Counseling License from Kentucky to Tennessee: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Tennessee accept a Kentucky counseling license?
Yes — Tennessee has a reciprocity arrangement covering Kentucky license holders. Apply to the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists under its reciprocity/endorsement track and complete Tennessee's remaining requirements.
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Verdict
Reciprocity agreement
Tennessee names Kentucky on its published reciprocity list, so the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists handles your application on that track, provided you meet the agreement's conditions (license tier, and in some agreements a minimum number of years' experience). Confirm the list is current with the board before you file. Tennessee is operational in the Counseling Compact, but Kentucky is not, so there is no home-state license here to anchor a privilege. Once you hold a Tennessee license and live in Tennessee, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states.
What's different between Kentucky and Tennessee
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Tennessee. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
Kentucky to Tennessee (this page): Reciprocity agreement.
Tennessee to Kentucky (the reverse move): Reciprocity agreement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from Kentucky matter?
Coming from Kentucky matters here: only 2 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get this result for a move into Tennessee.
The others get: licensure by endorsement (38) and compact privilege — work there without a second license (10).
- Reciprocity agreements
Tennessee's reciprocity agreement list names 2 states (Kentucky and North Carolina), including Kentucky.
Kentucky's reciprocity agreement list names 2 states (North Carolina and Tennessee), including Tennessee.
- Counseling Compact membership
Kentucky has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not issuing under it yet; Tennessee is a Counseling Compact member state.
Because they are not both active members, the Counseling Compact does not cover this move.
- Application fee
Tennessee lists $200 for an out-of-state applicant and Kentucky lists $150 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Exam rules on record
Tennessee and Kentucky carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Tennessee (this move): National exams are not retaken on the reciprocity route: the reciprocity rule (0450-01-.04(5)) and the Board's 2019 reciprocity policy require only the Tennessee Jurisprudence Exam, whose results are sent to the Board by NBCC. Exam-route applicants must pass the NCE and NCMHCE.
- Kentucky (the reverse move): No exam is retaken. Endorsement applicants with 5+ years of licensed experience are exempt by statute from the examination requirement (KRS 335.527(2)(b)), and the Board FAQ confirms no NCE or NCMHCE scores are required. North Carolina reciprocity-agreement applicants must also complete a 3-hour Board-approved Kentucky Professional Counselor Law course. No separate jurisprudence exam on the endorsement path.
What changes, Kentucky → Tennessee
| Kentucky (current) | Tennessee (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Reciprocity with 2 states · Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Reciprocity with 2 states · Counseling Compact privilege (not a license) |
| Application fee | $150 (application fee for licensure as a professional counselor per 201 KAR 36:020 Section 1(1), which 201 KAR 36:072 applies to reciprocity applicants, and per the Board's LPCC application (DPL-LPC-04, Rev. July 2026); non-refundable; FBI fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; annual renewal also $150. Kentucky is not yet issuing Counseling Compact privileges.) | $200 (LPC/MHSP application fee per Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0450-01-.06(4)(c) and the application checklist; + $10 state regulatory fee ($210 total at application); background-check vendor fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Tennessee's total privilege cost is $210 including the $30 commission fee, and it requires a jurisprudence exam, per the commission's fee table).) |
| Processing time | no processing timeframe is published; the Board FAQ says complete applications go to the monthly Board meeting's Applications Committee | no timeframe published; files completed at least 30 days before a Board meeting are ordinarily processed at that meeting (0450-01-.05(5)(c)), and the application asks applicants to allow 14 working days for mailed documents to be filed |
| Licensing authority | Kentucky Board of Licensed Professional Counselors (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC) | Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Tennessee sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Tennessee's current requirements on the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the reciprocity application to the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold the highest-level independent counselor license (LPC/MHSP or equivalent) in another jurisdiction, active for at least 3 of the 5 years before applying and not encumbered (2019 Board policy); under the named KY agreement, 5 years' experience as an LPCC or LPC/MHSP.
- Pass the Tennessee Jurisprudence Examination.
- Submit verification from every state where ever licensed, sent directly to the Board, plus a copy of the other state's licensing law and rules in effect when licensed.
- Submit two letters of recommendation from licensed mental health professionals, a certified birth certificate, a notarized Declaration of Citizenship and a passport-style photo.
- Complete a criminal background check through the Board's vendor.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Will a Tennessee license get me into other compact states?
Yes, once Tennessee is your home state. Tennessee is operational, so an active, unencumbered Tennessee 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.
- Tennessee Board: Policy Statement Regarding Licensure by Reciprocity (adopted 2019-12-06, amended 2020-01-03) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Tennessee Board: LPC application packet PH-2722 (file revised 8/2023; LPC/MHSP by reciprocity checklist, fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Rules of the Tennessee Board for Professional Counselors ch. 0450-01 (April 2020 revision; 0450-01-.04(5), .05(5), .06) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Tennessee Board page: policies list incl. TN/NC and TN/KY reciprocity agreements, Counseling Compact status (privilege applications accepted from 2026-09-01) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Tennessee Board: Reciprocity Agreement between Tennessee and North Carolina ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Kentucky LPC Board FAQ (Endorsement and Reciprocity FAQs, reciprocity-agreement states) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Kentucky LPC Board: Application for Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, DPL-LPC-04 Rev. July 2026 ($150 fee; endorsement per KRS 335.527 and reciprocity-agreement routes; KSP and FBI fingerprint check) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- KRS 335.527 Licensing reciprocity requirements (endorsement: 5 years; exam and supervision exemption; Internet Archive capture of the official LRC page) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 201 KAR 36:072 Reciprocity requirements (Board-published amendment text) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- 201 KAR 36:020 Fees (Internet Archive capture 2026-06-11 of the official LRC page) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Kentucky LPC Board: laws and regulations page (KRS 335.527, 201 KAR 36:072, Counseling Compact KRS 335.560) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-10-29
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