Counseling License from New York to Florida: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from New York to Florida by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), verify your New York license, and meet Florida's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the Board's LMHC page names the NCMHCE (NBCC) as the accepted exam, and an out-of-state applicant has NBCC send an official score report directly to the Board. Section 456.0145 accepts 'a passing score on a national licensure examination or ... a national certification recognized by the board'; the Board does not state whether an NCE-only licensee qualifies. No separate jurisprudence exam, but an 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course is required before licensure..
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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 Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC): your New York license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Florida's own exam rule, and Florida applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Florida tier corresponds to your New York license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, New York → Florida
| New York (current) | Florida (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.) | $100 ($100 non-refundable application fee; the endorsement application also collects a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048. Livescan fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. Florida is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.) |
| Processing time | NYSED publishes no processing timeframe for LMHC endorsement applications | the Board states only that Florida law requires an initial application to be reviewed within 30 days and that a license issues within 7 days after all documentation is received (s. 456.0145(2)(e)); no end-to-end processing range is published |
| Licensing authority | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Mental Health Practitioners) (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) | Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Florida sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Florida's current requirements on the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an active, unencumbered mental health counseling license (similar scope of practice) in another state, DC or US territory.
- Have actively practiced for at least 2 of the 4 years immediately before applying, with no disciplinary action in the past 5 years and no pending disciplinary proceeding.
- Have NBCC send an official passing national exam score (NCMHCE) directly to the Board.
- Complete a Board-approved 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course and a 3-hour HIV/AIDS course (or file the HIV/AIDS affidavit).
- Complete a Board-approved 2-hour domestic violence course within six months after licensure.
- Submit electronic Livescan fingerprints through an FDLE-approved vendor for background screening.
- Pay the fees ($100 ($100 non-refundable application fee; the endorsement application also collects a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048. Livescan fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. Florida is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.)) and allow the Board states only that Florida law requires an initial application to be reviewed within 30 days and that a license issues within 7 days after all documentation is received (s. 456.0145(2)(e)); no end-to-end processing range is published.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Florida accept a New York counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New York to Florida by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), verify your New York license, and meet Florida's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the Board's LMHC page names the NCMHCE (NBCC) as the accepted exam, and an out-of-state applicant has NBCC send an official score report directly to the Board. Section 456.0145 accepts 'a passing score on a national licensure examination or ... a national certification recognized by the board'; the Board does not state whether an NCE-only licensee qualifies. No separate jurisprudence exam, but an 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course is required before licensure..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from New York to Florida?
National exam is not retaken: the Board's LMHC page names the NCMHCE (NBCC) as the accepted exam, and an out-of-state applicant has NBCC send an official score report directly to the Board. Section 456.0145 accepts 'a passing score on a national licensure examination or ... a national certification recognized by the board'; the Board does not state whether an NCE-only licensee qualifies. No separate jurisprudence exam, but an 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course is required before licensure.
What does the move cost?
$100 ($100 non-refundable application fee; the endorsement application also collects a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048. Livescan fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. Florida is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.)
How long will it take?
the Board states only that Florida law requires an initial application to be reviewed within 30 days and that a license issues within 7 days after all documentation is received (s. 456.0145(2)(e)); no end-to-end processing range is published.
Florida joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Florida had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Florida takes Florida's own authorization, normally a Florida license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Florida 491 Board: Licensed Mental Health Counselor (License by MOBILE Endorsement requirements, courses, fees, processing) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida 491 Board: Application for Licensure by Endorsement, DH-MQA 5048 (rev. 2/2024; fee breakdown, course and score-report instructions) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida Statutes s. 491.006 Licensure or certification by endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida Statutes s. 456.0145 MOBILE Act licensure by endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (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
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]