Counseling License from Florida to Washington: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program ↗
A counseling license transfers from Florida to Washington by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program, verify your Florida license, and meet Washington's endorsement requirements. Applicants from a substantially equivalent state obtain the license 'without repeating education or exams already completed in another state' (DOH out-of-state page); the specific national exam Washington accepts was not stated on the pages read. No Washington jurisprudence exam is listed for out-of-state applicants..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Florida to Washington 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 Washington license. You apply to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program, which verifies your Florida license and standing, matches it to Washington's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Washington jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Florida → Washington
| Florida (current) | Washington (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a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048.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.) | $95 (LMHC application fee per WAC 246-809-990; initial license fee $80 and UW HEAL-WA online access fee $16 are charged separately. Applicants on the reciprocity/probationary route also pay the probationary 'application and initial license' fee of $175. Washington 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 | DOH publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state LMHC applications on the pages read |
| 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) | Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Washington sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Washington's current requirements on the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current license in a state DOH considers substantially equivalent, held for at least two years, with no history of disciplinary action (RCW 18.130.077).
- Have been first licensed in a substantially equivalent state; a later license from a universal-licensure state does not cure a non-equivalent original license (SHB 1724).
- From a state whose scope DOH found not substantially equivalent (Arkansas, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Carolina, Wisconsin), apply for both the probationary license and the full LMHC and close the gap within the probationary period.
- Use the DOH state credential search tool to confirm which out-of-state pathway applies.
- Pay the fees ($95 (LMHC application fee per WAC 246-809-990; initial license fee $80 and UW HEAL-WA online access fee $16 are charged separately. Applicants on the reciprocity/probationary route also pay the probationary 'application and initial license' fee of $175. Washington is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow DOH publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state LMHC applications on the pages read.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Washington accept a Florida counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Florida to Washington by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program, verify your Florida license, and meet Washington's endorsement requirements. Applicants from a substantially equivalent state obtain the license 'without repeating education or exams already completed in another state' (DOH out-of-state page); the specific national exam Washington accepts was not stated on the pages read. No Washington jurisprudence exam is listed for out-of-state applicants..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Florida to Washington?
Applicants from a substantially equivalent state obtain the license 'without repeating education or exams already completed in another state' (DOH out-of-state page); the specific national exam Washington accepts was not stated on the pages read. No Washington jurisprudence exam is listed for out-of-state applicants.
What does the move cost?
$95 (LMHC application fee per WAC 246-809-990; initial license fee $80 and UW HEAL-WA online access fee $16 are charged separately. Applicants on the reciprocity/probationary route also pay the probationary 'application and initial license' fee of $175. Washington is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
DOH publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state LMHC applications on the pages read.
Washington joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Washington had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Washington takes Washington's own authorization, normally a Washington license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Washington DOH: Mental Health Counselor, Out-of-State Applicants (probationary license, substantial equivalency, universal licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- WAC 246-809-990, mental health counselor fees ↗ (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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