Counseling License from Georgia to Idaho: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Idaho by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), verify your Georgia license, and meet Idaho's endorsement requirements. The national exam is not retaken when the applicant already passed it. Idaho requires the NCMHCE (NBCC) for the LCPC under IDAPA 24.15.01.100.02.b, and scores are sent to the Board by NBCC. Idaho Code 67-9409(4) lets the Board require all or part of its exam only where needed to show competence, and it bars a jurisprudence exam for universal-licensure applicants. The Board publishes no jurisprudence exam or exam-age limit for counselors..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Idaho has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so no privilege anchored to your Georgia license reaches it. The route is endorsement through the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC): your Georgia license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Idaho's own exam rule, and Idaho applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Idaho tier corresponds to your Georgia license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Georgia → Idaho
| Georgia (current) | Idaho (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice | Licensure by endorsement |
| 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).) | $300 (LPC and LCPC 'Initial Application' fee as published on the Board's fee table (Internet Archive capture of dopl.idaho.gov/cou/, 2026-09-14). CONFLICT: the current rule IDAPA 24.15.01.400 lists a $100 application fee plus a $100 license fee ($200), and so did the Board's older endorsement form. The live Board site was unreachable, so the $300 figure could not be confirmed live. Fingerprint background-check fee and NBCC score-report fee are separate. Idaho is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.) |
| 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.) | no processing timeframe found on the Board page or in the rules; dopl.idaho.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27, so only archived copies could be read |
| Licensing authority | Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) | Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Idaho sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Idaho's current requirements on the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold current, valid and unrestricted counselor licensure at the independent (LCPC-equivalent) level in another U.S. state, district or territory.
- Submit certification of licensure sent directly from every state where you hold or have held a license.
- Have NBCC send national exam results (NCMHCE for the LCPC) directly to the Board.
- Complete a fingerprint-based criminal history background check (Idaho Code 54-3405 and 67-9411A).
- Submit the application with fees through DOPL (notarized affidavit on the paper form).
- Pay the fees ($300 (LPC and LCPC 'Initial Application' fee as published on the Board's fee table (Internet Archive capture of dopl.idaho.gov/cou/, 2026-09-14). CONFLICT: the current rule IDAPA 24.15.01.400 lists a $100 application fee plus a $100 license fee ($200), and so did the Board's older endorsement form. The live Board site was unreachable, so the $300 figure could not be confirmed live. Fingerprint background-check fee and NBCC score-report fee are separate. Idaho is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)) and allow no processing timeframe found on the Board page or in the rules; dopl.idaho.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27, so only archived copies could be read.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Idaho accept a Georgia counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Idaho by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), verify your Georgia license, and meet Idaho's endorsement requirements. The national exam is not retaken when the applicant already passed it. Idaho requires the NCMHCE (NBCC) for the LCPC under IDAPA 24.15.01.100.02.b, and scores are sent to the Board by NBCC. Idaho Code 67-9409(4) lets the Board require all or part of its exam only where needed to show competence, and it bars a jurisprudence exam for universal-licensure applicants. The Board publishes no jurisprudence exam or exam-age limit for counselors..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Georgia to Idaho?
The national exam is not retaken when the applicant already passed it. Idaho requires the NCMHCE (NBCC) for the LCPC under IDAPA 24.15.01.100.02.b, and scores are sent to the Board by NBCC. Idaho Code 67-9409(4) lets the Board require all or part of its exam only where needed to show competence, and it bars a jurisprudence exam for universal-licensure applicants. The Board publishes no jurisprudence exam or exam-age limit for counselors.
What does the move cost?
$300 (LPC and LCPC 'Initial Application' fee as published on the Board's fee table (Internet Archive capture of dopl.idaho.gov/cou/, 2026-09-14). CONFLICT: the current rule IDAPA 24.15.01.400 lists a $100 application fee plus a $100 license fee ($200), and so did the Board's older endorsement form. The live Board site was unreachable, so the $300 figure could not be confirmed live. Fingerprint background-check fee and NBCC score-report fee are separate. Idaho is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)
How long will it take?
no processing timeframe found on the Board page or in the rules; dopl.idaho.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27, so only archived copies could be read.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Idaho DOPL: Board of Professional Counselors and MFTs home (fee table, exam info, FAQ); Internet Archive capture 2026-09-14 of the official page ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- IDAPA 24.15.01 Rules of the Idaho Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and MFTs (100.02 LCPC exam; 400 fees), official state rules file ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Idaho Code Title 67 Chapter 94 incl. 67-9409 Universal Licensure (Idaho Legislature PDF; Internet Archive capture 2025-05-25) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Idaho Code 54-3405 Qualifications for licensure (fingerprint check); Internet Archive capture 2026-03-24 of the Idaho Legislature page ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Idaho DOPL: Application for License by Endorsement (counselors, rev. 7/2021); Internet Archive capture 2024-07-15 ↗ (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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