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LicenseReciprocity

Transfer Your Counseling License to New Jersey: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) ↗

New Jersey has enacted the Counseling Compact, but it was not yet issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so no privilege authorizes practice here. An out-of-state counselor needs a New Jersey license, normally by endorsement from the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC); how New Jersey treats your NCE or NCMHCE score is in the exam question below. Fee: $75 (nonrefundable application fee per the Committee's application form and Application Process Overview; criminal history check fee separate ($18.75 for applicants already fingerprinted for a DCA board, per the paper form rev. 1/2/19); initial LPC license fee not verified on an official page). Processing: the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.

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Verdict

Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing

New Jersey has passed the Counseling Compact into law, and its board may describe the state as having joined, but as of 2026-09-27 it was not issuing or accepting privileges. That makes New Jersey a non-compact state in practice: no privilege lets you see a client located here, in person or by telehealth, and a New Jersey license cannot yet anchor privileges elsewhere. Plan on a New Jersey license by endorsement, and check the commission's announcements, because states have been switching on every few weeks.

New Jersey's independent counselor license is the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC); the Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC) is the supervised tier. Out-of-state counselors apply for the LPC by 'Licensure by Reciprocity' under N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5. That statute requires a license in good standing from a state whose education, training and exam requirements are substantially equivalent to New Jersey's, practice within the 5 years before applying, and a criminal background check. The Committee's own endorsement rule (N.J.A.C. 13:34-12.1) could not be read on an official source: the official NJAC is on LexisNexis. An unofficial reproduction describes a 60-credit degree, 4,500 hours of experience, NCE or NCMHCE, and AASCB National Credentials Registry registration. Those terms are not relied on here and need confirming. This is endorsement, not full reciprocity, and there is no published reciprocal-state list. New Jersey has ENACTED the Counseling Compact but is not yet issuing or accepting privileges. compact_member and compact_status are assembler-provided. njconsumeraffairs.gov HTML pages were behind a bot wall on 2026-09-27. The PDFs downloaded directly, and the home page was read from an Internet Archive capture.

New Jersey requirements at a glance

Out-of-state counseling license transfer requirements for New Jersey, verified 2026-09-27
ExamNational exam is not retaken. The Committee's LPC exam is the NCE, and NBCC/CCE can release scores to the state portal. The out-of-state route requires that the other state's exam requirements be substantially equivalent (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5). No New Jersey jurisprudence exam appears in the Committee's application materials.
Additional requirements
  • Hold a valid, current professional counselor license in good standing in another state whose education, training and exam requirements are substantially equivalent to New Jersey's (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5)
  • Have practiced professional counseling within the five years before applying
  • Have the other state's licensing board send license verification directly to the Committee
  • Have official graduate transcripts sent directly from the college or university
  • Complete the Division of Consumer Affairs criminal history background check (fingerprinting)
Fees$75 (nonrefundable application fee per the Committee's application form and Application Process Overview; criminal history check fee separate ($18.75 for applicants already fingerprinted for a DCA board, per the paper form rev. 1/2/19); initial LPC license fee not verified on an official page)
Processing timethe Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications

Step by step

  1. Confirm New Jersey's current requirements on the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) website — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) (application linked on this page).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a valid, current professional counselor license in good standing in another state whose education, training and exam requirements are substantially equivalent to New Jersey's (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5).
  5. Have practiced professional counseling within the five years before applying.
  6. Have the other state's licensing board send license verification directly to the Committee.
  7. Have official graduate transcripts sent directly from the college or university.
  8. Complete the Division of Consumer Affairs criminal history background check (fingerprinting).
  9. Pay the fees ($75 (nonrefundable application fee per the Committee's application form and Application Process Overview; criminal history check fee separate ($18.75 for applicants already fingerprinted for a DCA board, per the paper form rev. 1/2/19); initial LPC license fee not verified on an official page)) and allow the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.

Official links

New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) ↗New Jersey application ↗

Coming from a specific state?

Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into New Jersey:

California → New JerseyFlorida → New JerseyGeorgia → New JerseyIllinois → New JerseyMichigan → New JerseyNew York → New JerseyNorth Carolina → New JerseyOhio → New JerseyPennsylvania → New JerseyTexas → New Jersey

Nearby states

Counseling license transfer into the states bordering New Jersey:

New Jersey for other professions

Frequently asked questions

Does my counseling license transfer to New Jersey?

New Jersey has enacted the Counseling Compact, but it was not yet issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so no privilege authorizes practice here. An out-of-state counselor needs a New Jersey license, normally by endorsement from the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC); how New Jersey treats your NCE or NCMHCE score is in the exam question below. Fee: $75 (nonrefundable application fee per the Committee's application form and Application Process Overview; criminal history check fee separate ($18.75 for applicants already fingerprinted for a DCA board, per the paper form rev. 1/2/19); initial LPC license fee not verified on an official page). Processing: the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.

Do I have to retake the NCE or NCMHCE to get licensed in New Jersey?

National exam is not retaken. The Committee's LPC exam is the NCE, and NBCC/CCE can release scores to the state portal. The out-of-state route requires that the other state's exam requirements be substantially equivalent (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5). No New Jersey jurisprudence exam appears in the Committee's application materials.

How much does a New Jersey counseling license cost by endorsement?

$75 (nonrefundable application fee per the Committee's application form and Application Process Overview; criminal history check fee separate ($18.75 for applicants already fingerprinted for a DCA board, per the paper form rev. 1/2/19); initial LPC license fee not verified on an official page)

How long does New Jersey take to process the application?

the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.

Is New Jersey in the Counseling Compact?

New Jersey has enacted the compact but was not yet operational as of 2026-09-27, so it neither issues nor accepts privileges. For now you need New Jersey's own authorization, normally a New Jersey license, to practice with clients located in New Jersey.

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]