Counseling License from Michigan to South Carolina: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Michigan to South Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR), verify your Michigan license, and meet South Carolina's endorsement requirements. No exam retake and no exam verification requested: the endorsement application asks only for an official license verification from the state where actively licensed. No jurisprudence exam; the applicant instead certifies having read the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Michigan to South Carolina by endorsement. Neither state gives you a working compact route here: a state that has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational behaves like a non-member. You apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR), which verifies your Michigan license and standing, matches it to South Carolina's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any South Carolina jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Michigan → South Carolina
| Michigan (current) | South Carolina (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| 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.) | $130 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1); the Board's LPC initial license fee under S.C. Code Regs. 10-33(B)(2) is also $130. Returned-check fee up to $30. Applicants disclosing a conviction must add a SLED and other-state background check. South Carolina is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.) |
| Processing time | the LARA licensing guide states no processing timeframe for endorsement applications | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications |
| Licensing authority | Michigan Board of Counseling (Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Professional Licensing) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) | South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — South Carolina sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm South Carolina's current requirements on the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, active and unrestricted LPC-equivalent (independent-level) license in good standing in another state, with no current or pending investigation (S.C. Code Regs. 36-14(A)).
- Have an official license verification sent directly to the Board by the state board where actively licensed.
- Certify on the application that you have read and understand the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics.
- Submit a copy of a driver's license or other photo ID, a copy of the Social Security card, and a notarized Verification of Lawful Presence.
- Pay the fees ($130 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1); the Board's LPC initial license fee under S.C. Code Regs. 10-33(B)(2) is also $130. Returned-check fee up to $30. Applicants disclosing a conviction must add a SLED and other-state background check. South Carolina is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does South Carolina accept a Michigan counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Michigan to South Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR), verify your Michigan license, and meet South Carolina's endorsement requirements. No exam retake and no exam verification requested: the endorsement application asks only for an official license verification from the state where actively licensed. No jurisprudence exam; the applicant instead certifies having read the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Michigan to South Carolina?
No exam retake and no exam verification requested: the endorsement application asks only for an official license verification from the state where actively licensed. No jurisprudence exam; the applicant instead certifies having read the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics.
What does the move cost?
$130 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1); the Board's LPC initial license fee under S.C. Code Regs. 10-33(B)(2) is also $130. Returned-check fee up to $30. Applicants disclosing a conviction must add a SLED and other-state background check. South Carolina is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications.
South Carolina joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. South Carolina had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in South Carolina takes South Carolina's own authorization, normally a South Carolina license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- SC LLR Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1) (Internet Archive copy of the official PDF, 2026-03-07 snapshot; live llr.sc.gov refused connections) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- S.C. Code Regs. ch. 36 (Reg. 36-14, Licensure by Endorsement, amended eff. 2022-05-27; re-read 2026-09-27) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- S.C. Code Regs. ch. 10 (Reg. 10-33, counselor board fee schedule, amended eff. 2025-05-23) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- S.C. Code Title 40 ch. 75 (40-75-260 licensure of applicants licensed in other jurisdictions; 40-75-910 et seq. Counseling Compact) ↗ (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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