Counseling License from Illinois to New Hampshire: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Illinois to New Hampshire by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC), verify your Illinois license, and meet New Hampshire's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. The OPLC endorsement route (RSA 310:17 / Plc 313) accepts a license from a qualifying jurisdiction whose pathway required the NCMHCE or an equivalent nationally recognized exam (Plc 313.37(a)(2)); license verification, not a separate NBCC score transfer, is required. No New Hampshire jurisprudence exam is listed for mental health practice endorsement..
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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 New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC): your Illinois license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under New Hampshire's own exam rule, and New Hampshire applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which New Hampshire tier corresponds to your Illinois license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Illinois → New Hampshire
| Illinois (current) | New Hampshire (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.) | $325 (Clinical Mental Health Counselor application fee from the OPLC Mental Health Practice fee page; includes the mandatory $28 Professional Health Program fee; same fee as in-state applicants. Criminal records check fee paid separately to NH Department of Safety (amount not verified).) |
| 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. | OPLC publishes no processing timeframe; under Plc 313.06(c) a qualified endorsement applicant whose criminal records check is pending receives a provisional license and may practice meanwhile |
| Licensing authority | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) | New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — New Hampshire sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm New Hampshire's current requirements on the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an active, unencumbered, non-temporary clinical mental health counselor license in good standing in an OPLC-listed qualifying jurisdiction.
- Submit the OPLC Universal Application for Initial License with the Clinical Mental Health Counselor application fee.
- Provide primary-source license verification (board-portal printout or screen capture showing good standing) per Plc 313.05(a).
- Complete a state and FBI criminal history records check through the NH Department of Safety, with results sent to OPLC.
- Pay the fees ($325 (Clinical Mental Health Counselor application fee from the OPLC Mental Health Practice fee page; includes the mandatory $28 Professional Health Program fee; same fee as in-state applicants. Criminal records check fee paid separately to NH Department of Safety (amount not verified).)) and allow OPLC publishes no processing timeframe; under Plc 313.06(c) a qualified endorsement applicant whose criminal records check is pending receives a provisional license and may practice meanwhile.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does New Hampshire accept an Illinois counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Illinois to New Hampshire by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC), verify your Illinois license, and meet New Hampshire's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. The OPLC endorsement route (RSA 310:17 / Plc 313) accepts a license from a qualifying jurisdiction whose pathway required the NCMHCE or an equivalent nationally recognized exam (Plc 313.37(a)(2)); license verification, not a separate NBCC score transfer, is required. No New Hampshire jurisprudence exam is listed for mental health practice endorsement..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Illinois to New Hampshire?
National exam is not retaken. The OPLC endorsement route (RSA 310:17 / Plc 313) accepts a license from a qualifying jurisdiction whose pathway required the NCMHCE or an equivalent nationally recognized exam (Plc 313.37(a)(2)); license verification, not a separate NBCC score transfer, is required. No New Hampshire jurisprudence exam is listed for mental health practice endorsement.
What does the move cost?
$325 (Clinical Mental Health Counselor application fee from the OPLC Mental Health Practice fee page; includes the mandatory $28 Professional Health Program fee; same fee as in-state applicants. Criminal records check fee paid separately to NH Department of Safety (amount not verified).)
How long will it take?
OPLC publishes no processing timeframe; under Plc 313.06(c) a qualified endorsement applicant whose criminal records check is pending receives a provisional license and may practice meanwhile.
New Hampshire joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. New Hampshire had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in New Hampshire takes New Hampshire's own authorization, normally a New Hampshire license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- NH OPLC: New Changes for Reciprocity in New Hampshire (HB 594 endorsement; Plc 313.37 qualifying jurisdictions for Clinical Mental Health Counselor; Internet Archive capture 2026-08-21) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NH OPLC: Board of Mental Health Practice License Fees ($325 CMHC application incl. $28 PHP; Internet Archive capture 2026-04-29) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NH Admin. Rules Plc 300 (Plc 313 licensure by endorsement; Plc 313.37 mental health practice; Internet Archive capture 2026-09-09) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NH RSA 310:17 License Reciprocity (Internet Archive capture 2026-02-07) ↗ (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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