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Transfer Your Counseling License to North Dakota: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) ↗

A counselor licensed elsewhere gets into North Dakota by endorsement through the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE), subject to North Dakota's own rule on the national exam (see below). North Dakota is a Counseling Compact state on paper only for now: it had not begun issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27. Fee: $150 (LPCC application fee per NDAC 97-02-01.1-04 and the LPCC application form. Because the LPCC is a specialty license issued only to ND LPCs, an out-of-state applicant also files the LPC reciprocity application ($150, of which $50 is non-refundable per the form; NDAC 97-02-01-01.1), so the realistic total is $300. LPCC renewal $75 biennially on top of the $150 LPC renewal. NBCC score-report and transcript fees are separate. North Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.). Processing: no processing timeframe published in the Board's rules or application forms; applications are valid for one year from submission.

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Verdict

Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing

North Dakota has passed the Counseling Compact into law, and its board may describe the state as having joined, but as of 2026-09-27 it was not issuing or accepting privileges. That makes North Dakota a non-compact state in practice: no privilege lets you see a client located here, in person or by telehealth, and a North Dakota license cannot yet anchor privileges elsewhere. Plan on a North Dakota license by endorsement, and check the commission's announcements, because states have been switching on every few weeks.

North Dakota's independent clinical tier is the Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), a specialty license that includes diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders (NDAC 97-02-01.1-06) and is issued only to North Dakota LPCs (NDAC 97-02-01.1-01). An out-of-state clinical counselor therefore applies twice: first for the LPC by reciprocity, then for the LPCC by reciprocity. The LPC reciprocity form says North Dakota 'can only offer reciprocity to counselors from states that have requirements equal to or substantially similar to North Dakota' and returns non-matching applications for the standard route. NDCC 43-47-06(4) lets the Board waive the exam for applicants licensed under similar or greater standards. This is endorsement by equivalence, not full reciprocity. The NDAC chapter 97-02-01 PDF lists reciprocity as 97-02-01-04 in its body (the table of contents numbering is offset); section numbers are cited as they appear in the rule text. North Dakota has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet issuing or accepting privileges; compact_member and compact_status are assembler-provided. The live board site (ndbce.org) refused connections on 2026-09-27, so the Board's own forms and pages were read from Internet Archive snapshots of the official URLs and cross-checked against the rules on ndlegis.gov.

North Dakota requirements at a glance

Out-of-state counseling license transfer requirements for North Dakota, verified 2026-09-27
ExamNational exams are not retaken, but the sending state must have REQUIRED them: the LPC reciprocity route is open only if the applicant's state requires the NCE (the form says the NCMHCE 'does not apply to LPC licensure' and an either/or NCE-or-NCMHCE state does not qualify), and the LPCC tier requires a passing NCMHCE. Proof of passing a board-approved counselor exam is submitted with the reciprocity application. No state jurisprudence exam was found in the Board's rules or forms.
Additional requirements
  • Obtain the North Dakota LPC first (by reciprocity, which requires a state whose law requires a 60-semester-hour counseling master's, a 100-hour practicum plus 600-hour internship, the NCE, and 100 hours of supervision by a licensed counselor); the LPCC application requires an ND LAPC or LPC license number
  • Hold a current LPCC-equivalent clinical license from a state whose requirements are equal to or more stringent than North Dakota's (NDAC 97-02-01.1-03)
  • Submit a copy of the other state's license and a copy of its licensing statute and rules, with the name and address of its licensing board (NDAC 97-02-01-04)
  • Have an official graduate transcript sent directly to the Board and list all 60 required semester hours by content area
  • Submit proof of a passing NCMHCE score for the LPCC tier
Fees$150 (LPCC application fee per NDAC 97-02-01.1-04 and the LPCC application form. Because the LPCC is a specialty license issued only to ND LPCs, an out-of-state applicant also files the LPC reciprocity application ($150, of which $50 is non-refundable per the form; NDAC 97-02-01-01.1), so the realistic total is $300. LPCC renewal $75 biennially on top of the $150 LPC renewal. NBCC score-report and transcript fees are separate. North Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
Processing timeno processing timeframe published in the Board's rules or application forms; applications are valid for one year from submission

