Transfer Your Counseling License to Florida: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Florida has passed the Counseling Compact into law, and its board may describe the state as having joined, but as of 2026-10-29 it was not issuing or accepting privileges. That makes Florida a non-compact state in practice: no privilege lets you see a client located here, in person or by telehealth, and a Florida license cannot yet anchor privileges elsewhere. Plan on a Florida license by endorsement, and check the commission's announcements, because states have been switching on every few weeks.

Florida's independent counselor license is the LMHC; the Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern and provisional license are not independent tiers. Section 491.006 now routes all endorsement applicants to the MOBILE Act, s. 456.0145. Applicants need an active, unencumbered license with a similar scope of practice, a passing national exam or board-recognized national certification, active practice for 2 of the last 4 years, no discipline in 5 years, no pending proceeding, no unremoved National Practitioner Data Bank report, and fingerprint screening (HB 975, 2024). Under s. 456.0145(2)(c)4. an NPDB report bars licensure unless the applicant had it removed on appeal; if the reported conduct would not violate Florida law, the Board may approve the application, approve it with restrictions or probation, or deny it, so that exception is discretionary, not automatic. The statute sets no residency condition. Education and supervised hours are not re-reviewed. The Board's MOBILE Endorsement section lists only license verifications, the national exam score and fingerprints, but Rule 64B4-3.0035 requires every applicant for licensure to show the 8-hour Laws and Rules course and HIV/AIDS education before licensure, and the Board's LMHC page also lists the 2-hour domestic-violence course, so this is endorsement, not full reciprocity. DISCREPANCY: the Board's downloadable endorsement form DH-MQA 5048 (rev. 2/2024) still says applicants must have practiced 'at least three of the past five years'. The Board's live LMHC page and the statute say 2 of the last 4 years, and this row follows the statute. Section 491.006 also exempts counselors practicing under the counseling compact, but Florida has enacted the compact without yet issuing or accepting privileges (commission table shows Florida not live). The Board's home page says Florida is a Counseling Compact member that 'will begin accepting applications in the fall', which is consistent with the pending value. compact_member and compact_status are assembler-provided.