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LicenseReciprocity

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

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Board of Allied Mental Health Practitioners ↗

A counseling license transfers from Florida to Vermont by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Board of Allied Mental Health Practitioners, verify your Florida license, and meet Vermont's endorsement requirements. No national exam retake on any of Vermont's three endorsement routes (substantially equivalent, five-year rule, fast track); the application instructions ask only for license verification and, 'if applicable', the Vermont State Jurisprudence exam answer sheet uploaded in the online application. Exam-route applicants must pass both the NCE and the NCMHCE within 5 years of 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 Vermont license. The route is endorsement through the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Board of Allied Mental Health Practitioners: your Florida license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Vermont's own exam rule, and Vermont applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Vermont tier corresponds to your Florida license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.

What changes, Florida → Vermont

Side-by-side: Florida vs Vermont (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
Florida (current)Vermont (destination)
Counseling Compact statusCounseling Compact enacted — not yet issuingCounseling 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a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048.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.)fee not verified: OPR sets fees in statute (26 V.S.A. chapter 65) and its fee documents on outside.vermont.gov returned 403, while legislature.vermont.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27; the application fee is non-refundable. Vermont is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.
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~1 weeks (OPR's apply page says 'Please allow a minimum of 5 full business days for processing. Processing times may vary depending on volume'; no maximum is stated. A 90-day provisional license may be issued when license verification is the only outstanding item.)
Licensing authorityFlorida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC)Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Board of Allied Mental Health Practitioners

The destination column is what you must satisfy — Vermont sets the rules for this move.

Step by step

  1. Confirm Vermont's current requirements on the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Board of Allied Mental Health Practitioners website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Board of Allied Mental Health Practitioners (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a license or certification to practice independently as a clinical mental health counselor, in good standing, in another jurisdiction whose standards are substantially equivalent; or have been fully licensed at the independent level for at least 3 years (fast track, 3 V.S.A. 136a); or have 5 years of active practice (Board rule 3.23(c)).
  5. Have official license verifications sent directly to OPR from the initial and most recent licensing states (fast track verification must show 3 years of continuous good standing).
  6. Complete and upload the Vermont State Jurisprudence exam answer sheet if applicable.
  7. Provide a copy of the statutes and rules of the state you are endorsing from (standard endorsement route).
  8. For the five-year rule, submit a letter showing active practice of more than an average of 20 hours per week for 48 weeks per year over the prior five years.
  9. Pay the fees (fee not verified: OPR sets fees in statute (26 V.S.A. chapter 65) and its fee documents on outside.vermont.gov returned 403, while legislature.vermont.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27; the application fee is non-refundable. Vermont is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.) and allow ~1 weeks (OPR's apply page says 'Please allow a minimum of 5 full business days for processing. Processing times may vary depending on volume'; no maximum is stated. A 90-day provisional license may be issued when license verification is the only outstanding item.).

Official links

Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Board of Allied Mental Health Practitioners ↗Vermont application ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Vermont → FloridaCounseling in FloridaCounseling in VermontAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Vermont accept a Florida counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from Florida to Vermont by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Board of Allied Mental Health Practitioners, verify your Florida license, and meet Vermont's endorsement requirements. No national exam retake on any of Vermont's three endorsement routes (substantially equivalent, five-year rule, fast track); the application instructions ask only for license verification and, 'if applicable', the Vermont State Jurisprudence exam answer sheet uploaded in the online application. Exam-route applicants must pass both the NCE and the NCMHCE within 5 years of applying..

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

No national exam retake on any of Vermont's three endorsement routes (substantially equivalent, five-year rule, fast track); the application instructions ask only for license verification and, 'if applicable', the Vermont State Jurisprudence exam answer sheet uploaded in the online application. Exam-route applicants must pass both the NCE and the NCMHCE within 5 years of applying.

What does the move cost?

fee not verified: OPR sets fees in statute (26 V.S.A. chapter 65) and its fee documents on outside.vermont.gov returned 403, while legislature.vermont.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27; the application fee is non-refundable. Vermont is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.

How long will it take?

~1 weeks (OPR's apply page says 'Please allow a minimum of 5 full business days for processing. Processing times may vary depending on volume'; no maximum is stated. A 90-day provisional license may be issued when license verification is the only outstanding item.)

Vermont joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?

Not yet. Vermont had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Vermont takes Vermont's own authorization, normally a Vermont license.

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]