Counseling License from New York to New Jersey: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from New York to New Jersey by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC), verify your New York license, and meet New Jersey's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. The Committee's LPC exam is the NCE, and NBCC/CCE can release scores to the state portal. The out-of-state route requires that the other state's exam requirements be substantially equivalent (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5). No New Jersey jurisprudence exam appears in the Committee's application materials..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from New York to New Jersey 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. You apply to the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC), which verifies your New York license and standing, matches it to New Jersey's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any New Jersey jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, New York → New Jersey
| New York (current) | New Jersey (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.) | $75 (nonrefundable application fee per the Committee's application form and Application Process Overview; criminal history check fee separate ($18.75 for applicants already fingerprinted for a DCA board, per the paper form rev. 1/2/19); initial LPC license fee not verified on an official page) |
| Processing time | NYSED publishes no processing timeframe for LMHC endorsement applications | the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications |
| Licensing authority | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Mental Health Practitioners) (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) | New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — New Jersey sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm New Jersey's current requirements on the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a valid, current professional counselor license in good standing in another state whose education, training and exam requirements are substantially equivalent to New Jersey's (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5).
- Have practiced professional counseling within the five years before applying.
- Have the other state's licensing board send license verification directly to the Committee.
- Have official graduate transcripts sent directly from the college or university.
- Complete the Division of Consumer Affairs criminal history background check (fingerprinting).
- Pay the fees ($75 (nonrefundable application fee per the Committee's application form and Application Process Overview; criminal history check fee separate ($18.75 for applicants already fingerprinted for a DCA board, per the paper form rev. 1/2/19); initial LPC license fee not verified on an official page)) and allow the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does New Jersey accept a New York counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New York to New Jersey by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC), verify your New York license, and meet New Jersey's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. The Committee's LPC exam is the NCE, and NBCC/CCE can release scores to the state portal. The out-of-state route requires that the other state's exam requirements be substantially equivalent (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5). No New Jersey jurisprudence exam appears in the Committee's application materials..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from New York to New Jersey?
National exam is not retaken. The Committee's LPC exam is the NCE, and NBCC/CCE can release scores to the state portal. The out-of-state route requires that the other state's exam requirements be substantially equivalent (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5). No New Jersey jurisprudence exam appears in the Committee's application materials.
What does the move cost?
$75 (nonrefundable application fee per the Committee's application form and Application Process Overview; criminal history check fee separate ($18.75 for applicants already fingerprinted for a DCA board, per the paper form rev. 1/2/19); initial LPC license fee not verified on an official page)
How long will it take?
the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.
New Jersey joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. New Jersey had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in New Jersey takes New Jersey's own authorization, normally a New Jersey license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- NJ Professional Counselor Examiners Committee: Application for Licensure (Licensure by Reciprocity option, $75 fee, NCE, background check) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NJ Professional Counselor Examiners Committee: Application Process Overview (LPC via N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5, $75 fee) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NJ Division of Consumer Affairs: Uniform Enforcement Act compilation (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NJ Professional Counselor Examiners Committee home page (Internet Archive capture 2026-09-05) ↗ (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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