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LicenseReciprocity

Counseling License from Pennsylvania to Alabama: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗

A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to Alabama by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Alabama's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken if already passed: the Board requires a passing NCE score sent directly by NBCC (scores cannot come from another state board). An applicant who took a different licensure exam documents that exam (date and score) for the Board's equivalency review under Ala. Admin. Code 255-X-10-.02(4), or must take and pass the NCE. No state jurisprudence exam; applicants attest they have read the Code of Alabama, ABEC rules and Code of Ethics..

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Verdict

Licensure 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 an Alabama license. The route is endorsement through the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC): your Pennsylvania license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Alabama's own exam rule, and Alabama applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Alabama tier corresponds to your Pennsylvania license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.

What changes, Pennsylvania → Alabama

Side-by-side: Pennsylvania vs Alabama (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
Pennsylvania (current)Alabama (destination)
Counseling Compact statusCounseling Compact enacted — not yet issuingCounseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing
Application fee$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.)$200 (nonrefundable application fee payable by check or money order per the LPC Endorsement License Application (rev. May 2026) and the ABEC fee schedule; after Board approval the $300 LPC license fee is billed separately. The application lists no fingerprint or background-check fee. NBCC score-report fee is separate. Alabama has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational, so it charges no privilege fee.)
Processing timethe Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretionthe Board states only that 'the application process could take several weeks depending on receipt and review of required documents'; no numeric timeframe is published
Licensing authorityPennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional CounselorsAlabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

The destination column is what you must satisfy — Alabama sets the rules for this move.

Step by step

  1. Confirm Alabama's current requirements on the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a current, good-standing counseling license comparable to the Alabama LPC that you qualified for directly (not one obtained by endorsement or reciprocity).
  5. Document 3,000 hours of post-degree supervised experience (2,250 direct, 750 indirect) under a Supervising Counselor, excluding practicum, internship and post-licensure work.
  6. Meet Alabama's graduate education requirements in effect when you were first licensed, shown with official transcripts and the Worksheet for Reporting Course Work.
  7. Have NBCC send a passing NCE score directly to the Board, or document an equivalent licensure exam.
  8. Have every issuing board send written license verification, including any disciplinary action.
  9. Submit a notarized application affidavit and the Proof of Citizenship form.
  10. Pay the fees ($200 (nonrefundable application fee payable by check or money order per the LPC Endorsement License Application (rev. May 2026) and the ABEC fee schedule; after Board approval the $300 LPC license fee is billed separately. The application lists no fingerprint or background-check fee. NBCC score-report fee is separate. Alabama has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational, so it charges no privilege fee.)) and allow the Board states only that 'the application process could take several weeks depending on receipt and review of required documents'; no numeric timeframe is published.

Official links

Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗Alabama application ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Alabama → PennsylvaniaCounseling in PennsylvaniaCounseling in AlabamaAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Alabama accept a Pennsylvania counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to Alabama by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling (ABEC), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Alabama's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken if already passed: the Board requires a passing NCE score sent directly by NBCC (scores cannot come from another state board). An applicant who took a different licensure exam documents that exam (date and score) for the Board's equivalency review under Ala. Admin. Code 255-X-10-.02(4), or must take and pass the NCE. No state jurisprudence exam; applicants attest they have read the Code of Alabama, ABEC rules and Code of Ethics..

Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Pennsylvania to Alabama?

National exam is not retaken if already passed: the Board requires a passing NCE score sent directly by NBCC (scores cannot come from another state board). An applicant who took a different licensure exam documents that exam (date and score) for the Board's equivalency review under Ala. Admin. Code 255-X-10-.02(4), or must take and pass the NCE. No state jurisprudence exam; applicants attest they have read the Code of Alabama, ABEC rules and Code of Ethics.

What does the move cost?

$200 (nonrefundable application fee payable by check or money order per the LPC Endorsement License Application (rev. May 2026) and the ABEC fee schedule; after Board approval the $300 LPC license fee is billed separately. The application lists no fingerprint or background-check fee. NBCC score-report fee is separate. Alabama has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational, so it charges no privilege fee.)

How long will it take?

the Board states only that 'the application process could take several weeks depending on receipt and review of required documents'; no numeric timeframe is published.

Alabama joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?

Not yet. Alabama had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Alabama takes Alabama's own authorization, normally an Alabama license.

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]