Counseling License from Georgia to District of Columbia: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to District of Columbia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Georgia license, and meet District of Columbia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the official national exam score must be transferred electronically from NBCC. 17 DCMR 6605.2 exempts an applicant who already passed a professional counselor licensure board exam in another US jurisdiction, the CRCC exam, or the NACCMHC (now NBCC) clinical exam from taking the NCE, so NCE or NCMHCE results are accepted. No DC jurisprudence exam or laws-and-rules course is listed on the endorsement checklist, and the Counseling Compact commission lists no jurisprudence requirement for DC..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
District of Columbia 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. The route is endorsement through the District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC): your Georgia license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under District of Columbia's own exam rule, and District of Columbia applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which District of Columbia tier corresponds to your Georgia license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Georgia → District of Columbia
| Georgia (current) | District of Columbia (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).) | $230 (DC charges a combined $230 application and license fee for LPC endorsement (DC Health endorsement checklist and Licensure-by-Endorsement policy); the two parts are not published separately. + $50 criminal background check fee paid online with the application; NBCC score-transfer fee separate. DC is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.) |
| 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.) | the current LPC licensing page and endorsement checklist publish no processing timeframe; a legacy 2015 DC Health instruction PDF (30-60 days) was not relied on because it predates the 2024 endorsement changes |
| Licensing authority | Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) | District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — District of Columbia sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm District of Columbia's current requirements on the District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, good-standing independent professional counselor license in another state (official verification from every jurisdiction ever licensed).
- Show either 5 years of independent clinical counseling practice under that license (written attestation + resume in lieu of supervision forms) or 3 years of independent licensure plus the NBCC National Certified Counselor credential; otherwise document the full 3,500 post-graduate supervised hours.
- Have NBCC transfer the official national exam score electronically.
- Submit an official transcript for a master's or higher in counseling or a related field (minimum 60 hours) plus the Coursework Completion Form.
- Complete a fingerprint criminal background check ($50) and submit an NPDB self-query report dated within 30 days.
- Pay the fees ($230 (DC charges a combined $230 application and license fee for LPC endorsement (DC Health endorsement checklist and Licensure-by-Endorsement policy); the two parts are not published separately. + $50 criminal background check fee paid online with the application; NBCC score-transfer fee separate. DC is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.)) and allow the current LPC licensing page and endorsement checklist publish no processing timeframe; a legacy 2015 DC Health instruction PDF (30-60 days) was not relied on because it predates the 2024 endorsement changes.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does District of Columbia accept a Georgia counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to District of Columbia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Georgia license, and meet District of Columbia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the official national exam score must be transferred electronically from NBCC. 17 DCMR 6605.2 exempts an applicant who already passed a professional counselor licensure board exam in another US jurisdiction, the CRCC exam, or the NACCMHC (now NBCC) clinical exam from taking the NCE, so NCE or NCMHCE results are accepted. No DC jurisprudence exam or laws-and-rules course is listed on the endorsement checklist, and the Counseling Compact commission lists no jurisprudence requirement for DC..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Georgia to District of Columbia?
National exam is not retaken: the official national exam score must be transferred electronically from NBCC. 17 DCMR 6605.2 exempts an applicant who already passed a professional counselor licensure board exam in another US jurisdiction, the CRCC exam, or the NACCMHC (now NBCC) clinical exam from taking the NCE, so NCE or NCMHCE results are accepted. No DC jurisprudence exam or laws-and-rules course is listed on the endorsement checklist, and the Counseling Compact commission lists no jurisprudence requirement for DC.
What does the move cost?
$230 (DC charges a combined $230 application and license fee for LPC endorsement (DC Health endorsement checklist and Licensure-by-Endorsement policy); the two parts are not published separately. + $50 criminal background check fee paid online with the application; NBCC score-transfer fee separate. DC is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.)
How long will it take?
the current LPC licensing page and endorsement checklist publish no processing timeframe; a legacy 2015 DC Health instruction PDF (30-60 days) was not relied on because it predates the 2024 endorsement changes.
District of Columbia joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. District of Columbia had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in District of Columbia takes District of Columbia's own authorization, normally a District of Columbia license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- DC Health: Professional Counseling Licensing (LPC/LGPC tiers, endorsement checklists, DCMR links) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- DC Board of Professional Counseling: Licensure-by-Endorsement policy (D.C. Code 3-1207.10(c) as amended 2024; $230 fee; 5-year / 3-year+NCC routes) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- DC Board of Professional Counseling: LPC New License Application Checklist by Endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- D.C. Code 3-1207.10 Qualifications for licensure (subsection (c), professional counselor endorsement) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 17 DCMR 6605 National Examination (DC Register rule text) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (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)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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