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LicenseReciprocity

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

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) ↗

A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to Idaho by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Idaho's endorsement requirements. The national exam is not retaken when the applicant already passed it. Idaho requires the NCMHCE (NBCC) for the LCPC under IDAPA 24.15.01.100.02.b, and scores are sent to the Board by NBCC. Idaho Code 67-9409(4) lets the Board require all or part of its exam only where needed to show competence, and it bars a jurisprudence exam for universal-licensure applicants. The Board publishes no jurisprudence exam or exam-age limit for counselors..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

A counseling license moves from Pennsylvania to Idaho by endorsement. Neither state gives you a working compact route here: a state that has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational behaves like a non-member. You apply to the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), which verifies your Pennsylvania license and standing, matches it to Idaho's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Idaho jurisprudence and background requirements.

What changes, Pennsylvania → Idaho

Side-by-side: Pennsylvania vs Idaho (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
Pennsylvania (current)Idaho (destination)
Counseling Compact statusCounseling Compact enacted — not yet issuingLicensure by endorsement
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.)$300 (LPC and LCPC 'Initial Application' fee as published on the Board's fee table (Internet Archive capture of dopl.idaho.gov/cou/, 2026-09-14). CONFLICT: the current rule IDAPA 24.15.01.400 lists a $100 application fee plus a $100 license fee ($200), and so did the Board's older endorsement form. The live Board site was unreachable, so the $300 figure could not be confirmed live. Fingerprint background-check fee and NBCC score-report fee are separate. Idaho is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is 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 discretionno processing timeframe found on the Board page or in the rules; dopl.idaho.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27, so only archived copies could be read
Licensing authorityPennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional CounselorsIdaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC)

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm Idaho's current requirements on the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold current, valid and unrestricted counselor licensure at the independent (LCPC-equivalent) level in another U.S. state, district or territory.
  5. Submit certification of licensure sent directly from every state where you hold or have held a license.
  6. Have NBCC send national exam results (NCMHCE for the LCPC) directly to the Board.
  7. Complete a fingerprint-based criminal history background check (Idaho Code 54-3405 and 67-9411A).
  8. Submit the application with fees through DOPL (notarized affidavit on the paper form).
  9. Pay the fees ($300 (LPC and LCPC 'Initial Application' fee as published on the Board's fee table (Internet Archive capture of dopl.idaho.gov/cou/, 2026-09-14). CONFLICT: the current rule IDAPA 24.15.01.400 lists a $100 application fee plus a $100 license fee ($200), and so did the Board's older endorsement form. The live Board site was unreachable, so the $300 figure could not be confirmed live. Fingerprint background-check fee and NBCC score-report fee are separate. Idaho is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)) and allow no processing timeframe found on the Board page or in the rules; dopl.idaho.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27, so only archived copies could be read.

Official links

Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Idaho → PennsylvaniaCounseling in PennsylvaniaCounseling in IdahoAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Idaho accept a Pennsylvania counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to Idaho by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Idaho State Licensing Board of Professional Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses): Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Idaho's endorsement requirements. The national exam is not retaken when the applicant already passed it. Idaho requires the NCMHCE (NBCC) for the LCPC under IDAPA 24.15.01.100.02.b, and scores are sent to the Board by NBCC. Idaho Code 67-9409(4) lets the Board require all or part of its exam only where needed to show competence, and it bars a jurisprudence exam for universal-licensure applicants. The Board publishes no jurisprudence exam or exam-age limit for counselors..

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

The national exam is not retaken when the applicant already passed it. Idaho requires the NCMHCE (NBCC) for the LCPC under IDAPA 24.15.01.100.02.b, and scores are sent to the Board by NBCC. Idaho Code 67-9409(4) lets the Board require all or part of its exam only where needed to show competence, and it bars a jurisprudence exam for universal-licensure applicants. The Board publishes no jurisprudence exam or exam-age limit for counselors.

What does the move cost?

$300 (LPC and LCPC 'Initial Application' fee as published on the Board's fee table (Internet Archive capture of dopl.idaho.gov/cou/, 2026-09-14). CONFLICT: the current rule IDAPA 24.15.01.400 lists a $100 application fee plus a $100 license fee ($200), and so did the Board's older endorsement form. The live Board site was unreachable, so the $300 figure could not be confirmed live. Fingerprint background-check fee and NBCC score-report fee are separate. Idaho is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)

How long will it take?

no processing timeframe found on the Board page or in the rules; dopl.idaho.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27, so only archived copies could be read.

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]