Counseling License from Florida to Delaware: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Florida to Delaware by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH), verify your Florida license, and meet Delaware's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: NCE or NCMHCE scores are requested from NBCC and sent to the Board, and scores from another exam the Board accepts as equivalent are sent by that organization. An applicant from a state whose standards are not substantially similar must have held the license 5 years and passed the NCE or another exam the Board accepts (24 Del. C. 3034(b)). No Delaware jurisprudence exam..
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Verdict
Licensure 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 Delaware license. The route is endorsement through the Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH): your Florida license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Delaware's own exam rule, and Delaware applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Delaware tier corresponds to your Florida license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Florida → Delaware
| Florida (current) | Delaware (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $100 ($100 non-refundable application fee; the endorsement application also collects a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048. Livescan fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. Florida is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.) | $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.) |
| Processing time | the Board states only that Florida law requires an initial application to be reviewed within 30 days and that a license issues within 7 days after all documentation is received (s. 456.0145(2)(e)); no end-to-end processing range is published | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status with 'View Application Status' in DELPROS |
| Licensing authority | Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) | Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Delaware sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Delaware's current requirements on the Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current Professional Counselor of Mental Health (or equivalent independent) license in good standing in another state, DC or U.S. territory.
- If licensed under 5 years in every jurisdiction, submit the other states' licensing laws and rules so the Board can decide whether any has substantially similar standards.
- Complete a State of Delaware and FBI fingerprint criminal background check through IdentoGO using the Board's service code.
- Have license verification sent directly from every jurisdiction where a license is or was held.
- Submit NCE or NCMHCE scores through NBCC score reporting.
- Pay the fees ($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.)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status with 'View Application Status' in DELPROS.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Delaware accept a Florida counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Florida to Delaware by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH), verify your Florida license, and meet Delaware's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: NCE or NCMHCE scores are requested from NBCC and sent to the Board, and scores from another exam the Board accepts as equivalent are sent by that organization. An applicant from a state whose standards are not substantially similar must have held the license 5 years and passed the NCE or another exam the Board accepts (24 Del. C. 3034(b)). No Delaware jurisprudence exam..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Florida to Delaware?
National exam is not retaken: NCE or NCMHCE scores are requested from NBCC and sent to the Board, and scores from another exam the Board accepts as equivalent are sent by that organization. An applicant from a state whose standards are not substantially similar must have held the license 5 years and passed the NCE or another exam the Board accepts (24 Del. C. 3034(b)). No Delaware jurisprudence exam.
What does the move cost?
$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.)
How long will it take?
the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status with 'View Application Status' in DELPROS.
Delaware joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Delaware had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Delaware takes Delaware's own authorization, normally a Delaware license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 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)
- Florida 491 Board: Licensed Mental Health Counselor (License by MOBILE Endorsement requirements, courses, fees, processing) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida 491 Board: Application for Licensure by Endorsement, DH-MQA 5048 (rev. 2/2024; fee breakdown, course and score-report instructions) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida Statutes s. 491.006 Licensure or certification by endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida Statutes s. 456.0145 MOBILE Act licensure by endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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