Counseling License from Illinois to Indiana: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Indiana accept an Illinois counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Illinois to Indiana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency): Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), verify your Illinois license, and meet Indiana's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken if the applicant passed the NCMHCE or an equivalent state-constructed exam at the same or higher level for the other-state license. NBCC sends the official NCMHCE score report to the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. The NCE is NOT equivalent to the NCMHCE, so NCE-only licensees must take the NCMHCE in Indiana. Other exams are reviewed for equivalency by the Board. The Board's current LMHC reciprocity checklist lists no jurisprudence exam.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Illinois to Indiana by endorsement. Indiana is operational in the Counseling Compact, but Illinois is not, so there is no home-state license here to anchor a privilege. Once you hold an Indiana license and live in Indiana, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. You apply to the Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency): Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), which verifies your Illinois license and standing, matches it to Indiana's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Indiana jurisprudence and background requirements.
What's different between Illinois and Indiana
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Indiana. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Illinois to Indiana (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Indiana to Illinois (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Illinois matter?
Illinois gets Indiana's most common result: 40 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get the same one, so for most movers the origin does not change the answer.
The others get: compact privilege — work there without a second license (10).
- Counseling Compact membership
Illinois is not in the Counseling Compact; Indiana is a Counseling Compact member state.
Because they are not both active members, the Counseling Compact does not cover this move.
- Application fee
Indiana lists $50 for an out-of-state applicant and Illinois lists $150 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Exam rules on record
Indiana and Illinois carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Indiana (this move): National exam is not retaken if the applicant passed the NCMHCE or an equivalent state-constructed exam at the same or higher level for the other-state license. NBCC sends the official NCMHCE score report to the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. The NCE is NOT equivalent to the NCMHCE, so NCE-only licensees must take the NCMHCE in Indiana. Other exams are reviewed for equivalency by the Board. The Board's current LMHC reciprocity checklist lists no jurisprudence exam.
- Illinois (the reverse move): National exams are not retaken but must be complete. The Illinois LCPC requires either the CRCE (CRCC) or BOTH the NCE and the NCMHCE (NBCC). An endorsement applicant who passed only one of the NCE/NCMHCE must pass the other as part of the Illinois process. Official score reports must be sent directly to IDFPR. No state jurisprudence exam is required.
What changes, Illinois → Indiana
| Illinois (current) | Indiana (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Licensure by endorsement · Counseling Compact privilege (not a license) |
| 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.) | $50 (LMHC reciprocity application fee, paid by card online; nonrefundable. Criminal background check paid separately to the vendor; other-state verification fees may apply; NBCC score-report fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Indiana charges a $50 state fee + $30 commission administrative fee = $80 for a privilege; no jurisprudence exam required for the privilege).) |
| Processing time | IDFPR 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 Board publishes no processing timeframe for LMHC reciprocity applications |
| Licensing authority | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) | Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency): Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Indiana sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Indiana's current requirements on the Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency): Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Indiana Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Board (Indiana Professional Licensing Agency): Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an active mental health counselor license of equal level in another state.
- Have license verification completed by each issuing state (license cards are not accepted).
- Have NBCC send an official NCMHCE score report to the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency.
- Complete a criminal background check.
- Apply online with the $50 application fee.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Will an Indiana license get me into other compact states?
Yes, once Indiana is your home state. Indiana is operational, so an active, unencumbered Indiana 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 2026-10-29.
- Indiana PLA: Behavioral Health and Human Services Licensing Information (LMHC Reciprocity checklist, exam policy, Counseling Compact); Internet Archive capture 2026-10-10 ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- IDFPR: Professional Counselor (license types, CORE online applications) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- IDFPR: LPC/LCPC application instruction sheet (Examination, Acceptance of Examination, Endorsement; packet updated 8/1/24) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- 68 IAC 1375.160 Licensure by Endorsement as a Clinical Professional Counselor (ILGA JCAR; Internet Archive capture 2025-03-30) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 68 IAC 1375.205 Fees (ILGA JCAR; Internet Archive capture 2025-03-26) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-10-29
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