Counseling License from New York to Alabama: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from New York to Alabama by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your New York license, and meet Alabama's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken if already passed: the Board requires a passing NCE score sent directly by NBCC (scores cannot come from another state board). An applicant who took a different licensure exam documents that exam (date and score) for the Board's equivalency review under Ala. Admin. Code 255-X-10-.02(4), or must take and pass the NCE. No state jurisprudence exam; applicants attest they have read the Code of Alabama, ABEC rules and Code of Ethics..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from New York to Alabama 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 Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), which verifies your New York license and standing, matches it to Alabama's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Alabama jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, New York → Alabama
| New York (current) | Alabama (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $371 (fee for licensure and first registration, paid with Form 1; no fingerprint requirement listed; the separate LMHC diagnostic privilege costs $175 to issue. New York has not enacted the Counseling Compact.) | $200 (nonrefundable application fee payable by check or money order per the LPC Endorsement License Application (rev. May 2026) and the ABEC fee schedule; after Board approval the $300 LPC license fee is billed separately. The application lists no fingerprint or background-check fee. NBCC score-report fee is separate. Alabama has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational, so it charges no privilege fee.) |
| Processing time | NYSED publishes no processing timeframe for LMHC endorsement applications | the Board states only that 'the application process could take several weeks depending on receipt and review of required documents'; no numeric timeframe is published |
| Licensing authority | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Mental Health Practitioners) (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) | Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Alabama sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Alabama's current requirements on the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, good-standing counseling license comparable to the Alabama LPC that you qualified for directly (not one obtained by endorsement or reciprocity).
- Document 3,000 hours of post-degree supervised experience (2,250 direct, 750 indirect) under a Supervising Counselor, excluding practicum, internship and post-licensure work.
- Meet Alabama's graduate education requirements in effect when you were first licensed, shown with official transcripts and the Worksheet for Reporting Course Work.
- Have NBCC send a passing NCE score directly to the Board, or document an equivalent licensure exam.
- Have every issuing board send written license verification, including any disciplinary action.
- Submit a notarized application affidavit and the Proof of Citizenship form.
- Pay the fees ($200 (nonrefundable application fee payable by check or money order per the LPC Endorsement License Application (rev. May 2026) and the ABEC fee schedule; after Board approval the $300 LPC license fee is billed separately. The application lists no fingerprint or background-check fee. NBCC score-report fee is separate. Alabama has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational, so it charges no privilege fee.)) and allow the Board states only that 'the application process could take several weeks depending on receipt and review of required documents'; no numeric timeframe is published.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Alabama accept a New York counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New York to Alabama by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your New York license, and meet Alabama's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken if already passed: the Board requires a passing NCE score sent directly by NBCC (scores cannot come from another state board). An applicant who took a different licensure exam documents that exam (date and score) for the Board's equivalency review under Ala. Admin. Code 255-X-10-.02(4), or must take and pass the NCE. No state jurisprudence exam; applicants attest they have read the Code of Alabama, ABEC rules and Code of Ethics..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from New York to Alabama?
National exam is not retaken if already passed: the Board requires a passing NCE score sent directly by NBCC (scores cannot come from another state board). An applicant who took a different licensure exam documents that exam (date and score) for the Board's equivalency review under Ala. Admin. Code 255-X-10-.02(4), or must take and pass the NCE. No state jurisprudence exam; applicants attest they have read the Code of Alabama, ABEC rules and Code of Ethics.
What does the move cost?
$200 (nonrefundable application fee payable by check or money order per the LPC Endorsement License Application (rev. May 2026) and the ABEC fee schedule; after Board approval the $300 LPC license fee is billed separately. The application lists no fingerprint or background-check fee. NBCC score-report fee is separate. Alabama has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational, so it charges no privilege fee.)
How long will it take?
the Board states only that 'the application process could take several weeks depending on receipt and review of required documents'; no numeric timeframe is published.
Alabama joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Alabama had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Alabama takes Alabama's own authorization, normally an Alabama license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- ABEC: LPC Endorsement License Application (revised May 2026; requirements, $200 fee, NCE) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- ABEC: LPC by Endorsement and Provisional Licensure FAQ (no reciprocity; case-by-case endorsement) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- ABEC: Fees (application $200; LPC license $300) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- ABEC rules Chapter 255-X-10 (255-X-10-.02 Applicants Qualified Out-of-State; 255-X-10-.03 Provisional Licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements (Alabama not in the operational fee table) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NYSED Office of the Professions: Mental Health Counseling License Requirements (licensure by endorsement, NCMHCE only, $371 fee) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NYSED: Form 4E Endorsement Applicant Experience Record ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NYSED: Commissioner's Regulations Subpart 79-9 (79-9.7 licensure by endorsement; diagnostic privilege) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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