Counseling License from Florida to West Virginia: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: West Virginia Board of Examiners in Counseling (WVBEC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Florida to West Virginia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the West Virginia Board of Examiners in Counseling (WVBEC), verify your Florida license, and meet West Virginia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the Board 'recognizes the National Counselor Examination (NCE)', and exam scores must be in the certified file sent by the current licensing board or sent directly by the exam organization. No state jurisprudence exam is listed in the endorsement packet..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Florida to West Virginia 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 West Virginia license. You apply to the West Virginia Board of Examiners in Counseling (WVBEC), which verifies your Florida license and standing, matches it to West Virginia's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any West Virginia jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Florida → West Virginia
| Florida (current) | West Virginia (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a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048.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.) | $300 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's LPC Endorsement Application packet (2023) and Series 1 LPC Licensing Rule 27-1-5.2.a.5. West Virginia 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 end-to-end timeframe; the packet says applicants are emailed within 7-10 business days after documents are received and reviewed, the Credentialing Committee typically meets every two months, and complete files go to the next Board meeting (also typically every two months) |
| 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) | West Virginia Board of Examiners in Counseling (WVBEC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — West Virginia sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm West Virginia's current requirements on the West Virginia Board of Examiners in Counseling (WVBEC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the West Virginia Board of Examiners in Counseling (WVBEC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current LPC license in another state whose licensing requirements are greater than or equal to West Virginia's, as determined by the Board.
- Have a certified copy of your file sent from the state where currently licensed, including license verification for every jurisdiction ever licensed (Attachment A), exam scores and supervision records, plus that state's licensing rule in effect when the license was issued.
- Option 1 (actively practiced as an LPC with an ongoing caseload for 5 of the last 7 years): submit Attachment B verification of active clinical practice; recommendations, transcripts, transcript review and supervision records are waived.
- Option 2 (licensed under 5 years): submit official graduate transcripts with the 60-hour transcript review sheet and course descriptions, and two professional recommendation forms.
- Submit a notarized six-page application with photograph.
- Pay the fees ($300 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's LPC Endorsement Application packet (2023) and Series 1 LPC Licensing Rule 27-1-5.2.a.5. West Virginia is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow no end-to-end timeframe; the packet says applicants are emailed within 7-10 business days after documents are received and reviewed, the Credentialing Committee typically meets every two months, and complete files go to the next Board meeting (also typically every two months).
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does West Virginia accept a Florida counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Florida to West Virginia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the West Virginia Board of Examiners in Counseling (WVBEC), verify your Florida license, and meet West Virginia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the Board 'recognizes the National Counselor Examination (NCE)', and exam scores must be in the certified file sent by the current licensing board or sent directly by the exam organization. No state jurisprudence exam is listed in the endorsement packet..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Florida to West Virginia?
National exam is not retaken: the Board 'recognizes the National Counselor Examination (NCE)', and exam scores must be in the certified file sent by the current licensing board or sent directly by the exam organization. No state jurisprudence exam is listed in the endorsement packet.
What does the move cost?
$300 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's LPC Endorsement Application packet (2023) and Series 1 LPC Licensing Rule 27-1-5.2.a.5. West Virginia is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
no end-to-end timeframe; the packet says applicants are emailed within 7-10 business days after documents are received and reviewed, the Credentialing Committee typically meets every two months, and complete files go to the next Board meeting (also typically every two months)
West Virginia joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. West Virginia had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in West Virginia takes West Virginia's own authorization, normally a West Virginia license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- WVBEC: LPC Application for Licensure by Endorsement packet (2023; Options 1 and 2, $300 fee) ↗ (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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