Counseling License from Pennsylvania to Delaware: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to Delaware by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Delaware's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: NCE or NCMHCE scores are requested from NBCC and sent to the Board, and scores from another exam the Board accepts as equivalent are sent by that organization. An applicant from a state whose standards are not substantially similar must have held the license 5 years and passed the NCE or another exam the Board accepts (24 Del. C. 3034(b)). No Delaware jurisprudence exam..
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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 a Delaware license. The route is endorsement through the Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH): your Pennsylvania license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Delaware's own exam rule, and Delaware applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Delaware tier corresponds to your Pennsylvania license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Pennsylvania → Delaware
| Pennsylvania (current) | Delaware (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Counseling 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.) | $272 (Professional Counselor (LPCMH) application fee per the Board's Fee Schedule, paid in DELPROS; the same fee applies by examination or reciprocity. Fingerprinting (State and FBI background check) is paid separately to IdentoGO; NBCC score-report fee separate.) |
| Processing time | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status with 'View Application Status' in DELPROS |
| Licensing authority | Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors | Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Delaware sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Delaware's current requirements on the Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current Professional Counselor of Mental Health (or equivalent independent) license in good standing in another state, DC or U.S. territory.
- If licensed under 5 years in every jurisdiction, submit the other states' licensing laws and rules so the Board can decide whether any has substantially similar standards.
- Complete a State of Delaware and FBI fingerprint criminal background check through IdentoGO using the Board's service code.
- Have license verification sent directly from every jurisdiction where a license is or was held.
- Submit NCE or NCMHCE scores through NBCC score reporting.
- Pay the fees ($272 (Professional Counselor (LPCMH) application fee per the Board's Fee Schedule, paid in DELPROS; the same fee applies by examination or reciprocity. Fingerprinting (State and FBI background check) is paid separately to IdentoGO; NBCC score-report fee separate.)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status with 'View Application Status' in DELPROS.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Delaware accept a Pennsylvania counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to Delaware by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Delaware Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals, Division of Professional Regulation, Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health (LPCMH), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Delaware's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: NCE or NCMHCE scores are requested from NBCC and sent to the Board, and scores from another exam the Board accepts as equivalent are sent by that organization. An applicant from a state whose standards are not substantially similar must have held the license 5 years and passed the NCE or another exam the Board accepts (24 Del. C. 3034(b)). No Delaware jurisprudence exam..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Pennsylvania to Delaware?
National exam is not retaken: NCE or NCMHCE scores are requested from NBCC and sent to the Board, and scores from another exam the Board accepts as equivalent are sent by that organization. An applicant from a state whose standards are not substantially similar must have held the license 5 years and passed the NCE or another exam the Board accepts (24 Del. C. 3034(b)). No Delaware jurisprudence exam.
What does the move cost?
$272 (Professional Counselor (LPCMH) application fee per the Board's Fee Schedule, paid in DELPROS; the same fee applies by examination or reciprocity. Fingerprinting (State and FBI background check) is paid separately to IdentoGO; NBCC score-report fee separate.)
How long will it take?
the Board publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications; applicants track status with 'View Application Status' in DELPROS.
Delaware joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Delaware had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Delaware takes Delaware's own authorization, normally a Delaware license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Delaware DPR: Professional Counselor of Mental Health Licensure (examination and reciprocity requirements) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Delaware DPR: Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals Fee Schedule ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Delaware Code Title 24, Chapter 30, Subchapter II (24 Del. C. 3034 Reciprocity) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Delaware DPR: Board of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Professionals homepage (Counseling Compact not live) ↗ (accessed 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)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]