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LicenseReciprocity

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

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗

A counseling license transfers from Florida to Georgia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Florida license, and meet Georgia's endorsement requirements. 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..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

A counseling license moves from Florida to Georgia by endorsement. Georgia is operational in the Counseling Compact, but Florida is not, so there is no home-state license here to anchor a privilege. Once you hold a Georgia license and live in Georgia, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. You apply to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), which verifies your Florida license and standing, matches it to Georgia's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Georgia jurisprudence and background requirements.

What changes, Florida → Georgia

Side-by-side: Florida vs Georgia (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
Florida (current)Georgia (destination)
Counseling Compact statusCounseling Compact enacted — not yet issuingCounseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice
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a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048.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.)$100 ($100 non-refundable LPC endorsement application fee; the 05/02/2023 paper form lists $110, which includes a $10 mail-in processing fee. The current online GOALS fee schedule (goals.sos.ga.gov) returned HTTP 403 and could not be checked. Fingerprint background check paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Georgia charges $100 + $30 commission admin fee = $130 for a privilege; no jurisprudence exam).)
Processing timethe 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~5 weeks (the endorsement application form says to allow up to 25 business days (about 5 weeks) to process a complete application. The Board may also take up the file at a meeting, and an application must be complete 15 days before a meeting to be placed on its agenda. Incomplete applications are withdrawn after 60 days.)
Licensing authorityFlorida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

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 and an official master's or doctoral transcript sent directly by the school.
  8. Complete a nationwide fingerprint criminal background check at the applicant's expense (O.C.G.A. 43-10A-5(i)).
  9. Pay the fees ($100 ($100 non-refundable LPC endorsement application fee; the 05/02/2023 paper form lists $110, which includes a $10 mail-in processing fee. The current online GOALS fee schedule (goals.sos.ga.gov) returned HTTP 403 and could not be checked. Fingerprint background check paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Georgia charges $100 + $30 commission admin fee = $130 for a privilege; no jurisprudence exam).)) and allow ~5 weeks (the endorsement application form says to allow up to 25 business days (about 5 weeks) to process a complete application. The Board may also take up the file at a meeting, and an application must be complete 15 days before a meeting to be placed on its agenda. Incomplete applications are withdrawn after 60 days.).

Official links

Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗Georgia application ↗Counseling Compact ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Georgia → FloridaCounseling in FloridaCounseling in GeorgiaAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Georgia accept a Florida counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from Florida to Georgia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Florida license, and meet Georgia's endorsement requirements. 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..

Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Florida to Georgia?

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.

What does the move cost?

$100 ($100 non-refundable LPC endorsement application fee; the 05/02/2023 paper form lists $110, which includes a $10 mail-in processing fee. The current online GOALS fee schedule (goals.sos.ga.gov) returned HTTP 403 and could not be checked. Fingerprint background check paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Georgia charges $100 + $30 commission admin fee = $130 for a privilege; no jurisprudence exam).)

How long will it take?

~5 weeks (the endorsement application form says to allow up to 25 business days (about 5 weeks) to process a complete application. The Board may also take up the file at a meeting, and an application must be complete 15 days before a meeting to be placed on its agenda. Incomplete applications are withdrawn after 60 days.)

Will a Georgia license get me into other compact states?

Yes, once Georgia is your home state. Georgia is operational, so an active, unencumbered Georgia license held while you live there can anchor privileges into the other operational states through CompactConnect.

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 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]