Counseling License from Georgia to Wisconsin: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Wisconsin by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), verify your Georgia license, and meet Wisconsin's endorsement requirements. The DSPS reciprocal key-steps form asks only for license verification and the Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam, an open-book exam on Wisconsin statutes and code for which access is provided once the application is submitted ($75). It asks for no new national-exam score..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS): your Georgia license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Wisconsin's own exam rule, and Wisconsin applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Wisconsin tier corresponds to your Georgia license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Georgia → Wisconsin
| Georgia (current) | Wisconsin (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).) | $60 (LPC reciprocal application fee per DSPS form #12503 (V1. 5/19/2023); Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam $75 paid separately in LicensE; license-verification fees charged by the other state. Wisconsin 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.) | DSPS publishes no processing timeframe for LPC reciprocal 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) | Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Wisconsin sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Wisconsin's current requirements on the Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current LPC or substantially equivalent credential in good standing in another state or jurisdiction whose licensure requirements are substantially equivalent to Wisconsin's.
- Apply and pay online through LicensE.
- Have a license verification sent from the jurisdiction where currently licensed.
- Pass the Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam.
- Pay the fees ($60 (LPC reciprocal application fee per DSPS form #12503 (V1. 5/19/2023); Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam $75 paid separately in LicensE; license-verification fees charged by the other state. Wisconsin is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow DSPS publishes no processing timeframe for LPC reciprocal applications on the pages read.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Wisconsin accept a Georgia counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Georgia to Wisconsin by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), verify your Georgia license, and meet Wisconsin's endorsement requirements. The DSPS reciprocal key-steps form asks only for license verification and the Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam, an open-book exam on Wisconsin statutes and code for which access is provided once the application is submitted ($75). It asks for no new national-exam score..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Georgia to Wisconsin?
The DSPS reciprocal key-steps form asks only for license verification and the Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam, an open-book exam on Wisconsin statutes and code for which access is provided once the application is submitted ($75). It asks for no new national-exam score.
What does the move cost?
$60 (LPC reciprocal application fee per DSPS form #12503 (V1. 5/19/2023); Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam $75 paid separately in LicensE; license-verification fees charged by the other state. Wisconsin is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
DSPS publishes no processing timeframe for LPC reciprocal applications on the pages read.
Wisconsin joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Wisconsin had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Wisconsin takes Wisconsin's own authorization, normally a Wisconsin license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- DSPS form #12503: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) Reciprocal License key steps (V1. 5/19/2023) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- DSPS: Professional Counselor profession page (reciprocity and temporary credential) ↗ (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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