Counseling License from New Hampshire to Ohio: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) ↗
A counseling license transfers from New Hampshire to Ohio by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT), verify your New Hampshire license, and meet Ohio's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: NCE (or NCMHCE) results are sent by NBCC score transfer or submitted with the application, and the 7-year exam-age limit is waived for applicants licensed in an equivalent capacity in another state. No separate jurisprudence exam; applicants must watch the Board's online Laws and Rules video..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from New Hampshire to Ohio by endorsement. Ohio 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 an Ohio license and live in Ohio, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. You apply to the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT), which verifies your New Hampshire license and standing, matches it to Ohio's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Ohio jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, New Hampshire → Ohio
| New Hampshire (current) | Ohio (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Counseling 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 (LPCC reciprocity application fee per OAC 4757-1-05 and the Board's out-of-state page ('$100 + $3.50 processing', re-read 2026-09-27); + $3.50 eLicense processing fee; BCI/FBI fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-transfer fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Ohio charges $25 + $30 commission admin fee = $55 for a privilege, per the commission's fee table).) |
| Processing time | OPLC 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 | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status in eLicense (Review Status checklist) |
| Licensing authority | New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) | Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Ohio sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Ohio's current requirements on the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an active, independent-level counselor license (the Ohio LPCC equivalent) in good standing in another jurisdiction.
- Submit national counselor exam results (NCE or NCMHCE) via NBCC score transfer.
- Provide online license look-up or official verification from every jurisdiction where licensed, including disciplinary history.
- Complete Ohio BCI and FBI fingerprint background checks with results sent to the Board.
- Watch the Board's online Laws and Rules video before licensure.
- Pay the fees ($100 (LPCC reciprocity application fee per OAC 4757-1-05 and the Board's out-of-state page ('$100 + $3.50 processing', re-read 2026-09-27); + $3.50 eLicense processing fee; BCI/FBI fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-transfer fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Ohio charges $25 + $30 commission admin fee = $55 for a privilege, per the commission's fee table).)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status in eLicense (Review Status checklist).
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Ohio accept a New Hampshire counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New Hampshire to Ohio by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT), verify your New Hampshire license, and meet Ohio's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: NCE (or NCMHCE) results are sent by NBCC score transfer or submitted with the application, and the 7-year exam-age limit is waived for applicants licensed in an equivalent capacity in another state. No separate jurisprudence exam; applicants must watch the Board's online Laws and Rules video..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from New Hampshire to Ohio?
National exam is not retaken: NCE (or NCMHCE) results are sent by NBCC score transfer or submitted with the application, and the 7-year exam-age limit is waived for applicants licensed in an equivalent capacity in another state. No separate jurisprudence exam; applicants must watch the Board's online Laws and Rules video.
What does the move cost?
$100 (LPCC reciprocity application fee per OAC 4757-1-05 and the Board's out-of-state page ('$100 + $3.50 processing', re-read 2026-09-27); + $3.50 eLicense processing fee; BCI/FBI fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-transfer fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Ohio charges $25 + $30 commission admin fee = $55 for a privilege, per the commission's fee table).)
How long will it take?
the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status in eLicense (Review Status checklist)
Will an Ohio license get me into other compact states?
Yes, once Ohio is your home state. Ohio is operational, so an active, unencumbered Ohio 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.
- Ohio CSWMFT Board: Out of State Applicants (counselor reciprocity steps and fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ohio CSWMFT Board: Counselors (LPC/LPCC application instructions, exam policy) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ohio CSWMFT Board Laws and Rules compilation (ORC 4757.18; OAC 4757-1-05, 4757-13-03, 4757-13-06) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ohio CSWMFT Board: Counseling Compact Privileges (eligibility, $25 state fee, go-live 2026-01-05) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NH OPLC: New Changes for Reciprocity in New Hampshire (HB 594 endorsement; Plc 313.37 qualifying jurisdictions for Clinical Mental Health Counselor; Internet Archive capture 2026-08-21) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NH OPLC: Board of Mental Health Practice License Fees ($325 CMHC application incl. $28 PHP; Internet Archive capture 2026-04-29) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NH Admin. Rules Plc 300 (Plc 313 licensure by endorsement; Plc 313.37 mental health practice; Internet Archive capture 2026-09-09) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NH RSA 310:17 License Reciprocity (Internet Archive capture 2026-02-07) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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