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LicenseReciprocity

Counseling License from Illinois to Alaska: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor ↗

A counseling license transfers from Illinois to Alaska by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor, verify your Illinois license, and meet Alaska's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. For licensure by credentials, the Board checks that the applicant's licensing state requires a nationally recognized counselor exam; the Alaska exam rule (12 AAC 62.110) accepts the NCE or NCMHCE. No NBCC score transfer is listed among the required credentials documents. No state jurisprudence exam; the applicant certifies having reviewed AS 08.29 and 12 AAC 62..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Neither Illinois nor Alaska is operational in the Counseling Compact, so it plays no part in this move. The route is endorsement through the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor: your Illinois license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Alaska's own exam rule, and Alaska applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Alaska tier corresponds to your Illinois license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.

What changes, Illinois → Alaska

Side-by-side: Illinois vs Alaska (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
Illinois (current)Alaska (destination)
Counseling Compact statusLicensure by endorsementLicensure by endorsement
Application fee$150 (LCPC application fee (all methods, incl. endorsement) per 68 IAC 1375.205(a)(1) and the IDFPR LPC/LCPC instruction packet; nonrefundable. No separate license-issuance fee listed. Other-state certification fees are charged by those boards. Illinois is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)$200 (nonrefundable application fee per the License by Credentials instructions (form 08-4911, rev. 2026-08-21); the $270 initial license fee is also due with the application ($470 total). Name-based criminal-record report fees are paid to the Alaska Department of Public Safety and the home-state agency. No fingerprint check is required. Alaska is not a Counseling Compact state, so it has no privilege fee.)
Processing timeIDFPR publishes no processing timeframe. The instruction packet only says to allow 6 weeks from mailing before asking about status. Applications are valid for 3 years.the Division says only that 'the average processing time varies by program' and that applications are reviewed in order of receipt; no numeric timeframe is published
Licensing authorityIllinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC)Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm Alaska's current requirements on the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a current professional counselor license from a jurisdiction whose requirements the Board finds substantially the same or higher (60 graduate semester hours in counseling, a national exam, and 3,000 supervised hours over at least 24 months).
  5. Submit a copy of the current licensing statutes and regulations of the jurisdiction where you are licensed.
  6. Have every jurisdiction where you have held a counseling, psychology, marital and family therapy or social work license send verification, including any disciplinary action.
  7. Submit a name-based Alaska criminal justice report, plus an equivalent report from your state of residence if not Alaska.
  8. Pay the fees ($200 (nonrefundable application fee per the License by Credentials instructions (form 08-4911, rev. 2026-08-21); the $270 initial license fee is also due with the application ($470 total). Name-based criminal-record report fees are paid to the Alaska Department of Public Safety and the home-state agency. No fingerprint check is required. Alaska is not a Counseling Compact state, so it has no privilege fee.)) and allow the Division says only that 'the average processing time varies by program' and that applications are reviewed in order of receipt; no numeric timeframe is published.

Official links

Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor ↗Alaska application ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Alaska → IllinoisCounseling in IllinoisCounseling in AlaskaAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Alaska accept an Illinois counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from Illinois to Alaska by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor, verify your Illinois license, and meet Alaska's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. For licensure by credentials, the Board checks that the applicant's licensing state requires a nationally recognized counselor exam; the Alaska exam rule (12 AAC 62.110) accepts the NCE or NCMHCE. No NBCC score transfer is listed among the required credentials documents. No state jurisprudence exam; the applicant certifies having reviewed AS 08.29 and 12 AAC 62..

Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Illinois to Alaska?

National exam is not retaken. For licensure by credentials, the Board checks that the applicant's licensing state requires a nationally recognized counselor exam; the Alaska exam rule (12 AAC 62.110) accepts the NCE or NCMHCE. No NBCC score transfer is listed among the required credentials documents. No state jurisprudence exam; the applicant certifies having reviewed AS 08.29 and 12 AAC 62.

What does the move cost?

$200 (nonrefundable application fee per the License by Credentials instructions (form 08-4911, rev. 2026-08-21); the $270 initial license fee is also due with the application ($470 total). Name-based criminal-record report fees are paid to the Alaska Department of Public Safety and the home-state agency. No fingerprint check is required. Alaska is not a Counseling Compact state, so it has no privilege fee.)

How long will it take?

the Division says only that 'the average processing time varies by program' and that applications are reviewed in order of receipt; no numeric timeframe is published.

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]