Counseling License from Michigan to Idaho: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) ↗

A counseling license transfers from Michigan to Idaho by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), verify your Michigan license, and meet Idaho's endorsement requirements. The national exam is not retaken when the applicant already passed it. Idaho requires the NCMHCE (NBCC) for the LCPC under IDAPA 24.15.01.100.02.b, and scores are sent to the Board by NBCC. Idaho Code 67-9409(4) lets the Board require all or part of its exam only where needed to show competence, and it bars a jurisprudence exam for universal-licensure applicants. The Board publishes no jurisprudence exam or exam-age limit for counselors..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Neither Michigan nor Idaho is operational in the Counseling Compact, so it plays no part in this move. The route is endorsement through the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC): your Michigan license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Idaho's own exam rule, and Idaho applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Idaho tier corresponds to your Michigan license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.

What changes, Michigan → Idaho

Side-by-side: Michigan vs Idaho (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
	Michigan (current)	Idaho (destination)
Counseling Compact status	Licensure by endorsement	Licensure by endorsement
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.)	$300 (LPC and LCPC 'Initial Application' fee as published on the Board's fee table (Internet Archive capture of dopl.idaho.gov/cou/, 2026-09-14). CONFLICT: the current rule IDAPA 24.15.01.400 lists a $100 application fee plus a $100 license fee ($200), and so did the Board's older endorsement form. The live Board site was unreachable, so the $300 figure could not be confirmed live. Fingerprint background-check fee and NBCC score-report fee are separate. Idaho is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)
Processing time	the LARA licensing guide states no processing timeframe for endorsement applications	no processing timeframe found on the Board page or in the rules; dopl.idaho.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27, so only archived copies could be read
Licensing authority	Michigan Board of Counseling (Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Professional Licensing) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC)	Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC)

The destination column is what you must satisfy — Idaho sets the rules for this move.

Step by step

Confirm Idaho's current requirements on the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
Submit the endorsement application to the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC).
Arrange license verification from your current state.
Hold current, valid and unrestricted counselor licensure at the independent (LCPC-equivalent) level in another U.S. state, district or territory.
Submit certification of licensure sent directly from every state where you hold or have held a license.
Have NBCC send national exam results (NCMHCE for the LCPC) directly to the Board.
Complete a fingerprint-based criminal history background check (Idaho Code 54-3405 and 67-9411A).
Submit the application with fees through DOPL (notarized affidavit on the paper form).
Pay the fees ($300 (LPC and LCPC 'Initial Application' fee as published on the Board's fee table (Internet Archive capture of dopl.idaho.gov/cou/, 2026-09-14). CONFLICT: the current rule IDAPA 24.15.01.400 lists a $100 application fee plus a $100 license fee ($200), and so did the Board's older endorsement form. The live Board site was unreachable, so the $300 figure could not be confirmed live. Fingerprint background-check fee and NBCC score-report fee are separate. Idaho is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)) and allow no processing timeframe found on the Board page or in the rules; dopl.idaho.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27, so only archived copies could be read.

Official links

Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) ↗

Frequently asked questions

Does Idaho accept a Michigan counseling license?

Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Michigan to Idaho?

The national exam is not retaken when the applicant already passed it. Idaho requires the NCMHCE (NBCC) for the LCPC under IDAPA 24.15.01.100.02.b, and scores are sent to the Board by NBCC. Idaho Code 67-9409(4) lets the Board require all or part of its exam only where needed to show competence, and it bars a jurisprudence exam for universal-licensure applicants. The Board publishes no jurisprudence exam or exam-age limit for counselors.

What does the move cost?

$300 (LPC and LCPC 'Initial Application' fee as published on the Board's fee table (Internet Archive capture of dopl.idaho.gov/cou/, 2026-09-14). CONFLICT: the current rule IDAPA 24.15.01.400 lists a $100 application fee plus a $100 license fee ($200), and so did the Board's older endorsement form. The live Board site was unreachable, so the $300 figure could not be confirmed live. Fingerprint background-check fee and NBCC score-report fee are separate. Idaho is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)

How long will it take?

no processing timeframe found on the Board page or in the rules; dopl.idaho.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27, so only archived copies could be read.

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.

Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27

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