Counseling License from Georgia to Connecticut: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Connecticut Department of Public Health, Practitioner Licensing and Investigations Section, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Connecticut by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Practitioner Licensing and Investigations Section, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Georgia license, and meet Connecticut's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: Connecticut accepts a passed NCE or NCMHCE (NBCC), and applicants who already passed either do not sit again. There is no Connecticut jurisprudence exam. Under the 4-year universal route (CGS 19a-14d) the Department's page says applicants are not required to complete an examination, although the statute lets the Department require all or part of the licensing exam..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Georgia to Connecticut by endorsement. Connecticut has enacted the Counseling Compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so your Georgia license cannot reach it through the compact yet. You apply to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Practitioner Licensing and Investigations Section, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), which verifies your Georgia license and standing, matches it to Connecticut's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Connecticut jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Georgia → Connecticut
| Georgia (current) | Connecticut (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $100 ($100 non-refundable LPC endorsement application fee; the 05/02/2023 paper form lists $110, which includes a $10 mail-in processing fee. The current online GOALS fee schedule (goals.sos.ga.gov) returned HTTP 403 and 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 (Professional Counselor initial application fee per CGS 20-195cc(a) and the Department's Professional Counselor Licensing page. The Department's LPC requirements page also says 'There is no application fee for this license', which conflicts with both the statute and the licensing page, so the statutory $200 is recorded here. Out-of-state license-verification fees are charged separately by the other states.) |
| Processing time | ~5 weeks (the endorsement application form says to allow up to 25 business days (about 5 weeks) to process a complete application. The Board may also take up the file at a meeting, and an application must be complete 15 days before a meeting to be placed on its agenda. Incomplete applications are withdrawn after 60 days.) | 3–4 weeks (DPH general licensing policy: once an application is complete, an eligibility determination is made 'within three to four weeks'. The clock starts only when the application file is complete.) |
| Licensing authority | Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) | Connecticut Department of Public Health, Practitioner Licensing and Investigations Section, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Connecticut sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Connecticut's current requirements on the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Practitioner Licensing and Investigations Section, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Practitioner Licensing and Investigations Section, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current professional counselor license (or equivalent) in another U.S. state or jurisdiction, with no disciplinary action or unresolved complaints.
- Show the other state's requirements are substantially similar to or higher than Connecticut's (CGS 20-195dd(c)), or have practiced under that license for at least 4 years under CGS 19a-14d.
- Have license verification sent directly from every state licensing authority where a counselor license is or was held.
- Show passage of the NCE or NCMHCE, unless applying through the 4-year route.
- Complete a state and national fingerprint-based criminal history records check (CGS 20-195ii).
- Apply online through eLicense.
- Pay the fees ($200 (Professional Counselor initial application fee per CGS 20-195cc(a) and the Department's Professional Counselor Licensing page. The Department's LPC requirements page also says 'There is no application fee for this license', which conflicts with both the statute and the licensing page, so the statutory $200 is recorded here. Out-of-state license-verification fees are charged separately by the other states.)) and allow 3–4 weeks (DPH general licensing policy: once an application is complete, an eligibility determination is made 'within three to four weeks'. The clock starts only when the application file is complete.).
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Connecticut accept a Georgia counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Connecticut by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Practitioner Licensing and Investigations Section, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Georgia license, and meet Connecticut's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: Connecticut accepts a passed NCE or NCMHCE (NBCC), and applicants who already passed either do not sit again. There is no Connecticut jurisprudence exam. Under the 4-year universal route (CGS 19a-14d) the Department's page says applicants are not required to complete an examination, although the statute lets the Department require all or part of the licensing exam..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Georgia to Connecticut?
National exam is not retaken: Connecticut accepts a passed NCE or NCMHCE (NBCC), and applicants who already passed either do not sit again. There is no Connecticut jurisprudence exam. Under the 4-year universal route (CGS 19a-14d) the Department's page says applicants are not required to complete an examination, although the statute lets the Department require all or part of the licensing exam.
What does the move cost?
$200 (Professional Counselor initial application fee per CGS 20-195cc(a) and the Department's Professional Counselor Licensing page. The Department's LPC requirements page also says 'There is no application fee for this license', which conflicts with both the statute and the licensing page, so the statutory $200 is recorded here. Out-of-state license-verification fees are charged separately by the other states.)
How long will it take?
3–4 weeks (DPH general licensing policy: once an application is complete, an eligibility determination is made 'within three to four weeks'. The clock starts only when the application file is complete.)
Connecticut joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Connecticut had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Connecticut takes Connecticut's own authorization, normally a Connecticut license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Connecticut DPH: Professional Counselor License Requirements (NCE/NCMHCE, out-of-state experience substitution, verification) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Connecticut DPH: Professional Counselor Licensing (fees, 4-year route link, Counseling Compact notice) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Connecticut DPH: Applicants Licensed in Another US State for at Least 4 Years ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 383c (CGS 20-195cc fees; 20-195dd(c) endorsement, (d) experience substitution) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 368a (CGS 19a-14d, license for persons practicing 4+ years in another U.S. jurisdiction) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Connecticut DPH: Practitioner Licensure General Policies and Procedures (3-4 week eligibility determination) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Georgia SOS: How to Guide, Professional Counselor (Endorsement checklist; Internet Archive copy of 2026-04-24, live page returned 403) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Georgia Composite Board: Application for Licensure as a Professional Counselor by Endorsement, 05/02/2023 (Internet Archive copy of the official PDF; live file returned 403) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Georgia Composite Board: Policy Statements, VII Endorsement - Professional Counselors (Internet Archive copy of 2026-04-24) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 135-3-.04 Licensure by Endorsement (Georgia Rules and Regulations) ↗ (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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