Counseling License from Georgia to New Hampshire: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to New Hampshire by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC), verify your Georgia license, and meet New Hampshire's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. The OPLC endorsement route (RSA 310:17 / Plc 313) accepts a license from a qualifying jurisdiction whose pathway required the NCMHCE or an equivalent nationally recognized exam (Plc 313.37(a)(2)); license verification, not a separate NBCC score transfer, is required. No New Hampshire jurisprudence exam is listed for mental health practice endorsement..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Georgia to New Hampshire by endorsement. New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC), which verifies your Georgia license and standing, matches it to New Hampshire's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any New Hampshire jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Georgia → New Hampshire
| Georgia (current) | New Hampshire (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).) | $325 (Clinical Mental Health Counselor application fee from the OPLC Mental Health Practice fee page; includes the mandatory $28 Professional Health Program fee; same fee as in-state applicants. Criminal records check fee paid separately to NH Department of Safety (amount not verified).) |
| 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.) | OPLC publishes no processing timeframe; under Plc 313.06(c) a qualified endorsement applicant whose criminal records check is pending receives a provisional license and may practice meanwhile |
| Licensing authority | Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) | New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — New Hampshire sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm New Hampshire's current requirements on the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an active, unencumbered, non-temporary clinical mental health counselor license in good standing in an OPLC-listed qualifying jurisdiction.
- Submit the OPLC Universal Application for Initial License with the Clinical Mental Health Counselor application fee.
- Provide primary-source license verification (board-portal printout or screen capture showing good standing) per Plc 313.05(a).
- Complete a state and FBI criminal history records check through the NH Department of Safety, with results sent to OPLC.
- Pay the fees ($325 (Clinical Mental Health Counselor application fee from the OPLC Mental Health Practice fee page; includes the mandatory $28 Professional Health Program fee; same fee as in-state applicants. Criminal records check fee paid separately to NH Department of Safety (amount not verified).)) and allow OPLC publishes no processing timeframe; under Plc 313.06(c) a qualified endorsement applicant whose criminal records check is pending receives a provisional license and may practice meanwhile.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does New Hampshire accept a Georgia counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to New Hampshire by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC), verify your Georgia license, and meet New Hampshire's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. The OPLC endorsement route (RSA 310:17 / Plc 313) accepts a license from a qualifying jurisdiction whose pathway required the NCMHCE or an equivalent nationally recognized exam (Plc 313.37(a)(2)); license verification, not a separate NBCC score transfer, is required. No New Hampshire jurisprudence exam is listed for mental health practice endorsement..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Georgia to New Hampshire?
National exam is not retaken. The OPLC endorsement route (RSA 310:17 / Plc 313) accepts a license from a qualifying jurisdiction whose pathway required the NCMHCE or an equivalent nationally recognized exam (Plc 313.37(a)(2)); license verification, not a separate NBCC score transfer, is required. No New Hampshire jurisprudence exam is listed for mental health practice endorsement.
What does the move cost?
$325 (Clinical Mental Health Counselor application fee from the OPLC Mental Health Practice fee page; includes the mandatory $28 Professional Health Program fee; same fee as in-state applicants. Criminal records check fee paid separately to NH Department of Safety (amount not verified).)
How long will it take?
OPLC publishes no processing timeframe; under Plc 313.06(c) a qualified endorsement applicant whose criminal records check is pending receives a provisional license and may practice meanwhile.
New Hampshire joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. New Hampshire had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in New Hampshire takes New Hampshire's own authorization, normally a New Hampshire license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- NH OPLC: New Changes for Reciprocity in New Hampshire (HB 594 endorsement; Plc 313.37 qualifying jurisdictions for Clinical Mental Health Counselor; Internet Archive capture 2026-08-21) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NH OPLC: Board of Mental Health Practice License Fees ($325 CMHC application incl. $28 PHP; Internet Archive capture 2026-04-29) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NH Admin. Rules Plc 300 (Plc 313 licensure by endorsement; Plc 313.37 mental health practice; Internet Archive capture 2026-09-09) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NH RSA 310:17 License Reciprocity (Internet Archive capture 2026-02-07) ↗ (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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