Counseling License from North Carolina to New Jersey: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from North Carolina to New Jersey by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC), verify your North Carolina license, and meet New Jersey's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. The Committee's LPC exam is the NCE, and NBCC/CCE can release scores to the state portal. The out-of-state route requires that the other state's exam requirements be substantially equivalent (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5). No New Jersey jurisprudence exam appears in the Committee's application materials..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from North Carolina to New Jersey by endorsement. Both states have enacted the Counseling Compact, but neither was issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27. When both go operational, cross-border work between them could run on a privilege; a relocation would still need a New Jersey license. You apply to the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC), which verifies your North Carolina license and standing, matches it to New Jersey's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any New Jersey jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, North Carolina → New Jersey
| North Carolina (current) | New Jersey (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| 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) | $75 (nonrefundable application fee per the Committee's application form and Application Process Overview; criminal history check fee separate ($18.75 for applicants already fingerprinted for a DCA board, per the paper form rev. 1/2/19); initial LPC license fee not verified on an official page) |
| Processing time | 4–6 weeks (Board-stated 'Application Processing Timeframe (provided there are no legal/special considerations) 4-6 weeks from completed application submission') | the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications |
| Licensing authority | North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) | New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — New Jersey sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm New Jersey's current requirements on the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a valid, current professional counselor license in good standing in another state whose education, training and exam requirements are substantially equivalent to New Jersey's (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5).
- Have practiced professional counseling within the five years before applying.
- Have the other state's licensing board send license verification directly to the Committee.
- Have official graduate transcripts sent directly from the college or university.
- Complete the Division of Consumer Affairs criminal history background check (fingerprinting).
- Pay the fees ($75 (nonrefundable application fee per the Committee's application form and Application Process Overview; criminal history check fee separate ($18.75 for applicants already fingerprinted for a DCA board, per the paper form rev. 1/2/19); initial LPC license fee not verified on an official page)) and allow the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does New Jersey accept a North Carolina counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from North Carolina to New Jersey by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC), verify your North Carolina license, and meet New Jersey's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. The Committee's LPC exam is the NCE, and NBCC/CCE can release scores to the state portal. The out-of-state route requires that the other state's exam requirements be substantially equivalent (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5). No New Jersey jurisprudence exam appears in the Committee's application materials..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from North Carolina to New Jersey?
National exam is not retaken. The Committee's LPC exam is the NCE, and NBCC/CCE can release scores to the state portal. The out-of-state route requires that the other state's exam requirements be substantially equivalent (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5). No New Jersey jurisprudence exam appears in the Committee's application materials.
What does the move cost?
$75 (nonrefundable application fee per the Committee's application form and Application Process Overview; criminal history check fee separate ($18.75 for applicants already fingerprinted for a DCA board, per the paper form rev. 1/2/19); initial LPC license fee not verified on an official page)
How long will it take?
the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.
New Jersey joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. New Jersey had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in New Jersey takes New Jersey's own authorization, normally a New Jersey license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- NJ Professional Counselor Examiners Committee: Application for Licensure (Licensure by Reciprocity option, $75 fee, NCE, background check) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NJ Professional Counselor Examiners Committee: Application Process Overview (LPC via N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5, $75 fee) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NJ Division of Consumer Affairs: Uniform Enforcement Act compilation (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NJ Professional Counselor Examiners Committee home page (Internet Archive capture 2026-09-05) ↗ (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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