Counseling License from North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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
A counseling license moves from North Carolina to Virginia 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 Virginia license. You apply to the Virginia Board of Counseling (Department of Health Professions), which verifies your North Carolina license and standing, matches it to Virginia's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Virginia jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, North Carolina → Virginia
| North Carolina (current) | Virginia (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) | $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 | 4–6 weeks (Board-stated 'Application Processing Timeframe (provided there are no legal/special considerations) 4-6 weeks from completed application submission') | 6–9 weeks (board-stated '45 to 60 days from complete application' for Board approval, converted to weeks) |
| Licensing authority | North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NCBLCMHC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) | 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 North Carolina counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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)
- 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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