Step by step

  1. Confirm North Dakota's current requirements on the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) website — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) (application linked on this page).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Obtain the North Dakota LPC first (by reciprocity, which requires a state whose law requires a 60-semester-hour counseling master's, a 100-hour practicum plus 600-hour internship, the NCE, and 100 hours of supervision by a licensed counselor); the LPCC application requires an ND LAPC or LPC license number.
  5. Hold a current LPCC-equivalent clinical license from a state whose requirements are equal to or more stringent than North Dakota's (NDAC 97-02-01.1-03).
  6. Submit a copy of the other state's license and a copy of its licensing statute and rules, with the name and address of its licensing board (NDAC 97-02-01-04).
  7. Have an official graduate transcript sent directly to the Board and list all 60 required semester hours by content area.
  8. Submit proof of a passing NCMHCE score for the LPCC tier.
  9. Pay the fees ($150 (LPCC application fee per NDAC 97-02-01.1-04 and the LPCC application form. Because the LPCC is a specialty license issued only to ND LPCs, an out-of-state applicant also files the LPC reciprocity application ($150, of which $50 is non-refundable per the form; NDAC 97-02-01-01.1), so the realistic total is $300. LPCC renewal $75 biennially on top of the $150 LPC renewal. NBCC score-report and transcript fees are separate. North Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow no processing timeframe published in the Board's rules or application forms; applications are valid for one year from submission.

Official links

North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) ↗North Dakota application ↗

Coming from a specific state?

Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into North Dakota:

California → North DakotaFlorida → North DakotaGeorgia → North DakotaIllinois → North DakotaMichigan → North DakotaNew York → North DakotaNorth Carolina → North DakotaOhio → North DakotaPennsylvania → North DakotaTexas → North Dakota

Nearby states

Counseling license transfer into the states bordering North Dakota:

North Dakota for other professions

Frequently asked questions

Does my counseling license transfer to North Dakota?

A counselor licensed elsewhere gets into North Dakota by endorsement through the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE), subject to North Dakota's own rule on the national exam (see below). North Dakota is a Counseling Compact state on paper only for now: it had not begun issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27. Fee: $150 (LPCC application fee per NDAC 97-02-01.1-04 and the LPCC application form. Because the LPCC is a specialty license issued only to ND LPCs, an out-of-state applicant also files the LPC reciprocity application ($150, of which $50 is non-refundable per the form; NDAC 97-02-01-01.1), so the realistic total is $300. LPCC renewal $75 biennially on top of the $150 LPC renewal. NBCC score-report and transcript fees are separate. North Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.). Processing: no processing timeframe published in the Board's rules or application forms; applications are valid for one year from submission.

Do I have to retake the NCE or NCMHCE to get licensed in North Dakota?

National exams are not retaken, but the sending state must have REQUIRED them: the LPC reciprocity route is open only if the applicant's state requires the NCE (the form says the NCMHCE 'does not apply to LPC licensure' and an either/or NCE-or-NCMHCE state does not qualify), and the LPCC tier requires a passing NCMHCE. Proof of passing a board-approved counselor exam is submitted with the reciprocity application. No state jurisprudence exam was found in the Board's rules or forms.

How much does a North Dakota counseling license cost by endorsement?

$150 (LPCC application fee per NDAC 97-02-01.1-04 and the LPCC application form. Because the LPCC is a specialty license issued only to ND LPCs, an out-of-state applicant also files the LPC reciprocity application ($150, of which $50 is non-refundable per the form; NDAC 97-02-01-01.1), so the realistic total is $300. LPCC renewal $75 biennially on top of the $150 LPC renewal. NBCC score-report and transcript fees are separate. North Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)

How long does North Dakota take to process the application?

no processing timeframe published in the Board's rules or application forms; applications are valid for one year from submission.

Is North Dakota in the Counseling Compact?

North Dakota has enacted the compact but was not yet operational as of 2026-09-27, so it neither issues nor accepts privileges. For now you need North Dakota's own authorization, normally a North Dakota license, to practice with clients located in North Dakota.

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.

Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27

How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]