Counseling License from Louisiana to Florida: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Louisiana to Florida by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), verify your Louisiana license, and meet Florida's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the Board's LMHC page names the NCMHCE (NBCC) as the accepted exam, and an out-of-state applicant has NBCC send an official score report directly to the Board. Section 456.0145 accepts 'a passing score on a national licensure examination or ... a national certification recognized by the board'; the Board does not state whether an NCE-only licensee qualifies. No separate jurisprudence exam, but an 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course is required before licensure..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Louisiana to Florida by endorsement. Florida has enacted the Counseling Compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so your Louisiana license cannot reach it through the compact yet. You apply to the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), which verifies your Louisiana license and standing, matches it to Florida's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Florida jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Louisiana → Florida
| Louisiana (current) | Florida (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $300 (non-refundable out-of-state licensure application, license and seal fee (Board fee schedule item 2; also stated on the LPC endorsement application); optional $60 expedited processing; fingerprint background check costs separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee: Louisiana charges $130 + $30 commission fee = $160 total, no jurisprudence exam.) | $100 ($100 non-refundable application fee; the endorsement application also collects a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048. Livescan fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. Florida is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.) |
| Processing time | 6–8 weeks (Board states 'allow 2-3 weeks for milestones to be updated and at least 6-8 weeks for application approval once the application is completed'; expedited processing ($60) gets a staff response within 5 business days, but files referred for Board review wait for the next meeting) | the Board states only that Florida law requires an initial application to be reviewed within 30 days and that a license issues within 7 days after all documentation is received (s. 456.0145(2)(e)); no end-to-end processing range is published |
| Licensing authority | Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC) | Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Florida sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Florida's current requirements on the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an active, unencumbered mental health counseling license (similar scope of practice) in another state, DC or US territory.
- Have actively practiced for at least 2 of the 4 years immediately before applying, with no disciplinary action in the past 5 years and no pending disciplinary proceeding.
- Have NBCC send an official passing national exam score (NCMHCE) directly to the Board.
- Complete a Board-approved 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course and a 3-hour HIV/AIDS course (or file the HIV/AIDS affidavit).
- Complete a Board-approved 2-hour domestic violence course within six months after licensure.
- Submit electronic Livescan fingerprints through an FDLE-approved vendor for background screening.
- Pay the fees ($100 ($100 non-refundable application fee; the endorsement application also collects a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048. Livescan fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. Florida is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.)) and allow the Board states only that Florida law requires an initial application to be reviewed within 30 days and that a license issues within 7 days after all documentation is received (s. 456.0145(2)(e)); no end-to-end processing range is published.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Florida accept a Louisiana counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Louisiana to Florida by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), verify your Louisiana license, and meet Florida's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the Board's LMHC page names the NCMHCE (NBCC) as the accepted exam, and an out-of-state applicant has NBCC send an official score report directly to the Board. Section 456.0145 accepts 'a passing score on a national licensure examination or ... a national certification recognized by the board'; the Board does not state whether an NCE-only licensee qualifies. No separate jurisprudence exam, but an 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course is required before licensure..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Louisiana to Florida?
National exam is not retaken: the Board's LMHC page names the NCMHCE (NBCC) as the accepted exam, and an out-of-state applicant has NBCC send an official score report directly to the Board. Section 456.0145 accepts 'a passing score on a national licensure examination or ... a national certification recognized by the board'; the Board does not state whether an NCE-only licensee qualifies. No separate jurisprudence exam, but an 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course is required before licensure.
What does the move cost?
$100 ($100 non-refundable application fee; the endorsement application also collects a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048. Livescan fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. Florida is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.)
How long will it take?
the Board states only that Florida law requires an initial application to be reviewed within 30 days and that a license issues within 7 days after all documentation is received (s. 456.0145(2)(e)); no end-to-end processing range is published.
Florida joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Florida had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Florida takes Florida's own authorization, normally a Florida license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Florida 491 Board: Licensed Mental Health Counselor (License by MOBILE Endorsement requirements, courses, fees, processing) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida 491 Board: Application for Licensure by Endorsement, DH-MQA 5048 (rev. 2/2024; fee breakdown, course and score-report instructions) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida Statutes s. 491.006 Licensure or certification by endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida Statutes s. 456.0145 MOBILE Act licensure by endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana LPC Board: Application Information (endorsement applications, background checks, 6-8 week processing; Internet Archive capture 2026-02-19) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana LPC Board: Application for Licensure by Endorsement as LPC ($300, NCE/NCMHCE, 5-year practice rule; Internet Archive capture 2026-06-16) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana LPC Board: Fee Schedule (Internet Archive capture 2026-04-14) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana LPC Board: FAQ (LPC by endorsement, 40 CE hours; Internet Archive capture 2026-05-19) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana Register Notice of Intent: LAC 46:LX.1101 Endorsement (Act 253 of 2024) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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