Counseling License from North Carolina to South Carolina: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) ↗
A counseling license transfers from North Carolina to South Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR), verify your North Carolina license, and meet South Carolina's endorsement requirements. No exam retake and no exam verification requested: the endorsement application asks only for an official license verification from the state where actively licensed. No jurisprudence exam; the applicant instead certifies having read the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from North Carolina to South Carolina 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 South Carolina license. You apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR), which verifies your North Carolina license and standing, matches it to South Carolina's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any South Carolina jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, North Carolina → South Carolina
| North Carolina (current) | South Carolina (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) | $130 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1); the Board's LPC initial license fee under S.C. Code Regs. 10-33(B)(2) is also $130. Returned-check fee up to $30. Applicants disclosing a conviction must add a SLED and other-state background check. South Carolina is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.) |
| 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 Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications |
| Licensing authority | North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) | South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — South Carolina sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm South Carolina's current requirements on the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, active and unrestricted LPC-equivalent (independent-level) license in good standing in another state, with no current or pending investigation (S.C. Code Regs. 36-14(A)).
- Have an official license verification sent directly to the Board by the state board where actively licensed.
- Certify on the application that you have read and understand the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics.
- Submit a copy of a driver's license or other photo ID, a copy of the Social Security card, and a notarized Verification of Lawful Presence.
- Pay the fees ($130 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1); the Board's LPC initial license fee under S.C. Code Regs. 10-33(B)(2) is also $130. Returned-check fee up to $30. Applicants disclosing a conviction must add a SLED and other-state background check. South Carolina is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does South Carolina accept a North Carolina counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from North Carolina to South Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR), verify your North Carolina license, and meet South Carolina's endorsement requirements. No exam retake and no exam verification requested: the endorsement application asks only for an official license verification from the state where actively licensed. No jurisprudence exam; the applicant instead certifies having read the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from North Carolina to South Carolina?
No exam retake and no exam verification requested: the endorsement application asks only for an official license verification from the state where actively licensed. No jurisprudence exam; the applicant instead certifies having read the Board's statutes, regulations and Code of Ethics.
What does the move cost?
$130 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1); the Board's LPC initial license fee under S.C. Code Regs. 10-33(B)(2) is also $130. Returned-check fee up to $30. Applicants disclosing a conviction must add a SLED and other-state background check. South Carolina is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications.
South Carolina joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. South Carolina had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in South Carolina takes South Carolina's own authorization, normally a South Carolina license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- SC LLR Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1) (Internet Archive copy of the official PDF, 2026-03-07 snapshot; live llr.sc.gov refused connections) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- S.C. Code Regs. ch. 36 (Reg. 36-14, Licensure by Endorsement, amended eff. 2022-05-27; re-read 2026-09-27) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- S.C. Code Regs. ch. 10 (Reg. 10-33, counselor board fee schedule, amended eff. 2025-05-23) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- S.C. Code Title 40 ch. 75 (40-75-260 licensure of applicants licensed in other jurisdictions; 40-75-910 et seq. Counseling Compact) ↗ (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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