Counseling License from Delaware to Texas: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors ↗
No — Texas has no reciprocity or endorsement path for Delaware counseling license holders. You must apply to the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors as a new applicant and meet Texas's full licensing requirements, including any exams it requires that you have not already passed.
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Verdict
Full re-application
Texas has no endorsement path for counselors licensed in Delaware or anywhere else, so plan for a full application to the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors. Your Delaware license does not stand in for Texas's requirements: expect the board to review your graduate degree, national exam, and post-degree supervised experience against its own standard, as it would for a first-time applicant. 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.
What changes, Delaware → Texas
| Delaware (current) | Texas (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Full re-application required |
| 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.) | $165 (LPC Associate/LPC/Provisional License Application fee per 22 TAC 885.1(b) as amended in the 2026-03-13 Texas Register ($154 base + $6 Texas.gov + $5 OPP); this is the ordinary LPC application fee, since Texas has no separate endorsement fee. Jurisprudence exam $39; fingerprinting paid to the vendor. Texas has not enacted the Counseling Compact.) |
| Processing time | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status with 'View Application Status' in DELPROS | ~6 weeks (BHEC's out-of-state LPC application guide says 'Please allow at least 6 weeks for processing before contacting BHEC for a status update'; no maximum is stated) |
| Licensing authority | Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH) | Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Texas sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Review Texas's initial-licensure requirements on the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors website (linked below).
- Expect to meet Texas's education/experience requirements and pass any required exams you have not already passed — a national exam you passed often still counts, as can prior out-of-state licensure toward experience.
- Submit the standard (new applicant) application with fees ($165 (LPC Associate/LPC/Provisional License Application fee per 22 TAC 885.1(b) as amended in the 2026-03-13 Texas Register ($154 base + $6 Texas.gov + $5 OPP); this is the ordinary LPC application fee, since Texas has no separate endorsement fee. Jurisprudence exam $39; fingerprinting paid to the vendor. Texas has not enacted the Counseling Compact.)).
- Allow ~6 weeks (BHEC's out-of-state LPC application guide says 'Please allow at least 6 weeks for processing before contacting BHEC for a status update'; no maximum is stated).
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Texas accept a Delaware counseling license?
No — Texas has no reciprocity or endorsement path for Delaware counseling license holders. You must apply to the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors as a new applicant and meet Texas's full licensing requirements, including any exams it requires that you have not already passed.
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Delaware to Texas?
No endorsement route. The national exam already passed (NCE or NCMHCE) is not retaken: scores are requested from NBCC for direct submission to the Texas portal. Every applicant must also pass the Texas Jurisprudence Examination within six months before applying.
What does the move cost?
Application fee: $165 (LPC Associate/LPC/Provisional License Application fee per 22 TAC 885.1(b) as amended in the 2026-03-13 Texas Register ($154 base + $6 Texas.gov + $5 OPP); this is the ordinary LPC application fee, since Texas has no separate endorsement fee. Jurisprudence exam $39; fingerprinting paid to the vendor. Texas has not enacted the Counseling Compact.) Add the cost of documenting Texas's full requirements, such as transcripts and supervised-hour verification.
How long will it take?
~6 weeks (BHEC's out-of-state LPC application guide says 'Please allow at least 6 weeks for processing before contacting BHEC for a status update'; no maximum is stated)
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- BHEC: Applying for an LPC License, Licensed in Another Jurisdiction (no reciprocity, endorsement or temporary licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- BHEC: How to Apply for an LPC License from Out of State (online application guide, 6-week processing note) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Texas Register 2026-03-13: Figure 22 TAC 885.1(b), BHEC fee schedule ↗ (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
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]