Counseling License from New Mexico 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico 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
A counseling license moves from New Mexico to Pennsylvania by endorsement. Neither state gives you a working compact route here: a state that has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational behaves like a non-member. You apply to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, which verifies your New Mexico license and standing, matches it to Pennsylvania's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Pennsylvania jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, New Mexico → Pennsylvania
| New Mexico (current) | Pennsylvania (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $75 (nonrefundable application fee (16.27.17 NMAC); + $220 initial license fee before issuance; military service members and veterans are not charged licensing fees for the first three years of expedited licensure) | $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 | ~4.3 weeks (16.27.24 NMAC: staff shall issue the expedited license to a qualified applicant within 30 days of receiving a complete application (30 days converted to 4.3 weeks); applications with a potential cause for denial go to the next Board meeting) | 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 | New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board (Regulation and Licensing Department) (Licensed Professional Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LPCC) | 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 New Mexico counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New Mexico 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 New Mexico 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 New Mexico 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)
- 16.27.24 NMAC Expedited Licensure (approved LPCC jurisdictions, 2-year practice, 30-day issuance), NM State Records Center and Archives ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 16.27.4 NMAC Requirements for Licensure as a Professional Clinical Mental Health Counselor (NCE + NCMHCE, 3,000 hours) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 16.27.17 NMAC Fees ($75 application, $220 initial license) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NM RLD Counseling and Therapy Practice: Licensing, Registration, and Renewal ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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