Transfer Your Counseling License to Kentucky: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Kentucky has passed the Counseling Compact into law, and its board may describe the state as having joined, but as of 2026-10-29 it was not issuing or accepting privileges. That makes Kentucky a non-compact state in practice: no privilege lets you see a client located here, in person or by telehealth, and a Kentucky license cannot yet anchor privileges elsewhere. Plan on a Kentucky license by endorsement, and check the commission's announcements, because states have been switching on every few weeks.

Kentucky's independent tier is the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC). The LPCA is the associate tier and cannot be obtained through reciprocity (201 KAR 36:072 Sec. 1(2)). There are two routes. (1) Endorsement under KRS 335.527 needs a 60-hour counseling degree, an active license in good standing, good moral character, the fee, and at least 5 years' experience as a licensed or certified professional counselor. It exempts the applicant from Kentucky's supervised-experience and exam requirements. (2) Reciprocity by written agreement under 201 KAR 36:072. The Board FAQ names North Carolina (since 2024-02-02: LCMHC with at least 2 years fully licensed, FBI check, 3-hour KY law course, fee) and Tennessee (since 2023-03-30: LPC-MHSP with at least 5 years of full-time experience, good standing, background check, fee). These are the only published partner states. Applicants with under 5 years must otherwise meet full Kentucky LPCC requirements; the FAQ also points them to the Counseling Compact. This is endorsement, not full reciprocity. Kentucky has ENACTED the Counseling Compact (KRS 335.560) but is not yet issuing or accepting privileges. compact_member and compact_status are assembler-provided. apps.legislature.ky.gov timed out on 2026-09-27, so KRS 335.527 and 201 KAR 36:020 were read from Internet Archive captures of the official LRC pages. Re-verified 2026-10-29 against the Board FAQ, the Board-published 201 KAR 36:072 text and the Board's LPCC application (Rev. July 2026), which confirms the $150 fee and the 5-year endorsement route. apps.legislature.ky.gov again refused connections on 2026-10-29, so KRS 335.527 and 201 KAR 36:020 were not re-read (their source dates stay 2026-09-27). Flag: the July 2026 application asks for a fingerprint check by both the Kentucky State Police and the FBI, while 201 KAR 36:072 as amended and the Board FAQ name the FBI check only. The FBI check is common to both, so confirm with the Board whether a Kentucky State Police check is also needed.