Counseling License from Florida to Georgia: Does It Transfer? (2026)

What's different between Florida and Georgia

Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Georgia. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.

Route, each way

Florida to Georgia (this page): Licensure by endorsement.

Georgia to Florida (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.

The route is the same in both directions.

Does coming from Florida matter?

Florida gets Georgia's most common result: 40 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get the same one, so for most movers the origin does not change the answer.

The others get: compact privilege — work there without a second license (10).

Counseling Compact membership

Florida has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not issuing under it yet; Georgia is a Counseling Compact member state.

Because they are not both active members, the Counseling Compact does not cover this move.

Application fee

Georgia lists $100 for an out-of-state applicant and Florida lists $100 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.

Processing time

Georgia lists up to 4 weeks; Florida has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.

Exam rules on record

Georgia and Florida carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.

• Georgia (this move): National exam is not retaken: the applicant submits an official passing score on the NBCC NCE or NCMHCE. An applicant who has not passed either exam may be required to pass one before endorsement is considered. No Georgia jurisprudence exam is required for endorsement or for a compact privilege.
• Florida (the reverse move): National exam is not retaken: the Board's LMHC page names the NCMHCE (NBCC) as the accepted exam, and an out-of-state applicant has NBCC send an official score report directly to the Board. Section 456.0145 accepts 'a passing score on a national licensure examination or ... a national certification recognized by the board'; the Board does not state whether an NCE-only licensee qualifies. No separate jurisprudence exam, but an 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course is required before licensure.

What changes, Florida → Georgia

The destination column is what you must satisfy — Georgia sets the rules for this move.

Step by step

1. Confirm Georgia's current requirements on the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
2. Submit the endorsement application to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (application linked below).
3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
4. Hold a current, unencumbered clinical-level (independent) professional counselor license in another state; associate-level licenses are not eligible.
5. Verify at least 2 years of unrestricted licensure at the Georgia LPC level from every state ever licensed (Form N or the state's own verification, including any discipline).
6. Verify at least 2 years of active, unrestricted practice at the LPC level immediately preceding the application.
7. Submit an official passing NCE or NCMHCE score, an official conferred master's or doctoral transcript sent directly by the school, and the practicum-internship verification.
8. Complete the national fingerprint background check on the Board's endorsement checklist, at the applicant's expense.
9. Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.

Official links

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