Counseling License from New York to Colorado: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Colorado State Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners, Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from New York to Colorado by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Colorado State Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners, Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your New York license, and meet Colorado's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken or score-verified: an endorsement applicant attests to having passed an examination that tested competence to practice professional counseling, including psychotherapy (Rule 1.12). The NCE is the named exam only for Colorado's by-examination route. Every applicant must also pass the Colorado Mental Health Professions Jurisprudence Examination (online via Prometric), and results are valid for only one year before application..
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Verdict
Licensure 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. The route is endorsement through the Colorado State Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners, Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC): your New York license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Colorado's own exam rule, and Colorado applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Colorado tier corresponds to your New York license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, New York → Colorado
| New York (current) | Colorado (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.) | the DPO does not publish the LPC endorsement application fee on its public pages; fees are shown only at checkout in DPO Online Services. Jurisprudence exam fee is paid to Prometric; fingerprinting fee (if required) is paid to the IdentoGO / American BioIdentity vendor. |
| Processing time | NYSED publishes no processing timeframe for LMHC endorsement applications | the DPO states applications are reviewed 'on a case by case basis' and publishes no timeframe; status is tracked in DPO Online Services |
| Licensing authority | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Mental Health Practitioners) (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) | Colorado State Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners, Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Colorado sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Colorado's current requirements on the Colorado State Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners, Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Colorado State Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners, Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, unrestricted license in good standing to practice professional counseling in another U.S. state or territory.
- Either show a master's or doctoral degree in professional counseling (or equivalent) plus a passed competency exam and 2 years post-master's supervised practice or 2 years active practice, OR show at least 1 year of licensure in a jurisdiction with a substantially similar scope of practice.
- Pass the Colorado Mental Health Professions Jurisprudence Examination within 12 months before applying.
- Submit license verification from every jurisdiction ever licensed, showing original issue date, expiration and disciplinary history.
- Be at least 21 years old and disclose any discipline, malpractice claims, injunctions and convictions.
- Pay the fees (the DPO does not publish the LPC endorsement application fee on its public pages; fees are shown only at checkout in DPO Online Services. Jurisprudence exam fee is paid to Prometric; fingerprinting fee (if required) is paid to the IdentoGO / American BioIdentity vendor.) and allow the DPO states applications are reviewed 'on a case by case basis' and publishes no timeframe; status is tracked in DPO Online Services.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Colorado accept a New York counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New York to Colorado by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Colorado State Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners, Division of Professions and Occupations (DORA), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your New York license, and meet Colorado's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken or score-verified: an endorsement applicant attests to having passed an examination that tested competence to practice professional counseling, including psychotherapy (Rule 1.12). The NCE is the named exam only for Colorado's by-examination route. Every applicant must also pass the Colorado Mental Health Professions Jurisprudence Examination (online via Prometric), and results are valid for only one year before application..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from New York to Colorado?
National exam is not retaken or score-verified: an endorsement applicant attests to having passed an examination that tested competence to practice professional counseling, including psychotherapy (Rule 1.12). The NCE is the named exam only for Colorado's by-examination route. Every applicant must also pass the Colorado Mental Health Professions Jurisprudence Examination (online via Prometric), and results are valid for only one year before application.
What does the move cost?
the DPO does not publish the LPC endorsement application fee on its public pages; fees are shown only at checkout in DPO Online Services. Jurisprudence exam fee is paid to Prometric; fingerprinting fee (if required) is paid to the IdentoGO / American BioIdentity vendor.
How long will it take?
the DPO states applications are reviewed 'on a case by case basis' and publishes no timeframe; status is tracked in DPO Online Services.
Colorado joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Colorado had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Colorado takes Colorado's own authorization, normally a Colorado license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Colorado DPO: Professional Counselor Applications and Forms (LPC by Examination, Endorsement or Telehealth) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Colorado DPO: LPC Initial Application Preview (endorsement questions) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 4 CCR 737-1, Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners Rules, Rule 1.12 Occupational Credential Portability Program (version eff. 2025-09-14) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Colorado DPO: Mental Health FAQ (no reciprocity; endorsement; processing) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Colorado DPO: Professional Counselor homepage (Counseling Compact notice) ↗ (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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