Counseling License from Ohio 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 Ohio 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 Ohio 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 Ohio to New Jersey by endorsement. New Jersey 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. 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 Ohio 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, Ohio → New Jersey
| Ohio (current) | New Jersey (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).) | $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 | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status in eLicense (Review Status checklist) | the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications |
| Licensing authority | Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) | 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 an Ohio counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Ohio 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 Ohio 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 Ohio 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)
- 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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