Counseling License from Georgia to Washington: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program ↗
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Washington by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program, verify your Georgia license, and meet Washington's endorsement requirements. Applicants from a substantially equivalent state obtain the license 'without repeating education or exams already completed in another state' (DOH out-of-state page); the specific national exam Washington accepts was not stated on the pages read. No Washington jurisprudence exam is listed for out-of-state applicants..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Georgia to Washington by endorsement. Washington 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 Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program, which verifies your Georgia license and standing, matches it to Washington's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Washington jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Georgia → Washington
| Georgia (current) | Washington (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).) | $95 (LMHC application fee per WAC 246-809-990; initial license fee $80 and UW HEAL-WA online access fee $16 are charged separately. Applicants on the reciprocity/probationary route also pay the probationary 'application and initial license' fee of $175. Washington 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.) | DOH publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state LMHC applications on the pages read |
| Licensing authority | Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) | Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Washington sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Washington's current requirements on the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current license in a state DOH considers substantially equivalent, held for at least two years, with no history of disciplinary action (RCW 18.130.077).
- Have been first licensed in a substantially equivalent state; a later license from a universal-licensure state does not cure a non-equivalent original license (SHB 1724).
- From a state whose scope DOH found not substantially equivalent (Arkansas, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Carolina, Wisconsin), apply for both the probationary license and the full LMHC and close the gap within the probationary period.
- Use the DOH state credential search tool to confirm which out-of-state pathway applies.
- Pay the fees ($95 (LMHC application fee per WAC 246-809-990; initial license fee $80 and UW HEAL-WA online access fee $16 are charged separately. Applicants on the reciprocity/probationary route also pay the probationary 'application and initial license' fee of $175. Washington is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow DOH publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state LMHC applications on the pages read.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Washington accept a Georgia counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Washington by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program, verify your Georgia license, and meet Washington's endorsement requirements. Applicants from a substantially equivalent state obtain the license 'without repeating education or exams already completed in another state' (DOH out-of-state page); the specific national exam Washington accepts was not stated on the pages read. No Washington jurisprudence exam is listed for out-of-state applicants..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Georgia to Washington?
Applicants from a substantially equivalent state obtain the license 'without repeating education or exams already completed in another state' (DOH out-of-state page); the specific national exam Washington accepts was not stated on the pages read. No Washington jurisprudence exam is listed for out-of-state applicants.
What does the move cost?
$95 (LMHC application fee per WAC 246-809-990; initial license fee $80 and UW HEAL-WA online access fee $16 are charged separately. Applicants on the reciprocity/probationary route also pay the probationary 'application and initial license' fee of $175. Washington is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
DOH publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state LMHC applications on the pages read.
Washington joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Washington had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Washington takes Washington's own authorization, normally a Washington license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Washington DOH: Mental Health Counselor, Out-of-State Applicants (probationary license, substantial equivalency, universal licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- WAC 246-809-990, mental health counselor fees ↗ (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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