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LicenseReciprocity

Counseling License from Georgia to Massachusetts: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) ↗

A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Massachusetts by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC), verify your Georgia license, and meet Massachusetts's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken, but the NCMHCE is the only exam accepted ('no other exam will be accepted'); an NCE-only licensee does not qualify. The applicant must show an NCMHCE pass either as part of the original license requirements or within the previous five years (262 CMR 2.03(2)(c)), with an official NBCC score report. No Massachusetts jurisprudence exam..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Massachusetts has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so no privilege anchored to your Georgia license reaches it. The route is endorsement through the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC): your Georgia license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Massachusetts's own exam rule, and Massachusetts applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Massachusetts tier corresponds to your Georgia license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.

What changes, Georgia → Massachusetts

Side-by-side: Georgia vs Massachusetts (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
Georgia (current)Massachusetts (destination)
Counseling Compact statusCounseling Compact member — compact privilege to practiceLicensure 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).)$117 (non-refundable LMHC application fee paid online (LMHC Application Guide); + $155 license fee paid after staff find the application complete and eligible. Massachusetts has not enacted the Counseling Compact.)
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 published; if the application is incomplete, staff re-review it 30 days after notifying the applicant and close it if still incomplete
Licensing authorityGeorgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC)

The destination column is what you must satisfy — Massachusetts sets the rules for this move.

Step by step

  1. Confirm Massachusetts's current requirements on the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold an independent-level (unsupervised) mental health counselor license or equivalent in another state, in good standing, whose standards are substantially equivalent to or exceed Massachusetts'.
  5. Show at least 3 years of continuous full-time (or part-time equivalent) licensed practice in the issuing state.
  6. Show a passing NCMHCE score via an official NBCC score report.
  7. Have a final graduate transcript sent showing 60 semester (80 quarter) credits and the required coursework.
  8. Have official license verification sent from every jurisdiction where you hold or held a license.
  9. Submit a signed, notarized CORI form and complete Board-approved domestic and sexual violence training.
  10. Pay the fees ($117 (non-refundable LMHC application fee paid online (LMHC Application Guide); + $155 license fee paid after staff find the application complete and eligible. Massachusetts has not enacted the Counseling Compact.)) and allow no processing timeframe published; if the application is incomplete, staff re-review it 30 days after notifying the applicant and close it if still incomplete.

Official links

Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) ↗Massachusetts application ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Massachusetts → GeorgiaCounseling in GeorgiaCounseling in MassachusettsAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Massachusetts accept a Georgia counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Massachusetts by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC), verify your Georgia license, and meet Massachusetts's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken, but the NCMHCE is the only exam accepted ('no other exam will be accepted'); an NCE-only licensee does not qualify. The applicant must show an NCMHCE pass either as part of the original license requirements or within the previous five years (262 CMR 2.03(2)(c)), with an official NBCC score report. No Massachusetts jurisprudence exam..

Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Georgia to Massachusetts?

National exam is not retaken, but the NCMHCE is the only exam accepted ('no other exam will be accepted'); an NCE-only licensee does not qualify. The applicant must show an NCMHCE pass either as part of the original license requirements or within the previous five years (262 CMR 2.03(2)(c)), with an official NBCC score report. No Massachusetts jurisprudence exam.

What does the move cost?

$117 (non-refundable LMHC application fee paid online (LMHC Application Guide); + $155 license fee paid after staff find the application complete and eligible. Massachusetts has not enacted the Counseling Compact.)

How long will it take?

no processing timeframe published; if the application is incomplete, staff re-review it 30 days after notifying the applicant and close it if still incomplete.

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.

Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27

How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]