those sources rather than school or exam-prep sites, which often count enacted states as operational.
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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