Counseling License from Delaware to North Carolina: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Delaware to North Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC), verify your Delaware license, and meet North Carolina's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the Board accepts the NCE, NCMHCE or CRC exam (21 NCAC 53 .0305), with official scores sent by the examining organization. Every applicant, including endorsement and reciprocity applicants, must ALSO complete the Board's LCMHC Jurisprudence Exam within six months before applying..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Delaware to North Carolina by endorsement. Both states have enacted the Counseling Compact, but neither was issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27. When both go operational, cross-border work between them could run on a privilege; a relocation would still need a North Carolina license. You apply to the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC), which verifies your Delaware license and standing, matches it to North Carolina's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any North Carolina jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Delaware → North Carolina
| Delaware (current) | North Carolina (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $272 (Professional Counselor (LPCMH) application fee per the Board's Fee Schedule, paid in DELPROS; the same fee applies by examination or reciprocity. Fingerprinting (State and FBI background check) is paid separately to IdentoGO; NBCC score-report fee separate.) | $238 (Board-stated endorsement/reciprocity application fee of $238, which includes the $38 criminal background check fee; nonrefundable; jurisprudence exam provider fee not verified) |
| Processing time | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status with 'View Application Status' in DELPROS | 4–6 weeks (Board-stated 'Application Processing Timeframe (provided there are no legal/special considerations) 4-6 weeks from completed application submission') |
| Licensing authority | Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH) | North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — North Carolina sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm North Carolina's current requirements on the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an active, independent, unrestricted counselor license in good standing in another state for at least two years immediately before applying.
- Document 5 years full-time (or 8 years part-time, or an equivalent combination) of licensed counseling experience within the last 10 years, including at least 2,500 direct client contact hours.
- Pass the North Carolina LCMHC Jurisprudence Exam within six months before applying.
- Consent to a criminal background check.
- Have your current licensing board send the Out-of-State License Verification Form directly to the Board.
- Pay the fees ($238 (Board-stated endorsement/reciprocity application fee of $238, which includes the $38 criminal background check fee; nonrefundable; jurisprudence exam provider fee not verified)) and allow 4–6 weeks (Board-stated 'Application Processing Timeframe (provided there are no legal/special considerations) 4-6 weeks from completed application submission').
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does North Carolina accept a Delaware counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Delaware to North Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC), verify your Delaware license, and meet North Carolina's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the Board accepts the NCE, NCMHCE or CRC exam (21 NCAC 53 .0305), with official scores sent by the examining organization. Every applicant, including endorsement and reciprocity applicants, must ALSO complete the Board's LCMHC Jurisprudence Exam within six months before applying..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Delaware to North Carolina?
National exam is not retaken: the Board accepts the NCE, NCMHCE or CRC exam (21 NCAC 53 .0305), with official scores sent by the examining organization. Every applicant, including endorsement and reciprocity applicants, must ALSO complete the Board's LCMHC Jurisprudence Exam within six months before applying.
What does the move cost?
$238 (Board-stated endorsement/reciprocity application fee of $238, which includes the $38 criminal background check fee; nonrefundable; jurisprudence exam provider fee not verified)
How long will it take?
4–6 weeks (Board-stated 'Application Processing Timeframe (provided there are no legal/special considerations) 4-6 weeks from completed application submission')
North Carolina joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. North Carolina had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in North Carolina takes North Carolina's own authorization, normally a North Carolina license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- NCBLCMHC: Licensure by Endorsement (requirements, $238 fee, 4-6 week processing) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NCBLCMHC: LCMHC License by Reciprocity (South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NC OAH: 21 NCAC 53 .0304 Applicants Licensed in Other States ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NC OAH: 21 NCAC 53 .0305 Examination (NCE/NCMHCE/CRC; jurisprudence exam) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Delaware DPR: Professional Counselor of Mental Health Licensure (examination and reciprocity requirements) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Delaware DPR: Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals Fee Schedule ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Delaware Code Title 24, Chapter 30, Subchapter II (24 Del. C. 3034 Reciprocity) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Delaware DPR: Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals homepage (Counseling Compact not live) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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