Counseling License from New York to Tennessee: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Tennessee accept a New York counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New York to Tennessee by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists, verify your New York license, and meet Tennessee's endorsement requirements. National exams are not retaken on the reciprocity route: the reciprocity rule (0450-01-.04(5)) and the Board's 2019 reciprocity policy require only the Tennessee Jurisprudence Exam, whose results are sent to the Board by NBCC. Exam-route applicants must pass the NCE and NCMHCE.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Tennessee 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 Tennessee license and live in Tennessee, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. The route is endorsement through the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists: your New York license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Tennessee's own exam rule, and Tennessee applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Tennessee tier corresponds to your New York license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What's different between New York and Tennessee
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Tennessee. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
New York to Tennessee (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Tennessee to New York (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from New York matter?
New York gets Tennessee's most common result: 38 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get the same one, so for most movers the origin does not change the answer.
The others get: compact privilege — work there without a second license (10) and reciprocity agreement (2).
- Reciprocity agreements
Tennessee's reciprocity agreement list names 2 states (Kentucky and North Carolina), not including New York.
New York's row names no reciprocity agreement states.
- Counseling Compact membership
New York is not in the Counseling Compact; Tennessee is a Counseling Compact member state.
Because they are not both active members, the Counseling Compact does not cover this move.
- Application fee
Tennessee lists $200 for an out-of-state applicant and New York lists $371 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Exam rules on record
Tennessee and New York carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Tennessee (this move): National exams are not retaken on the reciprocity route: the reciprocity rule (0450-01-.04(5)) and the Board's 2019 reciprocity policy require only the Tennessee Jurisprudence Exam, whose results are sent to the Board by NBCC. Exam-route applicants must pass the NCE and NCMHCE.
- New York (the reverse move): NCMHCE only: the endorsement applicant has NBCC send passing NCMHCE scores directly to NYSED; the NCE is not acceptable. An exam passed elsewhere under non-standard conditions may have to be retaken. No New York jurisprudence exam.
What changes, New York → Tennessee
| New York (current) | Tennessee (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Licensure by endorsement | Reciprocity with 2 states · Counseling Compact privilege (not a license) |
| 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.) | $200 (LPC/MHSP application fee per Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0450-01-.06(4)(c) and the application checklist; + $10 state regulatory fee ($210 total at application); background-check vendor fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Tennessee's total privilege cost is $210 including the $30 commission fee, and it requires a jurisprudence exam, per the commission's fee table).) |
| Processing time | NYSED publishes no processing timeframe for LMHC endorsement applications | no timeframe published; files completed at least 30 days before a Board meeting are ordinarily processed at that meeting (0450-01-.05(5)(c)), and the application asks applicants to allow 14 working days for mailed documents to be filed |
| Licensing authority | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Mental Health Practitioners) (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) | Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Tennessee sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Tennessee's current requirements on the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Tennessee Board for Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marital and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Pastoral Therapists (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold the highest-level independent counselor license (LPC/MHSP or equivalent) in another jurisdiction, active for at least 3 of the 5 years before applying and not encumbered (2019 Board policy); under the named KY agreement, 5 years' experience as an LPCC or LPC/MHSP.
- Pass the Tennessee Jurisprudence Examination.
- Submit verification from every state where ever licensed, sent directly to the Board, plus a copy of the other state's licensing law and rules in effect when licensed.
- Submit two letters of recommendation from licensed mental health professionals, a certified birth certificate, a notarized Declaration of Citizenship and a passport-style photo.
- Complete a criminal background check through the Board's vendor.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Will a Tennessee license get me into other compact states?
Yes, once Tennessee is your home state. Tennessee is operational, so an active, unencumbered Tennessee 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 2026-10-29.
- Tennessee Board: Policy Statement Regarding Licensure by Reciprocity (adopted 2019-12-06, amended 2020-01-03) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Tennessee Board: LPC application packet PH-2722 (file revised 8/2023; LPC/MHSP by reciprocity checklist, fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Rules of the Tennessee Board for Professional Counselors ch. 0450-01 (April 2020 revision; 0450-01-.04(5), .05(5), .06) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Tennessee Board page: policies list incl. TN/NC and TN/KY reciprocity agreements, Counseling Compact status (privilege applications accepted from 2026-09-01) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Tennessee Board: Reciprocity Agreement between Tennessee and North Carolina ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NYSED Office of the Professions: Mental Health Counseling License Requirements (licensure by endorsement, NCMHCE only, $371 fee) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NYSED: Form 4E Endorsement Applicant Experience Record ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NYSED: Commissioner's Regulations Subpart 79-9 (79-9.7 licensure by endorsement; diagnostic privilege) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-10-29
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