Counseling License from New York to Alaska: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor ↗
A counseling license transfers from New York to Alaska by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor, verify your New York license, and meet Alaska's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. For licensure by credentials, the Board checks that the applicant's licensing state requires a nationally recognized counselor exam; the Alaska exam rule (12 AAC 62.110) accepts the NCE or NCMHCE. No NBCC score transfer is listed among the required credentials documents. No state jurisprudence exam; the applicant certifies having reviewed AS 08.29 and 12 AAC 62..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Neither New York nor Alaska is operational in the Counseling Compact, so it plays no part in this move. The route is endorsement through the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor: your New York license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Alaska's own exam rule, and Alaska applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Alaska tier corresponds to your New York license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, New York → Alaska
| New York (current) | Alaska (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Licensure by endorsement |
| 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 per the License by Credentials instructions (form 08-4911, rev. 2026-08-21); the $270 initial license fee is also due with the application ($470 total). Name-based criminal-record report fees are paid to the Alaska Department of Public Safety and the home-state agency. No fingerprint check is required. Alaska is not a Counseling Compact state, so it has no privilege fee.) |
| Processing time | NYSED publishes no processing timeframe for LMHC endorsement applications | the Division says only that 'the average processing time varies by program' and that applications are reviewed in order of receipt; 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) | Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Alaska sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Alaska's current requirements on the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current professional counselor license from a jurisdiction whose requirements the Board finds substantially the same or higher (60 graduate semester hours in counseling, a national exam, and 3,000 supervised hours over at least 24 months).
- Submit a copy of the current licensing statutes and regulations of the jurisdiction where you are licensed.
- Have every jurisdiction where you have held a counseling, psychology, marital and family therapy or social work license send verification, including any disciplinary action.
- Submit a name-based Alaska criminal justice report, plus an equivalent report from your state of residence if not Alaska.
- Pay the fees ($200 (nonrefundable application fee per the License by Credentials instructions (form 08-4911, rev. 2026-08-21); the $270 initial license fee is also due with the application ($470 total). Name-based criminal-record report fees are paid to the Alaska Department of Public Safety and the home-state agency. No fingerprint check is required. Alaska is not a Counseling Compact state, so it has no privilege fee.)) and allow the Division says only that 'the average processing time varies by program' and that applications are reviewed in order of receipt; no numeric timeframe is published.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Alaska accept a New York counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New York to Alaska by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Alaska Board of Professional Counselors (Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing), Licensed Professional Counselor, verify your New York license, and meet Alaska's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. For licensure by credentials, the Board checks that the applicant's licensing state requires a nationally recognized counselor exam; the Alaska exam rule (12 AAC 62.110) accepts the NCE or NCMHCE. No NBCC score transfer is listed among the required credentials documents. No state jurisprudence exam; the applicant certifies having reviewed AS 08.29 and 12 AAC 62..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from New York to Alaska?
National exam is not retaken. For licensure by credentials, the Board checks that the applicant's licensing state requires a nationally recognized counselor exam; the Alaska exam rule (12 AAC 62.110) accepts the NCE or NCMHCE. No NBCC score transfer is listed among the required credentials documents. No state jurisprudence exam; the applicant certifies having reviewed AS 08.29 and 12 AAC 62.
What does the move cost?
$200 (nonrefundable application fee per the License by Credentials instructions (form 08-4911, rev. 2026-08-21); the $270 initial license fee is also due with the application ($470 total). Name-based criminal-record report fees are paid to the Alaska Department of Public Safety and the home-state agency. No fingerprint check is required. Alaska is not a Counseling Compact state, so it has no privilege fee.)
How long will it take?
the Division says only that 'the average processing time varies by program' and that applications are reviewed in order of receipt; no numeric timeframe is published.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Alaska Board of Professional Counselors: License by Credentials application and instructions (form 08-4911, rev. 2026-08-21; fees, eligibility screen, background report) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Alaska Professional Counselors Statutes and Regulations compilation, August 2026 (AS 08.29.110, 08.29.120; 12 AAC 62.110, 62.130, 62.135) ↗ (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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