Counseling License from New York to Massachusetts: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from New York to Massachusetts by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC), verify your New York license, and meet Massachusetts's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken, but the NCMHCE is the only exam accepted ('no other exam will be accepted'); an NCE-only licensee does not qualify. The applicant must show an NCMHCE pass either as part of the original license requirements or within the previous five years (262 CMR 2.03(2)(c)), with an official NBCC score report. No Massachusetts jurisprudence exam..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from New York to Massachusetts by endorsement. Neither New York nor Massachusetts is operational in the Counseling Compact, so it plays no part in this move. You apply to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC), which verifies your New York license and standing, matches it to Massachusetts's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Massachusetts jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, New York → Massachusetts
| New York (current) | Massachusetts (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.) | $117 (non-refundable LMHC application fee paid online (LMHC Application Guide); + $155 license fee paid after staff find the application complete and eligible. Massachusetts has not enacted the Counseling Compact.) |
| Processing time | NYSED publishes no processing timeframe for LMHC endorsement applications | no processing timeframe published; if the application is incomplete, staff re-review it 30 days after notifying the applicant and close it if still incomplete |
| Licensing authority | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Mental Health Practitioners) (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) | Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Massachusetts sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Massachusetts's current requirements on the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an independent-level (unsupervised) mental health counselor license or equivalent in another state, in good standing, whose standards are substantially equivalent to or exceed Massachusetts'.
- Show at least 3 years of continuous full-time (or part-time equivalent) licensed practice in the issuing state.
- Show a passing NCMHCE score via an official NBCC score report.
- Have a final graduate transcript sent showing 60 semester (80 quarter) credits and the required coursework.
- Have official license verification sent from every jurisdiction where you hold or held a license.
- Submit a signed, notarized CORI form and complete Board-approved domestic and sexual violence training.
- Pay the fees ($117 (non-refundable LMHC application fee paid online (LMHC Application Guide); + $155 license fee paid after staff find the application complete and eligible. Massachusetts has not enacted the Counseling Compact.)) and allow no processing timeframe published; if the application is incomplete, staff re-review it 30 days after notifying the applicant and close it if still incomplete.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Massachusetts accept a New York counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New York to Massachusetts by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC), verify your New York license, and meet Massachusetts's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken, but the NCMHCE is the only exam accepted ('no other exam will be accepted'); an NCE-only licensee does not qualify. The applicant must show an NCMHCE pass either as part of the original license requirements or within the previous five years (262 CMR 2.03(2)(c)), with an official NBCC score report. No Massachusetts jurisprudence exam..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from New York to Massachusetts?
National exam is not retaken, but the NCMHCE is the only exam accepted ('no other exam will be accepted'); an NCE-only licensee does not qualify. The applicant must show an NCMHCE pass either as part of the original license requirements or within the previous five years (262 CMR 2.03(2)(c)), with an official NBCC score report. No Massachusetts jurisprudence exam.
What does the move cost?
$117 (non-refundable LMHC application fee paid online (LMHC Application Guide); + $155 license fee paid after staff find the application complete and eligible. Massachusetts has not enacted the Counseling Compact.)
How long will it take?
no processing timeframe published; if the application is incomplete, staff re-review it 30 days after notifying the applicant and close it if still incomplete.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- 262 CMR 2.00 Requirements for licensure as a mental health counselor (reciprocal recognition, 2.03(2); Internet Archive capture of the official mass.gov PDF) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Mass. Board: Licensed Mental Health Counselor Application Guide ($117 application, $155 license, reciprocal recognition; Internet Archive capture 2026-01-16) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Mass. DPH: Am I Eligible for MA LMHC? Triage and application instructions, Nov 2024 (reciprocity requirements; Internet Archive capture 2026-02-13) ↗ (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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