Counseling License from Florida to Minnesota: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Florida to Minnesota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC), verify your Florida license, and meet Minnesota's endorsement requirements. No exam is retaken for reciprocity. Minn. Stat. 148B.56 sets no exam condition: the Board rules on substantial similarity (licensed under 5 years) or 5+ years of active practice, then decides whether to grant the LPC or the LPCC. Minnesota-route LPCC applicants must pass the NCMHCE (148B.5301). The reciprocity application asks for license verification, transcripts and the other state's laws and rules, not a separate score transfer. No Minnesota jurisprudence exam..
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Minnesota 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 Minnesota license and live in Minnesota, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. The route is endorsement through the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC): your Florida license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Minnesota's own exam rule, and Minnesota applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Minnesota tier corresponds to your Florida license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Florida → Minnesota
| Florida (current) | Minnesota (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Counseling 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a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048.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.) | $150 (non-refundable LPCC application fee (Minn. Stat. 148B.53 subd. 3); the reciprocity application also requires the $250 initial license fee and a $32 criminal background check fee, paid together as $432 ($400 if exempt from the check). NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee: Minnesota charges $50 + $30 commission fee = $80, no jurisprudence exam.) |
| 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's reciprocity application (updated 2025-02-27) states no processing timeframe |
| 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) | Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Minnesota sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Minnesota's current requirements on the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current license in good standing at the highest counselor level in your jurisdiction (e.g. LPCC, LCPC, LMHC).
- Licensed under 5 years: requirements must be substantially similar to Minn. Stat. 148B.50-148B.593; 5+ years of active practice: the Board decides between LPC and LPCC (Minn. Stat. 148B.56).
- Submit copies of your jurisdiction's current licensure laws and rules for the license used.
- Have all graduate transcripts and license verification from every licensing board sent directly to the Board.
- Complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check unless exempt under Minn. Stat. 214.075.
- Pay the fees ($150 (non-refundable LPCC application fee (Minn. Stat. 148B.53 subd. 3); the reciprocity application also requires the $250 initial license fee and a $32 criminal background check fee, paid together as $432 ($400 if exempt from the check). NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee: Minnesota charges $50 + $30 commission fee = $80, no jurisprudence exam.)) and allow the Board's reciprocity application (updated 2025-02-27) states no processing timeframe.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Minnesota accept a Florida counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Florida to Minnesota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC), verify your Florida license, and meet Minnesota's endorsement requirements. No exam is retaken for reciprocity. Minn. Stat. 148B.56 sets no exam condition: the Board rules on substantial similarity (licensed under 5 years) or 5+ years of active practice, then decides whether to grant the LPC or the LPCC. Minnesota-route LPCC applicants must pass the NCMHCE (148B.5301). The reciprocity application asks for license verification, transcripts and the other state's laws and rules, not a separate score transfer. No Minnesota jurisprudence exam..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Florida to Minnesota?
No exam is retaken for reciprocity. Minn. Stat. 148B.56 sets no exam condition: the Board rules on substantial similarity (licensed under 5 years) or 5+ years of active practice, then decides whether to grant the LPC or the LPCC. Minnesota-route LPCC applicants must pass the NCMHCE (148B.5301). The reciprocity application asks for license verification, transcripts and the other state's laws and rules, not a separate score transfer. No Minnesota jurisprudence exam.
What does the move cost?
$150 (non-refundable LPCC application fee (Minn. Stat. 148B.53 subd. 3); the reciprocity application also requires the $250 initial license fee and a $32 criminal background check fee, paid together as $432 ($400 if exempt from the check). NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee: Minnesota charges $50 + $30 commission fee = $80, no jurisprudence exam.)
How long will it take?
the Board's reciprocity application (updated 2025-02-27) states no processing timeframe.
Will a Minnesota license get me into other compact states?
Yes, once Minnesota is your home state. Minnesota is operational, so an active, unencumbered Minnesota 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.
- Minnesota BBHT: LPC/LPCC Reciprocity Application, updated 2025-02-27 (instructions, $432 fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minn. Stat. 148B.56 Reciprocity (Revisor of Statutes, 2025 chapter 148B) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minn. Stat. 148B.53 subd. 3 Fees (Revisor of Statutes) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minnesota BBHT: Reciprocity Licenses by State (updated 2024-03-15) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minnesota BBHT: LPC and LPCC Reciprocity page (Internet Archive capture 2026-04-21) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements (Minnesota $80 total) ↗ (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)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]