Skip to content
LicenseReciprocity

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

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling ↗

A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Utah by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling, verify your Georgia license, and meet Utah's endorsement requirements. No exam retake for a counselor with at least one year of active licensure from a jurisdiction DOPL designates as equivalent (Option 1), although DOPL may require transcripts and/or exam scores to show equivalency, and applicants from some jurisdictions must document a passed NCMHCE. Option 2 (4,000 hours of active licensure as a CMHC in any U.S. jurisdiction) lists no exam documentation. Utah-trained CMHC applicants must pass both the NCE and NCMHCE. No state law exam appears on the application..

Verify this exact pair in the checker

Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.

Run the Reciprocity Checker →

Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Utah 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 Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling: your Georgia license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Utah's own exam rule, and Utah applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Utah tier corresponds to your Georgia license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.

What changes, Georgia → Utah

Side-by-side: Georgia vs Utah (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
Georgia (current)Utah (destination)
Counseling Compact statusCounseling Compact member — compact privilege to practiceCounseling 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).)$152 (non-refundable application processing fee per DOPL's Clinical Mental Health Counselor Initial/Endorsement Application (form v20251211); fingerprint processing paid separately. Read from an Internet Archive copy (2026-05-26) because DOPL's live site returned Cloudflare 403 on 2026-09-27. Utah is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
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 DOPL pages that could be read
Licensing authorityGeorgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm Utah's current requirements on the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Option 1: at least one year of active licensure in good standing from a jurisdiction DOPL designates as equivalent, with official verification (plus transcripts and/or exam scores if DOPL requires them to show equivalency).
  5. Option 2: 4,000 hours of active licensure as a clinical mental health counselor in any U.S. jurisdiction, documented on DOPL's Verification of Active Practice form (one per employer) with license verifications covering that period.
  6. Complete fingerprints at an approved vendor (or mail cards to DOPL).
  7. Answer the qualifying questionnaires and supply documentation for any 'yes' answer.
  8. Pay the fees ($152 (non-refundable application processing fee per DOPL's Clinical Mental Health Counselor Initial/Endorsement Application (form v20251211); fingerprint processing paid separately. Read from an Internet Archive copy (2026-05-26) because DOPL's live site returned Cloudflare 403 on 2026-09-27. Utah is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow no processing timeframe found on the DOPL pages that could be read.

Official links

Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling ↗Utah application ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Utah → GeorgiaCounseling in GeorgiaCounseling in UtahAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Utah accept a Georgia counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Utah by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling, verify your Georgia license, and meet Utah's endorsement requirements. No exam retake for a counselor with at least one year of active licensure from a jurisdiction DOPL designates as equivalent (Option 1), although DOPL may require transcripts and/or exam scores to show equivalency, and applicants from some jurisdictions must document a passed NCMHCE. Option 2 (4,000 hours of active licensure as a CMHC in any U.S. jurisdiction) lists no exam documentation. Utah-trained CMHC applicants must pass both the NCE and NCMHCE. No state law exam appears on the application..

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

No exam retake for a counselor with at least one year of active licensure from a jurisdiction DOPL designates as equivalent (Option 1), although DOPL may require transcripts and/or exam scores to show equivalency, and applicants from some jurisdictions must document a passed NCMHCE. Option 2 (4,000 hours of active licensure as a CMHC in any U.S. jurisdiction) lists no exam documentation. Utah-trained CMHC applicants must pass both the NCE and NCMHCE. No state law exam appears on the application.

What does the move cost?

$152 (non-refundable application processing fee per DOPL's Clinical Mental Health Counselor Initial/Endorsement Application (form v20251211); fingerprint processing paid separately. Read from an Internet Archive copy (2026-05-26) because DOPL's live site returned Cloudflare 403 on 2026-09-27. Utah is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)

How long will it take?

no processing timeframe found on the DOPL pages that could be read.

Utah joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?

Not yet. Utah had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Utah takes Utah's own authorization, normally an Utah license.

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]