Counseling License from North Carolina to Georgia: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Georgia accept a North Carolina counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from North Carolina to Georgia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your North Carolina license, and meet Georgia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the applicant submits an official passing score on the NBCC NCE or NCMHCE. An applicant who has not passed either exam may be required to pass one before endorsement is considered. No Georgia jurisprudence exam is required for endorsement or for a compact privilege.
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Georgia is operational in the Counseling Compact, but North Carolina is not, so there is no home-state license here to anchor a privilege. Once you hold a Georgia license and live in Georgia, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. The route is endorsement through the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC): your North Carolina license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Georgia's own exam rule, and Georgia applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Georgia tier corresponds to your North Carolina license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What's different between North Carolina and Georgia
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Georgia. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
North Carolina to Georgia (this page): Licensure by endorsement.
Georgia to North Carolina (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The route is the same in both directions.
- Does coming from North Carolina matter?
North Carolina gets Georgia's most common result: 40 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).
- Reciprocity agreements
Georgia's row names no reciprocity agreement states.
North Carolina's reciprocity agreement list names 3 states (Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee), not including Georgia.
- Counseling Compact membership
North Carolina has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not issuing under it yet; Georgia is a Counseling Compact member state.
Because they are not both active members, the Counseling Compact does not cover this move.
- Application fee
Georgia lists $100 for an out-of-state applicant and North Carolina lists $238 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Processing time
Georgia lists up to 4 weeks; North Carolina lists 4–6 weeks for the reverse move.
Georgia's longest listed wait is 2 weeks shorter than North Carolina's.
- Exam rules on record
Georgia and North Carolina carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Georgia (this move): National exam is not retaken: the applicant submits an official passing score on the NBCC NCE or NCMHCE. An applicant who has not passed either exam may be required to pass one before endorsement is considered. No Georgia jurisprudence exam is required for endorsement or for a compact privilege.
- North Carolina (the reverse move): National exam is not retaken: the Board accepts the NCE, NCMHCE or CRC exam (21 NCAC 53 .0305), with official scores sent by the examining organization. Every applicant, including endorsement and reciprocity applicants, must ALSO complete the Board's LCMHC Jurisprudence Exam within six months before applying.
What changes, North Carolina → Georgia
| North Carolina (current) | Georgia (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Reciprocity with 3 states · Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Licensure by endorsement · Counseling Compact privilege (not a license) |
| Application fee | $238 (Board-stated endorsement/reciprocity application fee of $238, which includes the $38 criminal background check fee; nonrefundable; jurisprudence exam provider fee not verified) | $100 ($100 non-refundable LPC endorsement application fee per the Board's fee schedule (dated 04/18/2023: '$100 application fee + $10 processing fee = $110'); the $10 is a mail-in application processing fee. Applications are now filed in the GOALS portal, and the online GOALS fee schedule (goals.sos.ga.gov) returned HTTP 403 on 2026-10-29, so the portal amount could not be checked. Fingerprint background check paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Georgia charges $100 + $30 commission admin fee = $130 for a privilege; no jurisprudence exam).) |
| Processing time | 4–6 weeks (Board-stated 'Application Processing Timeframe (provided there are no legal/special considerations) 4-6 weeks from completed application submission') | up to 4 weeks (the Board's How-to Guide says applications are 'generally processed within 20 business days of receipt' (about 4 weeks), and the count restarts after a deficiency letter. Completed applications may also go to a Board meeting and must be complete at least 15 days before it to be placed on the agenda. Incomplete applications may be withdrawn if deficiencies are not fixed within 60 days of notice.) |
| Licensing authority | North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) | Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Georgia sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Georgia's current requirements on the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, unencumbered clinical-level (independent) professional counselor license in another state; associate-level licenses are not eligible.
- Verify at least 2 years of unrestricted licensure at the Georgia LPC level from every state ever licensed (Form N or the state's own verification, including any discipline).
- Verify at least 2 years of active, unrestricted practice at the LPC level immediately preceding the application.
- Submit an official passing NCE or NCMHCE score, an official conferred master's or doctoral transcript sent directly by the school, and the practicum-internship verification.
- Complete the national fingerprint background check on the Board's endorsement checklist, at the applicant's expense.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Will a Georgia license get me into other compact states?
Yes, once Georgia is your home state. Georgia is operational, so an active, unencumbered Georgia 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.
- Georgia SOS: How to Guide, Professional Counselor (Endorsement checklist, 20-business-day processing; read live) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Georgia Composite Board: Policy Statements, VII Endorsement - Professional Counselors (read live) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Georgia Composite Board: Fee Schedule (04/18/2023; endorsement $100 + $10 processing fee) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Georgia Composite Board: Verification of Licensure from Another State/Jurisdiction, Form N ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Georgia Composite Board: board page (Counseling Compact now live; GOALS portal) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 135-3-.04 Licensure by Endorsement (Georgia Rules and Regulations) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NCBLCMHC: Licensure by Endorsement (requirements, $238 fee, 4-6 week processing) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NCBLCMHC: LCMHC License by Reciprocity (South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NC OAH: 21 NCAC 53 .0304 Applicants Licensed in Other States ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
- NC OAH: 21 NCAC 53 .0305 Examination (NCE/NCMHCE/CRC; jurisprudence exam) ↗ (accessed 2026-10-29)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-10-29
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