Counseling License from Georgia to Alabama: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Alabama accept a Georgia counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Alabama by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Georgia license, and meet Alabama's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken if already passed: the Board requires a passing NCE score sent directly by NBCC (scores cannot come from another state board). An applicant who took a different licensure exam documents that exam (date and score) for the Board's equivalency review under Ala. Admin. Code 255-X-10-.02(4), or must take and pass the NCE. No state jurisprudence exam; applicants attest they have read the Code of Alabama, ABEC rules and Code of Ethics.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Alabama has enacted the Counseling Compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-10-29, so your Georgia license cannot reach it through the compact yet. The route is endorsement through the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC): your Georgia license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Alabama's own exam rule, and Alabama applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Alabama tier corresponds to your Georgia license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What's different between Georgia and Alabama
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Alabama. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Georgia to Alabama (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Alabama to Georgia (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Georgia matter?
Coming from Georgia does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into Alabama.
- Counseling Compact membership
Georgia is a Counseling Compact member state; Alabama has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not issuing under it yet.
Because they are not both active members, the Counseling Compact does not cover this move.
- Application fee
Alabama lists $200 for an out-of-state applicant and Georgia lists $100 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Processing time
Georgia lists up to 4 weeks for the reverse move; Alabama has no verified processing-time figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Alabama and Georgia carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Alabama (this move): National exam is not retaken if already passed: the Board requires a passing NCE score sent directly by NBCC (scores cannot come from another state board). An applicant who took a different licensure exam documents that exam (date and score) for the Board's equivalency review under Ala. Admin. Code 255-X-10-.02(4), or must take and pass the NCE. No state jurisprudence exam; applicants attest they have read the Code of Alabama, ABEC rules and Code of Ethics.
- Georgia (the reverse move): National exam is not retaken: the applicant submits an official passing score on the NBCC NCE or NCMHCE. An applicant who has not passed either exam may be required to pass one before endorsement is considered. No Georgia jurisprudence exam is required for endorsement or for a compact privilege.
What changes, Georgia → Alabama
| Georgia (current) | Alabama (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Licensure by endorsement · Counseling Compact privilege (not a license) | Licensure by endorsement · Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $100 ($100 non-refundable LPC endorsement application fee per the Board's fee schedule (dated 04/18/2023: '$100 application fee + $10 processing fee = $110'); the $10 is a mail-in application processing fee. Applications are now filed in the GOALS portal, and the online GOALS fee schedule (goals.sos.ga.gov) returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-29, so the portal amount could not be checked. Fingerprint background check paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Georgia charges $100 + $30 commission admin fee = $130 for a privilege; no jurisprudence exam).) | $200 (nonrefundable application fee payable by check or money order per the LPC Endorsement License Application (rev. May 2026) and the ABEC fee schedule; after Board approval the $300 LPC license fee is billed separately. The application lists no fingerprint or background-check fee. NBCC score-report fee is separate. Alabama has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational, so it charges no privilege fee.) |
| Processing time | up to 4 weeks (the Board's How-to Guide says applications are 'generally processed within 20 business days of receipt' (about 4 weeks), and the count restarts after a deficiency letter. Completed applications may also go to a Board meeting and must be complete at least 15 days before it to be placed on the agenda. Incomplete applications may be withdrawn if deficiencies are not fixed within 60 days of notice.) | the Board states only that 'the application process could take several weeks depending on receipt and review of required documents'; no numeric timeframe is published |
| Licensing authority | Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) | Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Alabama sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Alabama's current requirements on the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, good-standing counseling license comparable to the Alabama LPC that you qualified for directly (not one obtained by endorsement or reciprocity).
- Document 3,000 hours of post-degree supervised experience (2,250 direct, 750 indirect) under a Supervising Counselor, excluding practicum, internship and post-licensure work.
- Meet Alabama's graduate education requirements in effect when you were first licensed, shown with official transcripts and the Worksheet for Reporting Course Work.
- Have NBCC send a passing NCE score directly to the Board, or document an equivalent licensure exam.
- Have every issuing board send written license verification, including any disciplinary action.
- Submit a notarized application affidavit and the Proof of Citizenship form.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Alabama joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Alabama had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-10-29, so counseling clients located in Alabama takes Alabama's own authorization, normally an Alabama license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-10-29.
- ABEC: LPC Endorsement License Application (revised May 2026; requirements, $200 fee, NCE) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- ABEC: LPC by Endorsement and Provisional Licensure FAQ (no reciprocity; case-by-case endorsement) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- ABEC: Fees (application $200; LPC license $300) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- ABEC rules Chapter 255-X-10 (255-X-10-.02 Applicants Qualified Out-of-State; 255-X-10-.03 Provisional Licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements (Alabama not in the operational fee table) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Georgia SOS: How to Guide, Professional Counselor (Endorsement checklist, 20-business-day processing; read live) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Georgia Composite Board: Policy Statements, VII Endorsement - Professional Counselors (read live) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Georgia Composite Board: Fee Schedule (04/18/2023; endorsement $100 + $10 processing fee) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Georgia Composite Board: Verification of Licensure from Another State/Jurisdiction, Form N ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Georgia Composite Board: board page (Counseling Compact now live; GOALS portal) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 135-3-.04 Licensure by Endorsement (Georgia Rules and Regulations) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-10-29
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