Skip to content
LicenseReciprocity

Counseling License from Nebraska to Pennsylvania: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors ↗

A counseling license transfers from Nebraska to Pennsylvania by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, verify your Nebraska license, and meet Pennsylvania's endorsement requirements. No exam retake on the endorsement route: 49 Pa. Code 49.18 issues the license 'without examination'. Under the separate reciprocity rule (49.16) the Board accepts exam grades from another jurisdiction (e.g., the NCE) if the exam is similar and the passing grade at least equals Pennsylvania's, but only where that state grants reciprocity to Pennsylvania licensees. No state jurisprudence exam is required..

Verify this exact pair in the checker

Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.

Run the Reciprocity Checker →

Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Both states have enacted the Counseling Compact, but neither was issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27. When both go operational, cross-border work between them could run on a privilege; a relocation would still need a Pennsylvania license. The route is endorsement through the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors: your Nebraska license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Pennsylvania's own exam rule, and Pennsylvania applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Pennsylvania tier corresponds to your Nebraska license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.

What changes, Nebraska → Pennsylvania

Side-by-side: Nebraska vs Pennsylvania (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
Nebraska (current)Pennsylvania (destination)
Counseling Compact statusCounseling Compact enacted — not yet issuingCounseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing
Application fee$155 (initial LIMHP license fee per the DHHS LIMHP and 5-year reciprocity applications; $38.75 if issued March-August of an even-numbered year; $205 for both LIMHP and LMHP; optional Certified Professional Counselor certificate (needed to use that title) + $50; Nebraska State Patrol fingerprint fee $55; payment by check or money order)$100 (application fee for licensure and original license issuance as an LPC per 49 Pa. Code 47.4(6); no separate endorsement fee is listed. Pennsylvania is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
Processing timeDHHS notifies the applicant within about 10 days (LIMHP application) or about 30 business days (5-year reciprocity application) after review whether the license issued or the file is incomplete; FBI check may take up to 30 days; no board-stated end-to-end rangethe Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion
Licensing authorityNebraska DHHS Licensure Unit, Board of Mental Health Practice (Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner, LIMHP)Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm Pennsylvania's current requirements on the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a professional counselor license in good standing in another state, with a letter from that state certifying licensure and reporting any disciplinary history.
  5. Meet Pennsylvania's educational requirement (63 P.S. 1907(f)(2) and 49 Pa. Code 49.13(a)(3), a 60-semester-hour counseling graduate degree).
  6. Demonstrate at least 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience that conformed to the licensing state's rules.
  7. Demonstrate active practice of professional counseling for 5 of the last 7 years before applying (49 Pa. Code 49.18(5)).
  8. Complete 3 hours of Board-approved child abuse recognition and reporting training and submit two certificates of recommendation (49 Pa. Code 49.12).
  9. Pay the fees ($100 (application fee for licensure and original license issuance as an LPC per 49 Pa. Code 47.4(6); no separate endorsement fee is listed. Pennsylvania is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion.

Official links

Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors ↗Pennsylvania application ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Pennsylvania → NebraskaCounseling in NebraskaCounseling in PennsylvaniaAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Pennsylvania accept a Nebraska counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from Nebraska to Pennsylvania by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, verify your Nebraska license, and meet Pennsylvania's endorsement requirements. No exam retake on the endorsement route: 49 Pa. Code 49.18 issues the license 'without examination'. Under the separate reciprocity rule (49.16) the Board accepts exam grades from another jurisdiction (e.g., the NCE) if the exam is similar and the passing grade at least equals Pennsylvania's, but only where that state grants reciprocity to Pennsylvania licensees. No state jurisprudence exam is required..

Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Nebraska to Pennsylvania?

No exam retake on the endorsement route: 49 Pa. Code 49.18 issues the license 'without examination'. Under the separate reciprocity rule (49.16) the Board accepts exam grades from another jurisdiction (e.g., the NCE) if the exam is similar and the passing grade at least equals Pennsylvania's, but only where that state grants reciprocity to Pennsylvania licensees. No state jurisprudence exam is required.

What does the move cost?

$100 (application fee for licensure and original license issuance as an LPC per 49 Pa. Code 47.4(6); no separate endorsement fee is listed. Pennsylvania 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; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion.

Pennsylvania joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?

Not yet. Pennsylvania had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Pennsylvania takes Pennsylvania's own authorization, normally a Pennsylvania license.

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

How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]