Counseling License from New York to Virginia: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions) ↗
A counseling license transfers from New York to Virginia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions), verify your New York license, and meet Virginia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: 18VAC115-20-45 requires verification of a passing score on the exam required for counseling licensure in the jurisdiction where the applicant was licensed. No separate Virginia jurisprudence exam is listed for endorsement..
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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 Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions): your New York license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Virginia's own exam rule, and Virginia applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Virginia tier corresponds to your New York license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, New York → Virginia
| New York (current) | Virginia (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.) | $175 (LPC 'Initial licensure by endorsement: application processing and initial licensure' fee per 18VAC115-20-20 (re-read 2026-09-27) and the Board's endorsement page; all fees nonrefundable. Virginia is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.) |
| Processing time | NYSED publishes no processing timeframe for LMHC endorsement applications | 6–9 weeks (board-stated '45 to 60 days from complete application' for Board approval, converted to weeks) |
| Licensing authority | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions (State Board for Mental Health Practitioners) (Licensed Mental Health Counselor, LMHC) | Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Virginia sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Virginia's current requirements on the Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold or have held a professional counselor license in another U.S. jurisdiction that allows independent assessment, diagnosis and treatment of behavioral health conditions, with no unresolved action against any license.
- Verify all mental health or health professional licenses, certificates or registrations ever held.
- Submit verification of a passing score on the exam required for counseling licensure in the jurisdiction where you were licensed.
- Submit a current National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) self-query report.
- Submit an official transcript documenting completion of a graduate degree program.
- Pay the fees ($175 (LPC 'Initial licensure by endorsement: application processing and initial licensure' fee per 18VAC115-20-20 (re-read 2026-09-27) and the Board's endorsement page; all fees nonrefundable. Virginia is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow 6–9 weeks (board-stated '45 to 60 days from complete application' for Board approval, converted to weeks).
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Virginia accept a New York counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from New York to Virginia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions), verify your New York license, and meet Virginia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: 18VAC115-20-45 requires verification of a passing score on the exam required for counseling licensure in the jurisdiction where the applicant was licensed. No separate Virginia jurisprudence exam is listed for endorsement..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from New York to Virginia?
National exam is not retaken: 18VAC115-20-45 requires verification of a passing score on the exam required for counseling licensure in the jurisdiction where the applicant was licensed. No separate Virginia jurisprudence exam is listed for endorsement.
What does the move cost?
$175 (LPC 'Initial licensure by endorsement: application processing and initial licensure' fee per 18VAC115-20-20 (re-read 2026-09-27) and the Board's endorsement page; all fees nonrefundable. Virginia is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
6–9 weeks (board-stated '45 to 60 days from complete application' for Board approval, converted to weeks)
Virginia joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Virginia had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Virginia takes Virginia's own authorization, normally a Virginia license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC115-20-45, Licensure by endorsement (as amended eff. 2026-07-02, Virginia Register Vol. 42 Iss. 20; Internet Archive copy of law.lis.virginia.gov, 2026-07-27 snapshot) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Virginia Administrative Code 18VAC115-20-20, Fees required by the board ($175 initial licensure by endorsement; Internet Archive copy, 2026-07-27 snapshot) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Virginia Board of Counseling: LPC by Endorsement (Internet Archive copy, 2026-05-13 snapshot, pre-amendment; live dhp.virginia.gov unreachable on 2026-09-27) ↗ (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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