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LicenseReciprocity

Counseling License from New Hampshire to Georgia: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗

A counseling license transfers from New Hampshire to Georgia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your New Hampshire license, and meet Georgia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the applicant submits an official passing score on the NBCC NCE or NCMHCE. An applicant who has not passed either exam may be required to pass one before endorsement is considered. No Georgia jurisprudence exam is required for endorsement or for a compact privilege..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

A counseling license moves from New Hampshire to Georgia by endorsement. Georgia is operational in the Counseling Compact, but New Hampshire is not, so there is no home-state license here to anchor a privilege. Once you hold a Georgia license and live in Georgia, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. You apply to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), which verifies your New Hampshire license and standing, matches it to Georgia's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Georgia jurisprudence and background requirements.

What changes, New Hampshire → Georgia

Side-by-side: New Hampshire vs Georgia (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
New Hampshire (current)Georgia (destination)
Counseling Compact statusCounseling Compact enacted — not yet issuingCounseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice
Application fee$325 (Clinical Mental Health Counselor application fee from the OPLC Mental Health Practice fee page; includes the mandatory $28 Professional Health Program fee; same fee as in-state applicants. Criminal records check fee paid separately to NH Department of Safety (amount not verified).)$100 ($100 non-refundable LPC endorsement application fee; the 05/02/2023 paper form lists $110, which includes a $10 mail-in processing fee. The current online GOALS fee schedule (goals.sos.ga.gov) returned HTTP 403 and could not be checked. Fingerprint background check paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Georgia charges $100 + $30 commission admin fee = $130 for a privilege; no jurisprudence exam).)
Processing timeOPLC publishes no processing timeframe; under Plc 313.06(c) a qualified endorsement applicant whose criminal records check is pending receives a provisional license and may practice meanwhile~5 weeks (the endorsement application form says to allow up to 25 business days (about 5 weeks) to process a complete application. The Board may also take up the file at a meeting, and an application must be complete 15 days before a meeting to be placed on its agenda. Incomplete applications are withdrawn after 60 days.)
Licensing authorityNew Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC)Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm Georgia's current requirements on the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a current, unencumbered clinical-level (independent) professional counselor license in another state; associate-level licenses are not eligible.
  5. Verify at least 2 years of unrestricted licensure at the Georgia LPC level from every state ever licensed (Form N or the state's own verification, including any discipline).
  6. Verify at least 2 years of active, unrestricted practice at the LPC level immediately preceding the application.
  7. Submit an official passing NCE or NCMHCE score and an official master's or doctoral transcript sent directly by the school.
  8. Complete a nationwide fingerprint criminal background check at the applicant's expense (O.C.G.A. 43-10A-5(i)).
  9. Pay the fees ($100 ($100 non-refundable LPC endorsement application fee; the 05/02/2023 paper form lists $110, which includes a $10 mail-in processing fee. The current online GOALS fee schedule (goals.sos.ga.gov) returned HTTP 403 and could not be checked. Fingerprint background check paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Georgia charges $100 + $30 commission admin fee = $130 for a privilege; no jurisprudence exam).)) and allow ~5 weeks (the endorsement application form says to allow up to 25 business days (about 5 weeks) to process a complete application. The Board may also take up the file at a meeting, and an application must be complete 15 days before a meeting to be placed on its agenda. Incomplete applications are withdrawn after 60 days.).

Official links

Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗Georgia application ↗Counseling Compact ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Georgia → New HampshireCounseling in New HampshireCounseling in GeorgiaAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Georgia accept a New Hampshire counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from New Hampshire to Georgia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your New Hampshire license, and meet Georgia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the applicant submits an official passing score on the NBCC NCE or NCMHCE. An applicant who has not passed either exam may be required to pass one before endorsement is considered. No Georgia jurisprudence exam is required for endorsement or for a compact privilege..

Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from New Hampshire to Georgia?

National exam is not retaken: the applicant submits an official passing score on the NBCC NCE or NCMHCE. An applicant who has not passed either exam may be required to pass one before endorsement is considered. No Georgia jurisprudence exam is required for endorsement or for a compact privilege.

What does the move cost?

$100 ($100 non-refundable LPC endorsement application fee; the 05/02/2023 paper form lists $110, which includes a $10 mail-in processing fee. The current online GOALS fee schedule (goals.sos.ga.gov) returned HTTP 403 and could not be checked. Fingerprint background check paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Georgia charges $100 + $30 commission admin fee = $130 for a privilege; no jurisprudence exam).)

How long will it take?

~5 weeks (the endorsement application form says to allow up to 25 business days (about 5 weeks) to process a complete application. The Board may also take up the file at a meeting, and an application must be complete 15 days before a meeting to be placed on its agenda. Incomplete applications are withdrawn after 60 days.)

Will a Georgia license get me into other compact states?

Yes, once Georgia is your home state. Georgia is operational, so an active, unencumbered Georgia 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.

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

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