Counseling License from North Carolina to Louisiana: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from North Carolina to Louisiana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC), verify your North Carolina license, and meet Louisiana's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. Endorsement applicants show passage of the NCE or NCMHCE with an official score report sent directly from NBCC; under amended LAC 46:LX.1101(A) (Notice of Intent, Sept. 2024) an applicant with at least 1 year of practice may instead complete an oral exam administered by the Board. No state jurisprudence exam is listed for endorsement; applicants submit a Declaration of Practices and Procedures instead..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from North Carolina to Louisiana by endorsement. Louisiana 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 Louisiana license and live in Louisiana, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. You apply to the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC), which verifies your North Carolina license and standing, matches it to Louisiana's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Louisiana jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, North Carolina → Louisiana
| North Carolina (current) | Louisiana (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Counseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice |
| 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) | $300 (non-refundable out-of-state licensure application, license and seal fee (Board fee schedule item 2; also stated on the LPC endorsement application); optional $60 expedited processing; fingerprint background check costs separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee: Louisiana charges $130 + $30 commission fee = $160 total, 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') | 6–8 weeks (Board states 'allow 2-3 weeks for milestones to be updated and at least 6-8 weeks for application approval once the application is completed'; expedited processing ($60) gets a staff response within 5 business days, but files referred for Board review wait for the next meeting) |
| Licensing authority | North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) | Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Louisiana sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Louisiana's current requirements on the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, active LPC license in good standing in another jurisdiction, verified by each licensing board on the Board's License Verification Form.
- Submit an official NBCC score report for the NCE or NCMHCE (or, on the 1-year route, complete the Board's oral exam).
- Show at least 1 year of full, active LPC licensure (LAC 46:LX.1101 as amended under Act 253 of 2024); applicants licensed under 1 year must come from a jurisdiction with substantially equivalent academic and supervision requirements.
- Provide a colleague or supervisor letter verifying active practice and document 40 continuing education hours per Chapter 7 of the Board Rules.
- Complete a state and federal fingerprint background check within 60 days of application.
- Submit a Declaration of Practices and Procedures and a current photograph.
- Pay the fees ($300 (non-refundable out-of-state licensure application, license and seal fee (Board fee schedule item 2; also stated on the LPC endorsement application); optional $60 expedited processing; fingerprint background check costs separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee: Louisiana charges $130 + $30 commission fee = $160 total, no jurisprudence exam.)) and allow 6–8 weeks (Board states 'allow 2-3 weeks for milestones to be updated and at least 6-8 weeks for application approval once the application is completed'; expedited processing ($60) gets a staff response within 5 business days, but files referred for Board review wait for the next meeting).
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Louisiana accept a North Carolina counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from North Carolina to Louisiana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners (LPC), verify your North Carolina license, and meet Louisiana's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. Endorsement applicants show passage of the NCE or NCMHCE with an official score report sent directly from NBCC; under amended LAC 46:LX.1101(A) (Notice of Intent, Sept. 2024) an applicant with at least 1 year of practice may instead complete an oral exam administered by the Board. No state jurisprudence exam is listed for endorsement; applicants submit a Declaration of Practices and Procedures instead..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from North Carolina to Louisiana?
National exam is not retaken. Endorsement applicants show passage of the NCE or NCMHCE with an official score report sent directly from NBCC; under amended LAC 46:LX.1101(A) (Notice of Intent, Sept. 2024) an applicant with at least 1 year of practice may instead complete an oral exam administered by the Board. No state jurisprudence exam is listed for endorsement; applicants submit a Declaration of Practices and Procedures instead.
What does the move cost?
$300 (non-refundable out-of-state licensure application, license and seal fee (Board fee schedule item 2; also stated on the LPC endorsement application); optional $60 expedited processing; fingerprint background check costs separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee: Louisiana charges $130 + $30 commission fee = $160 total, no jurisprudence exam.)
How long will it take?
6–8 weeks (Board states 'allow 2-3 weeks for milestones to be updated and at least 6-8 weeks for application approval once the application is completed'; expedited processing ($60) gets a staff response within 5 business days, but files referred for Board review wait for the next meeting)
Will a Louisiana license get me into other compact states?
Yes, once Louisiana is your home state. Louisiana is operational, so an active, unencumbered Louisiana 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 2026-09-27.
- Louisiana LPC Board: Application Information (endorsement applications, background checks, 6-8 week processing; Internet Archive capture 2026-02-19) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana LPC Board: Application for Licensure by Endorsement as LPC ($300, NCE/NCMHCE, 5-year practice rule; Internet Archive capture 2026-06-16) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana LPC Board: Fee Schedule (Internet Archive capture 2026-04-14) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana LPC Board: FAQ (LPC by endorsement, 40 CE hours; Internet Archive capture 2026-05-19) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Louisiana Register Notice of Intent: LAC 46:LX.1101 Endorsement (Act 253 of 2024) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements (Louisiana $160 total) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NCBLCMHC: Licensure by Endorsement (requirements, $238 fee, 4-6 week processing) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NCBLCMHC: LCMHC License by Reciprocity (South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NC OAH: 21 NCAC 53 .0304 Applicants Licensed in Other States ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NC OAH: 21 NCAC 53 .0305 Examination (NCE/NCMHCE/CRC; jurisprudence exam) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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