Counseling License from New York to Illinois: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from New York to Illinois by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), verify your New York license, and meet Illinois's endorsement requirements. National exams are not retaken but must be complete. The Illinois LCPC requires either the CRCE (CRCC) or BOTH the NCE and the NCMHCE (NBCC). An endorsement applicant who passed only one of the NCE/NCMHCE must pass the other as part of the Illinois process. Official score reports must be sent directly to IDFPR. No state jurisprudence exam is required..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from New York to Illinois by endorsement. Neither New York nor Illinois is operational in the Counseling Compact, so it plays no part in this move. You apply to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), which verifies your New York license and standing, matches it to Illinois's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Illinois jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, New York → Illinois
| New York (current) | Illinois (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.) | $150 (LCPC application fee (all methods, incl. endorsement) per 68 IAC 1375.205(a)(1) and the IDFPR LPC/LCPC instruction packet; nonrefundable. No separate license-issuance fee listed. Other-state certification fees are charged by those boards. Illinois is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.) |
| Processing time | NYSED publishes no processing timeframe for LMHC endorsement applications | IDFPR publishes no processing timeframe. The instruction packet only says to allow 6 weeks from mailing before asking about status. Applications are valid for 3 years. |
| Licensing authority | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Mental Health Practitioners) (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Illinois sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Illinois's current requirements on the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an ACTIVE LPC/LCPC or equivalent counselor license in another U.S. state or jurisdiction.
- Have Certification of Licensure sent directly from your original licensing state and the state where you most recently practiced.
- Have official score reports for the CRCE, or for both the NCE and the NCMHCE, sent directly to IDFPR.
- Document the graduate counseling degree (ED-PC form) and 2 years of post-degree supervised experience (VE-LCPC form), unless licensed at the independent level for 5 consecutive years without discipline.
- Complete the Personal History Questions (PHQ) form.
- Pay the fees ($150 (LCPC application fee (all methods, incl. endorsement) per 68 IAC 1375.205(a)(1) and the IDFPR LPC/LCPC instruction packet; nonrefundable. No separate license-issuance fee listed. Other-state certification fees are charged by those boards. Illinois is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)) and allow IDFPR publishes no processing timeframe. The instruction packet only says to allow 6 weeks from mailing before asking about status. Applications are valid for 3 years..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Illinois accept a New York counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New York to Illinois by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), verify your New York license, and meet Illinois's endorsement requirements. National exams are not retaken but must be complete. The Illinois LCPC requires either the CRCE (CRCC) or BOTH the NCE and the NCMHCE (NBCC). An endorsement applicant who passed only one of the NCE/NCMHCE must pass the other as part of the Illinois process. Official score reports must be sent directly to IDFPR. No state jurisprudence exam is required..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from New York to Illinois?
National exams are not retaken but must be complete. The Illinois LCPC requires either the CRCE (CRCC) or BOTH the NCE and the NCMHCE (NBCC). An endorsement applicant who passed only one of the NCE/NCMHCE must pass the other as part of the Illinois process. Official score reports must be sent directly to IDFPR. No state jurisprudence exam is required.
What does the move cost?
$150 (LCPC application fee (all methods, incl. endorsement) per 68 IAC 1375.205(a)(1) and the IDFPR LPC/LCPC instruction packet; nonrefundable. No separate license-issuance fee listed. Other-state certification fees are charged by those boards. Illinois is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)
How long will it take?
IDFPR publishes no processing timeframe. The instruction packet only says to allow 6 weeks from mailing before asking about status. Applications are valid for 3 years.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- IDFPR: Professional Counselor (license types, CORE online applications) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- IDFPR: LPC/LCPC application instruction sheet (Examination, Acceptance of Examination, Endorsement; packet updated 8/1/24) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 68 IAC 1375.160 Licensure by Endorsement as a Clinical Professional Counselor (ILGA JCAR; Internet Archive capture 2025-03-30) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 68 IAC 1375.205 Fees (ILGA JCAR; Internet Archive capture 2025-03-26) ↗ (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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