Counseling License from Ohio to New Hampshire: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Ohio to New Hampshire by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC), verify your Ohio license, and meet New Hampshire's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. The OPLC endorsement route (RSA 310:17 / Plc 313) accepts a license from a qualifying jurisdiction whose pathway required the NCMHCE or an equivalent nationally recognized exam (Plc 313.37(a)(2)); license verification, not a separate NBCC score transfer, is required. No New Hampshire jurisprudence exam is listed for mental health practice endorsement..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
New Hampshire has enacted the Counseling Compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so your Ohio license cannot reach it through the compact yet. The route is endorsement through the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC): your Ohio license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under New Hampshire's own exam rule, and New Hampshire applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which New Hampshire tier corresponds to your Ohio license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Ohio → New Hampshire
| Ohio (current) | New Hampshire (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $100 (LPCC reciprocity application fee per OAC 4757-1-05 and the Board's out-of-state page ('$100 + $3.50 processing', re-read 2026-09-27); + $3.50 eLicense processing fee; BCI/FBI fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-transfer fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Ohio charges $25 + $30 commission admin fee = $55 for a privilege, per the commission's fee table).) | $325 (Clinical Mental Health Counselor application fee from the OPLC Mental Health Practice fee page; includes the mandatory $28 Professional Health Program fee; same fee as in-state applicants. Criminal records check fee paid separately to NH Department of Safety (amount not verified).) |
| Processing time | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status in eLicense (Review Status checklist) | OPLC publishes no processing timeframe; under Plc 313.06(c) a qualified endorsement applicant whose criminal records check is pending receives a provisional license and may practice meanwhile |
| Licensing authority | Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) | New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — New Hampshire sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm New Hampshire's current requirements on the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an active, unencumbered, non-temporary clinical mental health counselor license in good standing in an OPLC-listed qualifying jurisdiction.
- Submit the OPLC Universal Application for Initial License with the Clinical Mental Health Counselor application fee.
- Provide primary-source license verification (board-portal printout or screen capture showing good standing) per Plc 313.05(a).
- Complete a state and FBI criminal history records check through the NH Department of Safety, with results sent to OPLC.
- Pay the fees ($325 (Clinical Mental Health Counselor application fee from the OPLC Mental Health Practice fee page; includes the mandatory $28 Professional Health Program fee; same fee as in-state applicants. Criminal records check fee paid separately to NH Department of Safety (amount not verified).)) and allow OPLC publishes no processing timeframe; under Plc 313.06(c) a qualified endorsement applicant whose criminal records check is pending receives a provisional license and may practice meanwhile.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does New Hampshire accept an Ohio counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Ohio to New Hampshire by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Hampshire Board of Mental Health Practice (Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, OPLC) (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, LCMHC), verify your Ohio license, and meet New Hampshire's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. The OPLC endorsement route (RSA 310:17 / Plc 313) accepts a license from a qualifying jurisdiction whose pathway required the NCMHCE or an equivalent nationally recognized exam (Plc 313.37(a)(2)); license verification, not a separate NBCC score transfer, is required. No New Hampshire jurisprudence exam is listed for mental health practice endorsement..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Ohio to New Hampshire?
National exam is not retaken. The OPLC endorsement route (RSA 310:17 / Plc 313) accepts a license from a qualifying jurisdiction whose pathway required the NCMHCE or an equivalent nationally recognized exam (Plc 313.37(a)(2)); license verification, not a separate NBCC score transfer, is required. No New Hampshire jurisprudence exam is listed for mental health practice endorsement.
What does the move cost?
$325 (Clinical Mental Health Counselor application fee from the OPLC Mental Health Practice fee page; includes the mandatory $28 Professional Health Program fee; same fee as in-state applicants. Criminal records check fee paid separately to NH Department of Safety (amount not verified).)
How long will it take?
OPLC publishes no processing timeframe; under Plc 313.06(c) a qualified endorsement applicant whose criminal records check is pending receives a provisional license and may practice meanwhile.
New Hampshire joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. New Hampshire had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in New Hampshire takes New Hampshire's own authorization, normally a New Hampshire license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- NH OPLC: New Changes for Reciprocity in New Hampshire (HB 594 endorsement; Plc 313.37 qualifying jurisdictions for Clinical Mental Health Counselor; Internet Archive capture 2026-08-21) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NH OPLC: Board of Mental Health Practice License Fees ($325 CMHC application incl. $28 PHP; Internet Archive capture 2026-04-29) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NH Admin. Rules Plc 300 (Plc 313 licensure by endorsement; Plc 313.37 mental health practice; Internet Archive capture 2026-09-09) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- NH RSA 310:17 License Reciprocity (Internet Archive capture 2026-02-07) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ohio CSWMFT Board: Out of State Applicants (counselor reciprocity steps and fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ohio CSWMFT Board: Counselors (LPC/LPCC application instructions, exam policy) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ohio CSWMFT Board Laws and Rules compilation (ORC 4757.18; OAC 4757-1-05, 4757-13-03, 4757-13-06) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Ohio CSWMFT Board: Counseling Compact Privileges (eligibility, $25 state fee, go-live 2026-01-05) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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