Counseling License from Illinois to South Dakota: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists ↗
A counseling license transfers from Illinois to South Dakota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists, verify your Illinois license, and meet South Dakota's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken but must have been passed: applicants indicate the NCE, CRC or NCMHCE passed and have the official score released to the Board through the NBCC online results portal; applicants who never passed a national exam are 'not eligible for a license by endorsement'. No state jurisprudence exam is required; the applicant signs that they have read South Dakota's laws and rules..
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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 South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists: your Illinois license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under South Dakota's own exam rule, and South Dakota applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which South Dakota tier corresponds to your Illinois license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Illinois → South Dakota
| Illinois (current) | South Dakota (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 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's fee schedule and the endorsement application (9/2023); the $225 biennial license fee must be paid with the application and is refunded if the application is denied. A temporary endorsement costs a $100 application fee plus $50 temporary license fee. South Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.) |
| 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. | no timeframe published; the Board's FAQ says complete files go to a Board member reviewer 'on a rolling basis' |
| Licensing authority | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) | South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — South Dakota sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm South Dakota's current requirements on the South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a license at the highest level of independent practice in another state or territory for at least 3 years (SDCL 36-32-67).
- Show active practice of at least 1,500 hours of clinical experience in the 3 years before applying (affidavit, calendars or other proof on request).
- Have the issuing state send a letter of verification directly to the Board.
- Have an official national exam score (NCE, CRC or NCMHCE) sent to the Board.
- Submit a notarized application with a color headshot photograph.
- Pay the fees ($100 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's fee schedule and the endorsement application (9/2023); the $225 biennial license fee must be paid with the application and is refunded if the application is denied. A temporary endorsement costs a $100 application fee plus $50 temporary license fee. South Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow no timeframe published; the Board's FAQ says complete files go to a Board member reviewer 'on a rolling basis'.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does South Dakota accept an Illinois counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Illinois to South Dakota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists, verify your Illinois license, and meet South Dakota's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken but must have been passed: applicants indicate the NCE, CRC or NCMHCE passed and have the official score released to the Board through the NBCC online results portal; applicants who never passed a national exam are 'not eligible for a license by endorsement'. No state jurisprudence exam is required; the applicant signs that they have read South Dakota's laws and rules..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Illinois to South Dakota?
National exam is not retaken but must have been passed: applicants indicate the NCE, CRC or NCMHCE passed and have the official score released to the Board through the NBCC online results portal; applicants who never passed a national exam are 'not eligible for a license by endorsement'. No state jurisprudence exam is required; the applicant signs that they have read South Dakota's laws and rules.
What does the move cost?
$100 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's fee schedule and the endorsement application (9/2023); the $225 biennial license fee must be paid with the application and is refunded if the application is denied. A temporary endorsement costs a $100 application fee plus $50 temporary license fee. South Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
no timeframe published; the Board's FAQ says complete files go to a Board member reviewer 'on a rolling basis'.
South Dakota joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. South Dakota had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in South Dakota takes South Dakota's own authorization, normally a South Dakota license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- SD Board of Examiners for Counselors & MFTs: Application for Licensure by Endorsement (9/2023) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- SD Board of Examiners for Counselors & MFTs: Fee Schedule ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- SD Board of Examiners for Counselors & MFTs: Applications ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- SD Board of Examiners for Counselors & MFTs: Frequently Asked Questions ↗ (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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