Counseling License from Georgia to Oregon: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Oregon by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT), verify your Georgia license, and meet Oregon's endorsement requirements. Competency exam (NCE, NCMHCE or CRC) is not retaken if passed within 10 years of applying; reciprocity applicants whose exam is 10+ years old must retake it or document CE meeting Division 80 in the prior 24 months, and applicants who have held a comparable license for at least two years may substitute that CE for exam verification (OAR 833-020-0081). All applicants must also pass the Oregon Law and Rules exam..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Georgia to Oregon by endorsement. Oregon has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so no privilege anchored to your Georgia license reaches it. You apply to the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT), which verifies your Georgia license and standing, matches it to Oregon's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Oregon jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Georgia → Oregon
| Georgia (current) | Oregon (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).) | $175 (application fee per OAR 833-070-0011(1) and the Board's Apply page; + $45 fingerprint-based background check (Board page: $220 total at application); initial license fee $115 after approval; exam fees paid to exam providers. Oregon 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.) | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications |
| Licensing authority | Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) | Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Oregon sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Oregon's current requirements on the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, active license to practice professional counseling issued by another state (OAR 833-020-0051(2)).
- Submit official verification of every healthcare license, registration or certification ever held.
- Document education and supervised clinical experience equivalent to Oregon's; three or more years of active out-of-state licensure is presumed to meet the experience requirement and may substitute for the degree-content requirements (OAR 833-030-0021(4)(b), 833-030-0011).
- Submit competency exam verification (or the CE substitute) and pass the Oregon Law and Rules exam.
- Complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check within 90 days before applying.
- Pay the fees ($175 (application fee per OAR 833-070-0011(1) and the Board's Apply page; + $45 fingerprint-based background check (Board page: $220 total at application); initial license fee $115 after approval; exam fees paid to exam providers. Oregon has not enacted the Counseling Compact.)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Oregon accept a Georgia counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Oregon by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT), verify your Georgia license, and meet Oregon's endorsement requirements. Competency exam (NCE, NCMHCE or CRC) is not retaken if passed within 10 years of applying; reciprocity applicants whose exam is 10+ years old must retake it or document CE meeting Division 80 in the prior 24 months, and applicants who have held a comparable license for at least two years may substitute that CE for exam verification (OAR 833-020-0081). All applicants must also pass the Oregon Law and Rules exam..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Georgia to Oregon?
Competency exam (NCE, NCMHCE or CRC) is not retaken if passed within 10 years of applying; reciprocity applicants whose exam is 10+ years old must retake it or document CE meeting Division 80 in the prior 24 months, and applicants who have held a comparable license for at least two years may substitute that CE for exam verification (OAR 833-020-0081). All applicants must also pass the Oregon Law and Rules exam.
What does the move cost?
$175 (application fee per OAR 833-070-0011(1) and the Board's Apply page; + $45 fingerprint-based background check (Board page: $220 total at application); initial license fee $115 after approval; exam fees paid to exam providers. Oregon has not enacted the Counseling Compact.)
How long will it take?
the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- OBLPCT: Apply for a License (reciprocity method, required materials, $175 + $45 fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- OBLPCT: ORS 675 (2025) and OAR 833 compilation, revised 2/26 (ORS 675.735; OAR 833-020-0051, 833-020-0081, 833-030-0011, 833-030-0021, 833-030-0041, 833-070-0011) ↗ (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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