Counseling License from Ohio to Pennsylvania: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors ↗
A counseling license transfers from Ohio to Pennsylvania by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, verify your Ohio license, and meet Pennsylvania's endorsement requirements. No exam retake on the endorsement route: 49 Pa. Code 49.18 issues the license 'without examination'. Under the separate reciprocity rule (49.16) the Board accepts exam grades from another jurisdiction (e.g., the NCE) if the exam is similar and the passing grade at least equals Pennsylvania's, but only where that state grants reciprocity to Pennsylvania licensees. No state jurisprudence exam is required..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Ohio to Pennsylvania by endorsement. Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, which verifies your Ohio license and standing, matches it to Pennsylvania's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Pennsylvania jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Ohio → Pennsylvania
| Ohio (current) | Pennsylvania (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).) | $100 (application fee for licensure and original license issuance as an LPC per 49 Pa. Code 47.4(6); no separate endorsement fee is listed. Pennsylvania is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.) |
| Processing time | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status in eLicense (Review Status checklist) | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion |
| Licensing authority | Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT) | Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Pennsylvania sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Pennsylvania's current requirements on the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a professional counselor license in good standing in another state, with a letter from that state certifying licensure and reporting any disciplinary history.
- Meet Pennsylvania's educational requirement (63 P.S. 1907(f)(2) and 49 Pa. Code 49.13(a)(3), a 60-semester-hour counseling graduate degree).
- Demonstrate at least 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience that conformed to the licensing state's rules.
- Demonstrate active practice of professional counseling for 5 of the last 7 years before applying (49 Pa. Code 49.18(5)).
- Complete 3 hours of Board-approved child abuse recognition and reporting training and submit two certificates of recommendation (49 Pa. Code 49.12).
- Pay the fees ($100 (application fee for licensure and original license issuance as an LPC per 49 Pa. Code 47.4(6); no separate endorsement fee is listed. Pennsylvania is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Pennsylvania accept an Ohio counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Ohio to Pennsylvania by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, verify your Ohio license, and meet Pennsylvania's endorsement requirements. No exam retake on the endorsement route: 49 Pa. Code 49.18 issues the license 'without examination'. Under the separate reciprocity rule (49.16) the Board accepts exam grades from another jurisdiction (e.g., the NCE) if the exam is similar and the passing grade at least equals Pennsylvania's, but only where that state grants reciprocity to Pennsylvania licensees. No state jurisprudence exam is required..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Ohio to Pennsylvania?
No exam retake on the endorsement route: 49 Pa. Code 49.18 issues the license 'without examination'. Under the separate reciprocity rule (49.16) the Board accepts exam grades from another jurisdiction (e.g., the NCE) if the exam is similar and the passing grade at least equals Pennsylvania's, but only where that state grants reciprocity to Pennsylvania licensees. No state jurisprudence exam is required.
What does the move cost?
$100 (application fee for licensure and original license issuance as an LPC per 49 Pa. Code 47.4(6); no separate endorsement fee is listed. Pennsylvania 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; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion.
Pennsylvania joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Pennsylvania had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Pennsylvania takes Pennsylvania's own authorization, normally a Pennsylvania license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Pennsylvania Code 49 Pa. Code 49.18, Licensure by endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Pennsylvania Code 49 Pa. Code 49.16, Application for licensure by reciprocity ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Pennsylvania Code 49 Pa. Code 49.12, General qualifications (child abuse training, recommendations) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Pennsylvania Code 49 Pa. Code 47.4, Licensure fees ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- PA Department of State: Professional Counselor Licensure Snapshot (endorsement and Act 41) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- PA State Board: LPC application FAQs (Act 41 provisional license) ↗ (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
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]