Counseling License from Illinois to Missouri: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Illinois to Missouri by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration), verify your Illinois license, and meet Missouri's endorsement requirements. No national exam is retaken. The Committee's LPC reciprocity checklist (RSMo 324.009 path) does not require NCE/NCMHCE score submission; eligibility rests on at least 1 year of full licensure in another state. Reciprocity applicants must pass the open-book online Missouri Jurisprudence (Legal and Ethical Responsibilities) Exam, which the Committee says cannot be waived..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Neither state gives you a working compact route here: a state that has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational behaves like a non-member. The route is endorsement through the Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration): your Illinois license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Missouri's own exam rule, and Missouri applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Missouri tier corresponds to your Illinois license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Illinois → Missouri
| Illinois (current) | Missouri (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| 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.) | $100 (LPC Application for Licensure by Reciprocity fee (form MO 375-1100); waived with proof of military service; MACHS fingerprint fee paid separately to the vendor (amount not stated on the pages read)) |
| 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 Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications |
| Licensing authority | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) | Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Missouri sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Missouri's current requirements on the Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold full (independent, not supervised or provisional) professional counselor licensure in another state for at least 1 year.
- Have no past or current discipline and no pending complaint on the out-of-state license.
- Complete a fingerprint background check through MACHS.
- Pass the open-book Missouri Jurisprudence (Legal and Ethical Responsibilities) Exam.
- Submit proof of 2 hours of suicide prevention training.
- Submit a notarized reciprocity application with license verification and proof of lawful presence.
- Pay the fees ($100 (LPC Application for Licensure by Reciprocity fee (form MO 375-1100); waived with proof of military service; MACHS fingerprint fee paid separately to the vendor (amount not stated on the pages read))) and allow the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Missouri accept an Illinois counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Illinois to Missouri by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration), verify your Illinois license, and meet Missouri's endorsement requirements. No national exam is retaken. The Committee's LPC reciprocity checklist (RSMo 324.009 path) does not require NCE/NCMHCE score submission; eligibility rests on at least 1 year of full licensure in another state. Reciprocity applicants must pass the open-book online Missouri Jurisprudence (Legal and Ethical Responsibilities) Exam, which the Committee says cannot be waived..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Illinois to Missouri?
No national exam is retaken. The Committee's LPC reciprocity checklist (RSMo 324.009 path) does not require NCE/NCMHCE score submission; eligibility rests on at least 1 year of full licensure in another state. Reciprocity applicants must pass the open-book online Missouri Jurisprudence (Legal and Ethical Responsibilities) Exam, which the Committee says cannot be waived.
What does the move cost?
$100 (LPC Application for Licensure by Reciprocity fee (form MO 375-1100); waived with proof of military service; MACHS fingerprint fee paid separately to the vendor (amount not stated on the pages read))
How long will it take?
the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.
Missouri joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Missouri had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Missouri takes Missouri's own authorization, normally a Missouri license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors: Application Forms ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors: LPC Reciprocity Qualifications checklist ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors: Application for Licensure by Reciprocity ($100 fee) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors: Counselor Compact Update ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Division of Professional Registration: Section 324.009 RSMo reciprocity requirements summary ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- IDFPR: Professional Counselor (license types, CORE online applications) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- IDFPR: LPC/LCPC application instruction sheet (Examination, Acceptance of Examination, Endorsement; packet updated 8/1/24) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 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 Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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