Counseling License from Florida to South Dakota: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists ↗
A counseling license transfers from Florida to South Dakota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists, verify your Florida license, and meet South Dakota's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken but must have been passed: applicants indicate the NCE, CRC or NCMHCE passed and have the official score released to the Board through the NBCC online results portal; applicants who never passed a national exam are 'not eligible for a license by endorsement'. No state jurisprudence exam is required; the applicant signs that they have read South Dakota's laws and rules..
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
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 South Dakota license. The route is endorsement through the South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists: your Florida license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under South Dakota's own exam rule, and South Dakota applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which South Dakota tier corresponds to your Florida license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Florida → South Dakota
| Florida (current) | South Dakota (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a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048.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.) | $100 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's fee schedule and the endorsement application (9/2023); the $225 biennial license fee must be paid with the application and is refunded if the application is denied. A temporary endorsement costs a $100 application fee plus $50 temporary license fee. South Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.) |
| 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 timeframe published; the Board's FAQ says complete files go to a Board member reviewer 'on a rolling basis' |
| 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) | South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — South Dakota sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm South Dakota's current requirements on the South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a license at the highest level of independent practice in another state or territory for at least 3 years (SDCL 36-32-67).
- Show active practice of at least 1,500 hours of clinical experience in the 3 years before applying (affidavit, calendars or other proof on request).
- Have the issuing state send a letter of verification directly to the Board.
- Have an official national exam score (NCE, CRC or NCMHCE) sent to the Board.
- Submit a notarized application with a color headshot photograph.
- Pay the fees ($100 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's fee schedule and the endorsement application (9/2023); the $225 biennial license fee must be paid with the application and is refunded if the application is denied. A temporary endorsement costs a $100 application fee plus $50 temporary license fee. South Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow no timeframe published; the Board's FAQ says complete files go to a Board member reviewer 'on a rolling basis'.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does South Dakota accept a Florida counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Florida to South Dakota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists, verify your Florida license, and meet South Dakota's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken but must have been passed: applicants indicate the NCE, CRC or NCMHCE passed and have the official score released to the Board through the NBCC online results portal; applicants who never passed a national exam are 'not eligible for a license by endorsement'. No state jurisprudence exam is required; the applicant signs that they have read South Dakota's laws and rules..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Florida to South Dakota?
National exam is not retaken but must have been passed: applicants indicate the NCE, CRC or NCMHCE passed and have the official score released to the Board through the NBCC online results portal; applicants who never passed a national exam are 'not eligible for a license by endorsement'. No state jurisprudence exam is required; the applicant signs that they have read South Dakota's laws and rules.
What does the move cost?
$100 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's fee schedule and the endorsement application (9/2023); the $225 biennial license fee must be paid with the application and is refunded if the application is denied. A temporary endorsement costs a $100 application fee plus $50 temporary license fee. South Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
no timeframe published; the Board's FAQ says complete files go to a Board member reviewer 'on a rolling basis'.
South Dakota joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. South Dakota had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in South Dakota takes South Dakota's own authorization, normally a South Dakota license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- SD Board of Examiners for Counselors & MFTs: Application for Licensure by Endorsement (9/2023) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- SD Board of Examiners for Counselors & MFTs: Fee Schedule ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- SD Board of Examiners for Counselors & MFTs: Applications ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- SD Board of Examiners for Counselors & MFTs: Frequently Asked Questions ↗ (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
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]