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LicenseReciprocity

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

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) ↗

A counseling license transfers from Illinois to South Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR), verify your Illinois license, and meet South Carolina's endorsement requirements. No exam retake and no exam verification requested: the endorsement application asks only for an official license verification from the state where actively licensed. No jurisprudence exam; the applicant instead certifies having read the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

A counseling license moves from Illinois to South Carolina 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. You apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR), which verifies your Illinois license and standing, matches it to South Carolina's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any South Carolina jurisprudence and background requirements.

What changes, Illinois → South Carolina

Side-by-side: Illinois vs South Carolina (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
Illinois (current)South Carolina (destination)
Counseling Compact statusLicensure by endorsementCounseling 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.)$130 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1); the Board's LPC initial license fee under S.C. Code Regs. 10-33(B)(2) is also $130. Returned-check fee up to $30. Applicants disclosing a conviction must add a SLED and other-state background check. South Carolina is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
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 Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications
Licensing authorityIllinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC)South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR)

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm South Carolina's current requirements on the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a current, active and unrestricted LPC-equivalent (independent-level) license in good standing in another state, with no current or pending investigation (S.C. Code Regs. 36-14(A)).
  5. Have an official license verification sent directly to the Board by the state board where actively licensed.
  6. Certify on the application that you have read and understand the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics.
  7. Submit a copy of a driver's license or other photo ID, a copy of the Social Security card, and a notarized Verification of Lawful Presence.
  8. Pay the fees ($130 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1); the Board's LPC initial license fee under S.C. Code Regs. 10-33(B)(2) is also $130. Returned-check fee up to $30. Applicants disclosing a conviction must add a SLED and other-state background check. South Carolina is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications.

Official links

South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) ↗South Carolina application ↗

Related guides

Reverse: South Carolina → IllinoisCounseling in IllinoisCounseling in South CarolinaAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does South Carolina accept an Illinois counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from Illinois to South Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR), verify your Illinois license, and meet South Carolina's endorsement requirements. No exam retake and no exam verification requested: the endorsement application asks only for an official license verification from the state where actively licensed. No jurisprudence exam; the applicant instead certifies having read the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics..

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

No exam retake and no exam verification requested: the endorsement application asks only for an official license verification from the state where actively licensed. No jurisprudence exam; the applicant instead certifies having read the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics.

What does the move cost?

$130 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1); the Board's LPC initial license fee under S.C. Code Regs. 10-33(B)(2) is also $130. Returned-check fee up to $30. Applicants disclosing a conviction must add a SLED and other-state background check. South Carolina is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)

How long will it take?

the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications.

South Carolina joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?

Not yet. South Carolina had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in South Carolina takes South Carolina's own authorization, normally a South Carolina license.

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]