Counseling License from New York to Idaho: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from New York to Idaho by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), verify your New York license, and meet Idaho's endorsement requirements. The national exam is not retaken when the applicant already passed it. Idaho requires the NCMHCE (NBCC) for the LCPC under IDAPA 24.15.01.100.02.b, and scores are sent to the Board by NBCC. Idaho Code 67-9409(4) lets the Board require all or part of its exam only where needed to show competence, and it bars a jurisprudence exam for universal-licensure applicants. The Board publishes no jurisprudence exam or exam-age limit for counselors..
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Neither New York nor Idaho is operational in the Counseling Compact, so it plays no part in this move. The route is endorsement through the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC): your New York license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Idaho's own exam rule, and Idaho applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Idaho tier corresponds to your New York license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, New York → Idaho
| New York (current) | Idaho (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.) | $300 (LPC and LCPC 'Initial Application' fee as published on the Board's fee table (Internet Archive capture of dopl.idaho.gov/cou/, 2026-09-14). CONFLICT: the current rule IDAPA 24.15.01.400 lists a $100 application fee plus a $100 license fee ($200), and so did the Board's older endorsement form. The live Board site was unreachable, so the $300 figure could not be confirmed live. Fingerprint background-check fee and NBCC score-report fee are separate. Idaho is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.) |
| Processing time | NYSED publishes no processing timeframe for LMHC endorsement applications | no processing timeframe found on the Board page or in the rules; dopl.idaho.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27, so only archived copies could be read |
| Licensing authority | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Mental Health Practitioners) (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) | Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Idaho sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Idaho's current requirements on the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold current, valid and unrestricted counselor licensure at the independent (LCPC-equivalent) level in another U.S. state, district or territory.
- Submit certification of licensure sent directly from every state where you hold or have held a license.
- Have NBCC send national exam results (NCMHCE for the LCPC) directly to the Board.
- Complete a fingerprint-based criminal history background check (Idaho Code 54-3405 and 67-9411A).
- Submit the application with fees through DOPL (notarized affidavit on the paper form).
- Pay the fees ($300 (LPC and LCPC 'Initial Application' fee as published on the Board's fee table (Internet Archive capture of dopl.idaho.gov/cou/, 2026-09-14). CONFLICT: the current rule IDAPA 24.15.01.400 lists a $100 application fee plus a $100 license fee ($200), and so did the Board's older endorsement form. The live Board site was unreachable, so the $300 figure could not be confirmed live. Fingerprint background-check fee and NBCC score-report fee are separate. Idaho is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)) and allow no processing timeframe found on the Board page or in the rules; dopl.idaho.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27, so only archived copies could be read.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Idaho accept a New York counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New York to Idaho by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), verify your New York license, and meet Idaho's endorsement requirements. The national exam is not retaken when the applicant already passed it. Idaho requires the NCMHCE (NBCC) for the LCPC under IDAPA 24.15.01.100.02.b, and scores are sent to the Board by NBCC. Idaho Code 67-9409(4) lets the Board require all or part of its exam only where needed to show competence, and it bars a jurisprudence exam for universal-licensure applicants. The Board publishes no jurisprudence exam or exam-age limit for counselors..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from New York to Idaho?
The national exam is not retaken when the applicant already passed it. Idaho requires the NCMHCE (NBCC) for the LCPC under IDAPA 24.15.01.100.02.b, and scores are sent to the Board by NBCC. Idaho Code 67-9409(4) lets the Board require all or part of its exam only where needed to show competence, and it bars a jurisprudence exam for universal-licensure applicants. The Board publishes no jurisprudence exam or exam-age limit for counselors.
What does the move cost?
$300 (LPC and LCPC 'Initial Application' fee as published on the Board's fee table (Internet Archive capture of dopl.idaho.gov/cou/, 2026-09-14). CONFLICT: the current rule IDAPA 24.15.01.400 lists a $100 application fee plus a $100 license fee ($200), and so did the Board's older endorsement form. The live Board site was unreachable, so the $300 figure could not be confirmed live. Fingerprint background-check fee and NBCC score-report fee are separate. Idaho is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)
How long will it take?
no processing timeframe found on the Board page or in the rules; dopl.idaho.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27, so only archived copies could be read.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Idaho DOPL: Board of Professional Counselors and MFTs home (fee table, exam info, FAQ); Internet Archive capture 2026-09-14 of the official page ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- IDAPA 24.15.01 Rules of the Idaho Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and MFTs (100.02 LCPC exam; 400 fees), official state rules file ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Idaho Code Title 67 Chapter 94 incl. 67-9409 Universal Licensure (Idaho Legislature PDF; Internet Archive capture 2025-05-25) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Idaho Code 54-3405 Qualifications for licensure (fingerprint check); Internet Archive capture 2026-03-24 of the Idaho Legislature page ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Idaho DOPL: Application for License by Endorsement (counselors, rev. 7/2021); Internet Archive capture 2024-07-15 ↗ (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]