Counseling License from Florida to Maryland: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Florida to Maryland by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC), verify your Florida license, and meet Maryland's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: submit NCE or NCMHCE scores. A state law exam is ALSO required: the Maryland Law Assessment (MLA), taken online through CCE, with the certificate submitted with the application. The Board may waive the examination requirement for applicants from jurisdictions granting similar endorsement to Maryland licensees who passed a Board-approved exam (COMAR 10.58.12.06)..
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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 Maryland license. The route is endorsement through the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC): your Florida license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Maryland's own exam rule, and Maryland applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Maryland tier corresponds to your Florida license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Florida → Maryland
| Florida (current) | Maryland (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a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048.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.) | $250 (LCPC out-of-state application fee (check or money order); + separate $150 license fee due on notification of eligibility; non-refundable; Maryland Law Assessment fee paid to CCE and CHRC fingerprint fee paid separately. Maryland is not yet issuing Counseling Compact privileges.) |
| 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 | no approval timeframe is published; the Board determines within 30 days of receipt whether the application is complete, and applicants get 90 days to cure deficiencies before the file is closed |
| 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) | Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Maryland sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Maryland's current requirements on the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current clinical professional counselor license in good standing with no past or pending discipline, verified by the other board on Maryland's out-of-state verification form.
- Show the other jurisdiction's clinical licensure requirements are equivalent to or exceed Md. Health Occ. §17-304, or qualify under the COMAR equivalency provisions.
- Submit official transcripts for a master's or doctoral counseling degree.
- Pass the Maryland Law Assessment and submit NCE or NCMHCE scores.
- Complete a criminal history records check (CHRC).
- Pay the fees ($250 (LCPC out-of-state application fee (check or money order); + separate $150 license fee due on notification of eligibility; non-refundable; Maryland Law Assessment fee paid to CCE and CHRC fingerprint fee paid separately. Maryland is not yet issuing Counseling Compact privileges.)) and allow no approval timeframe is published; the Board determines within 30 days of receipt whether the application is complete, and applicants get 90 days to cure deficiencies before the file is closed.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Maryland accept a Florida counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Florida to Maryland by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC), verify your Florida license, and meet Maryland's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: submit NCE or NCMHCE scores. A state law exam is ALSO required: the Maryland Law Assessment (MLA), taken online through CCE, with the certificate submitted with the application. The Board may waive the examination requirement for applicants from jurisdictions granting similar endorsement to Maryland licensees who passed a Board-approved exam (COMAR 10.58.12.06)..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Florida to Maryland?
National exam is not retaken: submit NCE or NCMHCE scores. A state law exam is ALSO required: the Maryland Law Assessment (MLA), taken online through CCE, with the certificate submitted with the application. The Board may waive the examination requirement for applicants from jurisdictions granting similar endorsement to Maryland licensees who passed a Board-approved exam (COMAR 10.58.12.06).
What does the move cost?
$250 (LCPC out-of-state application fee (check or money order); + separate $150 license fee due on notification of eligibility; non-refundable; Maryland Law Assessment fee paid to CCE and CHRC fingerprint fee paid separately. Maryland is not yet issuing Counseling Compact privileges.)
How long will it take?
no approval timeframe is published; the Board determines within 30 days of receipt whether the application is complete, and applicants get 90 days to cure deficiencies before the file is closed.
Maryland joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Maryland had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Maryland takes Maryland's own authorization, normally a Maryland license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Maryland BOPCT: LCPC Out of State Applicants application and instructions ($250 + $150, MLA, CHRC) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- COMAR 10.58.12.06 Licensure Eligibility: Out-of-State Applicants ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Maryland BOPCT: LCPC out-of-state instructions (legacy form; experience tiers) ↗ (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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