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

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions) ↗

A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Virginia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions), verify your Georgia license, and meet Virginia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: 18VAC115-20-45 requires verification of a passing score on the exam required for counseling licensure in the jurisdiction where the applicant was licensed. No separate Virginia jurisprudence exam is listed for endorsement..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

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

What changes, Georgia → Virginia

Side-by-side: Georgia vs Virginia (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
	Georgia (current)	Virginia (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).)	$175 (LPC 'Initial licensure by endorsement: application processing and initial licensure' fee per 18VAC115-20-20 (re-read 2026-09-27) and the Board's endorsement page; all fees nonrefundable. Virginia 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.)	6–9 weeks (board-stated '45 to 60 days from complete application' for Board approval, converted to weeks)
Licensing authority	Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)	Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions)

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

Step by step

Confirm Virginia's current requirements on the Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions) website (linked below) — rules change.
Submit the endorsement application to the Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions) (application linked below).
Arrange license verification from your current state.
Hold or have held a professional counselor license in another U.S. jurisdiction that allows independent assessment, diagnosis and treatment of behavioral health conditions, with no unresolved action against any license.
Verify all mental health or health professional licenses, certificates or registrations ever held.
Submit verification of a passing score on the exam required for counseling licensure in the jurisdiction where you were licensed.
Submit a current National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) self-query report.
Submit an official transcript documenting completion of a graduate degree program.
Pay the fees ($175 (LPC 'Initial licensure by endorsement: application processing and initial licensure' fee per 18VAC115-20-20 (re-read 2026-09-27) and the Board's endorsement page; all fees nonrefundable. Virginia is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow 6–9 weeks (board-stated '45 to 60 days from complete application' for Board approval, converted to weeks).

Official links

Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions) ↗Virginia application ↗

Frequently asked questions

Does Virginia accept a Georgia counseling license?

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

National exam is not retaken: 18VAC115-20-45 requires verification of a passing score on the exam required for counseling licensure in the jurisdiction where the applicant was licensed. No separate Virginia jurisprudence exam is listed for endorsement.

What does the move cost?

$175 (LPC 'Initial licensure by endorsement: application processing and initial licensure' fee per 18VAC115-20-20 (re-read 2026-09-27) and the Board's endorsement page; all fees nonrefundable. Virginia is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)

How long will it take?

6–9 weeks (board-stated '45 to 60 days from complete application' for Board approval, converted to weeks)

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

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

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