Counseling License from New York to Utah: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling ↗
A counseling license transfers from New York to Utah by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling, verify your New York license, and meet Utah's endorsement requirements. No exam retake for a counselor with at least one year of active licensure from a jurisdiction DOPL designates as equivalent (Option 1), although DOPL may require transcripts and/or exam scores to show equivalency, and applicants from some jurisdictions must document a passed NCMHCE. Option 2 (4,000 hours of active licensure as a CMHC in any U.S. jurisdiction) lists no exam documentation. Utah-trained CMHC applicants must pass both the NCE and NCMHCE. No state law exam appears on the application..
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Verdict
Licensure 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. The route is endorsement through the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling: your New York license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Utah's own exam rule, and Utah applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Utah tier corresponds to your New York license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, New York → Utah
| New York (current) | Utah (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.) | $152 (non-refundable application processing fee per DOPL's Clinical Mental Health Counselor Initial/Endorsement Application (form v20251211); fingerprint processing paid separately. Read from an Internet Archive copy (2026-05-26) because DOPL's live site returned Cloudflare 403 on 2026-09-27. Utah is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.) |
| Processing time | NYSED publishes no processing timeframe for LMHC endorsement applications | no processing timeframe found on the DOPL pages that could be read |
| Licensing authority | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Mental Health Practitioners) (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) | Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Utah sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Utah's current requirements on the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Option 1: at least one year of active licensure in good standing from a jurisdiction DOPL designates as equivalent, with official verification (plus transcripts and/or exam scores if DOPL requires them to show equivalency).
- Option 2: 4,000 hours of active licensure as a clinical mental health counselor in any U.S. jurisdiction, documented on DOPL's Verification of Active Practice form (one per employer) with license verifications covering that period.
- Complete fingerprints at an approved vendor (or mail cards to DOPL).
- Answer the qualifying questionnaires and supply documentation for any 'yes' answer.
- Pay the fees ($152 (non-refundable application processing fee per DOPL's Clinical Mental Health Counselor Initial/Endorsement Application (form v20251211); fingerprint processing paid separately. Read from an Internet Archive copy (2026-05-26) because DOPL's live site returned Cloudflare 403 on 2026-09-27. Utah is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow no processing timeframe found on the DOPL pages that could be read.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Utah accept a New York counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New York to Utah by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), Clinical Mental Health Counseling, verify your New York license, and meet Utah's endorsement requirements. No exam retake for a counselor with at least one year of active licensure from a jurisdiction DOPL designates as equivalent (Option 1), although DOPL may require transcripts and/or exam scores to show equivalency, and applicants from some jurisdictions must document a passed NCMHCE. Option 2 (4,000 hours of active licensure as a CMHC in any U.S. jurisdiction) lists no exam documentation. Utah-trained CMHC applicants must pass both the NCE and NCMHCE. No state law exam appears on the application..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from New York to Utah?
No exam retake for a counselor with at least one year of active licensure from a jurisdiction DOPL designates as equivalent (Option 1), although DOPL may require transcripts and/or exam scores to show equivalency, and applicants from some jurisdictions must document a passed NCMHCE. Option 2 (4,000 hours of active licensure as a CMHC in any U.S. jurisdiction) lists no exam documentation. Utah-trained CMHC applicants must pass both the NCE and NCMHCE. No state law exam appears on the application.
What does the move cost?
$152 (non-refundable application processing fee per DOPL's Clinical Mental Health Counselor Initial/Endorsement Application (form v20251211); fingerprint processing paid separately. Read from an Internet Archive copy (2026-05-26) because DOPL's live site returned Cloudflare 403 on 2026-09-27. Utah is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
no processing timeframe found on the DOPL pages that could be read.
Utah joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Utah had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Utah takes Utah's own authorization, normally an Utah license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- DOPL: Clinical Mental Health Counselor Initial Licensure / Endorsement Application, form v20251211 ($152 fee, fingerprints, endorsement Options 1 and 2; Internet Archive copy, 2026-05-26 snapshot; live site returned 403) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- DOPL: Apply for a Clinical Mental Health Counselor License (Internet Archive copy, 2026-03-10 snapshot) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- DOPL: Endorsement to Utah, Clinical Mental Health Counselor (jurisdiction chart last updated 2021-02-23; Internet Archive copy, 2026-05-26 snapshot) ↗ (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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