Counseling License from Nevada 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 Nevada 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 Nevada 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..
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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 Nevada 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 Nevada license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Nevada → Pennsylvania
| Nevada (current) | Pennsylvania (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $75 (CPC License by Reciprocity application fee per the Board's page; + $30 registration fee at license issuance; + $39 fingerprint fee (money order to Department of Public Safety); NPDB self-query about $4; renewal $450) | $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 time | the Board page says the background check takes 8 weeks; NRS 641A.241 requires issuance within 45 days of receiving all required information unless denied for good cause; no end-to-end range stated | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion |
| Licensing authority | Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists and Clinical Professional Counselors | 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
- 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.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a professional counselor license in good standing in another state, with a letter from that state certifying licensure and reporting any disciplinary history.
- 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).
- Demonstrate at least 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience that conformed to the licensing state's rules.
- Demonstrate active practice of professional counseling for 5 of the last 7 years before applying (49 Pa. Code 49.18(5)).
- Complete 3 hours of Board-approved child abuse recognition and reporting training and submit two certificates of recommendation (49 Pa. Code 49.12).
- 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
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Pennsylvania accept a Nevada counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Nevada 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 Nevada 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 Nevada 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.
- Pennsylvania Code 49 Pa. Code 49.18, Licensure by endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Pennsylvania Code 49 Pa. Code 49.16, Application for licensure by reciprocity ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Pennsylvania Code 49 Pa. Code 49.12, General qualifications (child abuse training, recommendations) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Pennsylvania Code 49 Pa. Code 47.4, Licensure fees ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- PA Department of State: Professional Counselor Licensure Snapshot (endorsement and Act 41) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- PA State Board: LPC application FAQs (Act 41 provisional license) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Nevada MFT & CPC Board: Licensure by Reciprocity ($75 application, $30 issuance, $39 fingerprint, 8-week background check) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Nevada MFT & CPC Board: CPC Testing (NCMHCE) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Nevada MFT & CPC Board: Counseling Compact Privilege to Practice ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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