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LicenseReciprocity

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

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗

A counseling license transfers from Hawaii to Georgia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Hawaii license, and meet Georgia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the applicant submits an official passing score on the NBCC NCE or NCMHCE. An applicant who has not passed either exam may be required to pass one before endorsement is considered. No Georgia jurisprudence exam is required for endorsement or for a compact privilege..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Georgia is operational in the Counseling Compact, but Hawaii is not, so there is no home-state license here to anchor a privilege. Once you hold a Georgia license and live in Georgia, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. The route is endorsement through the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC): your Hawaii license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Georgia's own exam rule, and Georgia applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Georgia tier corresponds to your Hawaii license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.

What changes, Hawaii → Georgia

Side-by-side: Hawaii vs Georgia (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
Hawaii (current)Georgia (destination)
Counseling Compact statusFull re-application requiredCounseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice
Application fee$60 ($60 non-refundable application fee (Hawaii PVL Mental Health Counselor requirements and instructions, form MHC-00 rev. 06/24). A separate license fee is due once all requirements are met, prorated by triennium year: $444, $350 or $256 on the published schedule. That schedule runs only through June 30, 2026, so fees for licenses issued in the 2026-2029 triennium were not published on the form read. $25 dishonored-payment charge. NBCC score-report fee separate. Hawaii has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so no privilege exists.)$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).)
Processing timethe program publishes no processing timeframe; an application is deemed abandoned if licensure is not completed within one year of filing (HRS 436B-9)~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.)
Licensing authorityHawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, Mental Health Counselor Program, Licensed Mental Health Counselor (MHC)Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm Georgia's current requirements on the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a current, unencumbered clinical-level (independent) professional counselor license in another state; associate-level licenses are not eligible.
  5. Verify at least 2 years of unrestricted licensure at the Georgia LPC level from every state ever licensed (Form N or the state's own verification, including any discipline).
  6. Verify at least 2 years of active, unrestricted practice at the LPC level immediately preceding the application.
  7. Submit an official passing NCE or NCMHCE score and an official master's or doctoral transcript sent directly by the school.
  8. Complete a nationwide fingerprint criminal background check at the applicant's expense (O.C.G.A. 43-10A-5(i)).
  9. Pay the fees ($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).)) and allow ~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.).

Official links

Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗Georgia application ↗Counseling Compact ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Georgia → HawaiiCounseling in HawaiiCounseling in GeorgiaAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Georgia accept a Hawaii counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from Hawaii to Georgia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Hawaii license, and meet Georgia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the applicant submits an official passing score on the NBCC NCE or NCMHCE. An applicant who has not passed either exam may be required to pass one before endorsement is considered. No Georgia jurisprudence exam is required for endorsement or for a compact privilege..

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

National exam is not retaken: the applicant submits an official passing score on the NBCC NCE or NCMHCE. An applicant who has not passed either exam may be required to pass one before endorsement is considered. No Georgia jurisprudence exam is required for endorsement or for a compact privilege.

What does the move cost?

$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).)

How long will it take?

~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.)

Will a Georgia license get me into other compact states?

Yes, once Georgia is your home state. Georgia is operational, so an active, unencumbered Georgia license held while you live there can anchor privileges into the other operational states through CompactConnect.

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]