Counseling License from Florida to North Carolina: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Florida to North Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC), verify your Florida license, and meet North Carolina's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the Board accepts the NCE, NCMHCE or CRC exam (21 NCAC 53 .0305), with official scores sent by the examining organization. Every applicant, including endorsement and reciprocity applicants, must ALSO complete the Board's LCMHC Jurisprudence Exam within six months before applying..
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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 North Carolina license. The route is endorsement through the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC): your Florida license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under North Carolina's own exam rule, and North Carolina applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which North Carolina tier corresponds to your Florida license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Florida → North Carolina
| Florida (current) | North Carolina (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a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048.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.) | $238 (Board-stated endorsement/reciprocity application fee of $238, which includes the $38 criminal background check fee; nonrefundable; jurisprudence exam provider fee not verified) |
| 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 | 4–6 weeks (Board-stated 'Application Processing Timeframe (provided there are no legal/special considerations) 4-6 weeks from completed application submission') |
| 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) | North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — North Carolina sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm North Carolina's current requirements on the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an active, independent, unrestricted counselor license in good standing in another state for at least two years immediately before applying.
- Document 5 years full-time (or 8 years part-time, or an equivalent combination) of licensed counseling experience within the last 10 years, including at least 2,500 direct client contact hours.
- Pass the North Carolina LCMHC Jurisprudence Exam within six months before applying.
- Consent to a criminal background check.
- Have your current licensing board send the Out-of-State License Verification Form directly to the Board.
- Pay the fees ($238 (Board-stated endorsement/reciprocity application fee of $238, which includes the $38 criminal background check fee; nonrefundable; jurisprudence exam provider fee not verified)) and allow 4–6 weeks (Board-stated 'Application Processing Timeframe (provided there are no legal/special considerations) 4-6 weeks from completed application submission').
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does North Carolina accept a Florida counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Florida to North Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC), verify your Florida license, and meet North Carolina's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the Board accepts the NCE, NCMHCE or CRC exam (21 NCAC 53 .0305), with official scores sent by the examining organization. Every applicant, including endorsement and reciprocity applicants, must ALSO complete the Board's LCMHC Jurisprudence Exam within six months before applying..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Florida to North Carolina?
National exam is not retaken: the Board accepts the NCE, NCMHCE or CRC exam (21 NCAC 53 .0305), with official scores sent by the examining organization. Every applicant, including endorsement and reciprocity applicants, must ALSO complete the Board's LCMHC Jurisprudence Exam within six months before applying.
What does the move cost?
$238 (Board-stated endorsement/reciprocity application fee of $238, which includes the $38 criminal background check fee; nonrefundable; jurisprudence exam provider fee not verified)
How long will it take?
4–6 weeks (Board-stated 'Application Processing Timeframe (provided there are no legal/special considerations) 4-6 weeks from completed application submission')
North Carolina joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. North Carolina had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in North Carolina takes North Carolina's own authorization, normally a North Carolina license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- NCBLCMHC: Licensure by Endorsement (requirements, $238 fee, 4-6 week processing) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NCBLCMHC: LCMHC License by Reciprocity (South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NC OAH: 21 NCAC 53 .0304 Applicants Licensed in Other States ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NC OAH: 21 NCAC 53 .0305 Examination (NCE/NCMHCE/CRC; jurisprudence exam) ↗ (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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