Counseling License from New York to Louisiana: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from New York to Louisiana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC), verify your New York license, and meet Louisiana's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. Endorsement applicants show passage of the NCE or NCMHCE with an official score report sent directly from NBCC; under amended LAC 46:LX.1101(A) (Notice of Intent, Sept. 2024) an applicant with at least 1 year of practice may instead complete an oral exam administered by the Board. No state jurisprudence exam is listed for endorsement; applicants submit a Declaration of Practices and Procedures instead..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Louisiana is operational in the Counseling Compact, but New York is not, so there is no home-state license here to anchor a privilege. Once you hold a Louisiana license and live in Louisiana, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. The route is endorsement through the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC): your New York license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Louisiana's own exam rule, and Louisiana applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Louisiana tier corresponds to your New York license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, New York → Louisiana
| New York (current) | Louisiana (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Counseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice |
| 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 (non-refundable out-of-state licensure application, license and seal fee (Board fee schedule item 2; also stated on the LPC endorsement application); optional $60 expedited processing; fingerprint background check costs separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee: Louisiana charges $130 + $30 commission fee = $160 total, no jurisprudence exam.) |
| Processing time | NYSED publishes no processing timeframe for LMHC endorsement applications | 6–8 weeks (Board states 'allow 2-3 weeks for milestones to be updated and at least 6-8 weeks for application approval once the application is completed'; expedited processing ($60) gets a staff response within 5 business days, but files referred for Board review wait for the next meeting) |
| Licensing authority | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Mental Health Practitioners) (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) | Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Louisiana sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Louisiana's current requirements on the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, active LPC license in good standing in another jurisdiction, verified by each licensing board on the Board's License Verification Form.
- Submit an official NBCC score report for the NCE or NCMHCE (or, on the 1-year route, complete the Board's oral exam).
- Show at least 1 year of full, active LPC licensure (LAC 46:LX.1101 as amended under Act 253 of 2024); applicants licensed under 1 year must come from a jurisdiction with substantially equivalent academic and supervision requirements.
- Provide a colleague or supervisor letter verifying active practice and document 40 continuing education hours per Chapter 7 of the Board Rules.
- Complete a state and federal fingerprint background check within 60 days of application.
- Submit a Declaration of Practices and Procedures and a current photograph.
- Pay the fees ($300 (non-refundable out-of-state licensure application, license and seal fee (Board fee schedule item 2; also stated on the LPC endorsement application); optional $60 expedited processing; fingerprint background check costs separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee: Louisiana charges $130 + $30 commission fee = $160 total, no jurisprudence exam.)) and allow 6–8 weeks (Board states 'allow 2-3 weeks for milestones to be updated and at least 6-8 weeks for application approval once the application is completed'; expedited processing ($60) gets a staff response within 5 business days, but files referred for Board review wait for the next meeting).
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Louisiana accept a New York counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New York to Louisiana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC), verify your New York license, and meet Louisiana's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. Endorsement applicants show passage of the NCE or NCMHCE with an official score report sent directly from NBCC; under amended LAC 46:LX.1101(A) (Notice of Intent, Sept. 2024) an applicant with at least 1 year of practice may instead complete an oral exam administered by the Board. No state jurisprudence exam is listed for endorsement; applicants submit a Declaration of Practices and Procedures instead..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from New York to Louisiana?
National exam is not retaken. Endorsement applicants show passage of the NCE or NCMHCE with an official score report sent directly from NBCC; under amended LAC 46:LX.1101(A) (Notice of Intent, Sept. 2024) an applicant with at least 1 year of practice may instead complete an oral exam administered by the Board. No state jurisprudence exam is listed for endorsement; applicants submit a Declaration of Practices and Procedures instead.
What does the move cost?
$300 (non-refundable out-of-state licensure application, license and seal fee (Board fee schedule item 2; also stated on the LPC endorsement application); optional $60 expedited processing; fingerprint background check costs separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee: Louisiana charges $130 + $30 commission fee = $160 total, no jurisprudence exam.)
How long will it take?
6–8 weeks (Board states 'allow 2-3 weeks for milestones to be updated and at least 6-8 weeks for application approval once the application is completed'; expedited processing ($60) gets a staff response within 5 business days, but files referred for Board review wait for the next meeting)
Will a Louisiana license get me into other compact states?
Yes, once Louisiana is your home state. Louisiana is operational, so an active, unencumbered Louisiana license held while you live there can anchor privileges into the other operational states through CompactConnect.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Louisiana LPC Board: Application Information (endorsement applications, background checks, 6-8 week processing; Internet Archive capture 2026-02-19) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana LPC Board: Application for Licensure by Endorsement as LPC ($300, NCE/NCMHCE, 5-year practice rule; Internet Archive capture 2026-06-16) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana LPC Board: Fee Schedule (Internet Archive capture 2026-04-14) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana LPC Board: FAQ (LPC by endorsement, 40 CE hours; Internet Archive capture 2026-05-19) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana Register Notice of Intent: LAC 46:LX.1101 Endorsement (Act 253 of 2024) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements (Louisiana $160 total) ↗ (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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