Counseling License from Michigan to Arizona: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (AZBBHE), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Michigan to Arizona by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (AZBBHE), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Michigan license, and meet Arizona's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: applicants must show they passed the required national exam for the discipline, not a state-level exam (R4-6-304(A)(11)). Arizona's counselor rule approves the NCE, NCMHCE and CRC exam (R4-6-502). Since 2026-05-14, endorsement and universal-recognition applicants who have not yet passed it are automatically approved to test while their application is under review. No jurisprudence exam, but applicants must submit a completion certificate for the Board's online Arizona Statutes/Regulations Tutorial..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Arizona is operational in the Counseling Compact, but Michigan is not, so there is no home-state license here to anchor a privilege. Once you hold an Arizona license and live in Arizona, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. The route is endorsement through the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (AZBBHE), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC): your Michigan license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Arizona's own exam rule, and Arizona applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Arizona tier corresponds to your Michigan license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Michigan → Arizona
| Michigan (current) | Arizona (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Counseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice |
| Application fee | $259.05 ('Professional Counselor By Endorsement - $259.05' per the LARA licensing guide (rev. 4/17/25). This is a combined application fee plus 3-year license fee, paid by card. Fingerprint fees are paid separately under the instructions LARA sends after the application. Michigan has not enacted the Counseling Compact.) | $250 (nonrefundable license-by-endorsement application fee per the Board's Licensed in Another State page and R4-6-215(A)(2); the Board's rules compilation also lists a separate $250 issuance fee for an independent-level license (LPC) and a $40 criminal-history background-check charge paid separately. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Arizona charges $250 + $30 commission admin fee = $280 for a privilege, plus the Statutes/Regulations tutorial).) |
| Processing time | the LARA licensing guide states no processing timeframe for endorsement applications | the Board publishes no typical processing time. Its licensing time-frame rule (R4-6-302, Table 1) sets a 270-day overall legal maximum for a license by endorsement (90-day administrative completeness plus 180-day substantive review), which is a ceiling, not an expected time |
| Licensing authority | Michigan Board of Counseling (Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Professional Licensing) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) | Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (AZBBHE), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Arizona sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Arizona's current requirements on the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (AZBBHE), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (AZBBHE), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an active LPC-equivalent license in good standing, at the same practice level and in the same discipline, for at least 1 year in another state or federal jurisdiction.
- Hold a master's or higher degree in the field from a regionally accredited institution, with an official transcript sent to the Board.
- Submit verification of passing a nationally recognized counselor licensing exam.
- Submit a blue-lined FD-258 fingerprint card for state and federal background checks, or a valid Arizona DPS fingerprint clearance card.
- Complete the Board's Arizona Statutes/Regulations Tutorial and submit the completion certificate.
- Have every jurisdiction where you have been licensed send verification, and disclose all disciplinary history.
- Pay the fees ($250 (nonrefundable license-by-endorsement application fee per the Board's Licensed in Another State page and R4-6-215(A)(2); the Board's rules compilation also lists a separate $250 issuance fee for an independent-level license (LPC) and a $40 criminal-history background-check charge paid separately. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Arizona charges $250 + $30 commission admin fee = $280 for a privilege, plus the Statutes/Regulations tutorial).)) and allow the Board publishes no typical processing time. Its licensing time-frame rule (R4-6-302, Table 1) sets a 270-day overall legal maximum for a license by endorsement (90-day administrative completeness plus 180-day substantive review), which is a ceiling, not an expected time.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Arizona accept a Michigan counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Michigan to Arizona by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners (AZBBHE), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Michigan license, and meet Arizona's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: applicants must show they passed the required national exam for the discipline, not a state-level exam (R4-6-304(A)(11)). Arizona's counselor rule approves the NCE, NCMHCE and CRC exam (R4-6-502). Since 2026-05-14, endorsement and universal-recognition applicants who have not yet passed it are automatically approved to test while their application is under review. No jurisprudence exam, but applicants must submit a completion certificate for the Board's online Arizona Statutes/Regulations Tutorial..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Michigan to Arizona?
National exam is not retaken: applicants must show they passed the required national exam for the discipline, not a state-level exam (R4-6-304(A)(11)). Arizona's counselor rule approves the NCE, NCMHCE and CRC exam (R4-6-502). Since 2026-05-14, endorsement and universal-recognition applicants who have not yet passed it are automatically approved to test while their application is under review. No jurisprudence exam, but applicants must submit a completion certificate for the Board's online Arizona Statutes/Regulations Tutorial.
What does the move cost?
$250 (nonrefundable license-by-endorsement application fee per the Board's Licensed in Another State page and R4-6-215(A)(2); the Board's rules compilation also lists a separate $250 issuance fee for an independent-level license (LPC) and a $40 criminal-history background-check charge paid separately. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Arizona charges $250 + $30 commission admin fee = $280 for a privilege, plus the Statutes/Regulations tutorial).)
How long will it take?
the Board publishes no typical processing time. Its licensing time-frame rule (R4-6-302, Table 1) sets a 270-day overall legal maximum for a license by endorsement (90-day administrative completeness plus 180-day substantive review), which is a ceiling, not an expected time.
Will an Arizona license get me into other compact states?
Yes, once Arizona is your home state. Arizona is operational, so an active, unencumbered Arizona 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 2026-09-27.
- AZBBHE: Licensed in Another State (license by endorsement requirements, $250 fee, fingerprints, tutorial) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Arizona Revised Statutes 32-3274, Licensure by endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- AZBBHE: Universal Recognition (A.R.S. 32-4302, Arizona residency required) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- AZBBHE: Automatic Exam Approval for License by Endorsement and Universal Recognition Applicants (effective 2026-05-14) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- AZBBHE Board Rules compilation (R4-6-215 fees, R4-6-302 time frames, R4-6-502 counselor exams) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- AZBBHE Notice of Final Rulemaking, May 2025 (R4-6-304 endorsement, universal recognition and compact-privilege applications) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- LARA: Michigan Professional Counselor Licensing Guide, rev. 4/17/25 (endorsement requirements, $259.05 fee; Internet Archive capture 2026-03-29) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Michigan Admin. Code R 338.1751-R 338.1781, Counseling General Rules (R 338.1773 exams; R 338.1775 licensure by endorsement; Internet Archive capture 2026-02-11 of the official ARS compilation) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- LARA: Counseling licensing page (Internet Archive capture 2026-01-16) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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