Counseling License from Pennsylvania to Minnesota: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to Minnesota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Minnesota's endorsement requirements. No exam is retaken for reciprocity. Minn. Stat. 148B.56 sets no exam condition: the Board rules on substantial similarity (licensed under 5 years) or 5+ years of active practice, then decides whether to grant the LPC or the LPCC. Minnesota-route LPCC applicants must pass the NCMHCE (148B.5301). The reciprocity application asks for license verification, transcripts and the other state's laws and rules, not a separate score transfer. No Minnesota jurisprudence exam..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Minnesota is operational in the Counseling Compact, but Pennsylvania is not, so there is no home-state license here to anchor a privilege. Once you hold a Minnesota license and live in Minnesota, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. The route is endorsement through the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC): your Pennsylvania license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Minnesota's own exam rule, and Minnesota applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Minnesota tier corresponds to your Pennsylvania license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Pennsylvania → Minnesota
| Pennsylvania (current) | Minnesota (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Counseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice |
| 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.) | $150 (non-refundable LPCC application fee (Minn. Stat. 148B.53 subd. 3); the reciprocity application also requires the $250 initial license fee and a $32 criminal background check fee, paid together as $432 ($400 if exempt from the check). NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee: Minnesota charges $50 + $30 commission fee = $80, no jurisprudence exam.) |
| 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's reciprocity application (updated 2025-02-27) states no processing timeframe |
| Licensing authority | Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors | Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Minnesota sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Minnesota's current requirements on the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current license in good standing at the highest counselor level in your jurisdiction (e.g. LPCC, LCPC, LMHC).
- Licensed under 5 years: requirements must be substantially similar to Minn. Stat. 148B.50-148B.593; 5+ years of active practice: the Board decides between LPC and LPCC (Minn. Stat. 148B.56).
- Submit copies of your jurisdiction's current licensure laws and rules for the license used.
- Have all graduate transcripts and license verification from every licensing board sent directly to the Board.
- Complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check unless exempt under Minn. Stat. 214.075.
- Pay the fees ($150 (non-refundable LPCC application fee (Minn. Stat. 148B.53 subd. 3); the reciprocity application also requires the $250 initial license fee and a $32 criminal background check fee, paid together as $432 ($400 if exempt from the check). NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee: Minnesota charges $50 + $30 commission fee = $80, no jurisprudence exam.)) and allow the Board's reciprocity application (updated 2025-02-27) states no processing timeframe.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Minnesota accept a Pennsylvania counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to Minnesota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy (BBHT) (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, LPCC), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Minnesota's endorsement requirements. No exam is retaken for reciprocity. Minn. Stat. 148B.56 sets no exam condition: the Board rules on substantial similarity (licensed under 5 years) or 5+ years of active practice, then decides whether to grant the LPC or the LPCC. Minnesota-route LPCC applicants must pass the NCMHCE (148B.5301). The reciprocity application asks for license verification, transcripts and the other state's laws and rules, not a separate score transfer. No Minnesota jurisprudence exam..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Pennsylvania to Minnesota?
No exam is retaken for reciprocity. Minn. Stat. 148B.56 sets no exam condition: the Board rules on substantial similarity (licensed under 5 years) or 5+ years of active practice, then decides whether to grant the LPC or the LPCC. Minnesota-route LPCC applicants must pass the NCMHCE (148B.5301). The reciprocity application asks for license verification, transcripts and the other state's laws and rules, not a separate score transfer. No Minnesota jurisprudence exam.
What does the move cost?
$150 (non-refundable LPCC application fee (Minn. Stat. 148B.53 subd. 3); the reciprocity application also requires the $250 initial license fee and a $32 criminal background check fee, paid together as $432 ($400 if exempt from the check). NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee: Minnesota charges $50 + $30 commission fee = $80, no jurisprudence exam.)
How long will it take?
the Board's reciprocity application (updated 2025-02-27) states no processing timeframe.
Will a Minnesota license get me into other compact states?
Yes, once Minnesota is your home state. Minnesota is operational, so an active, unencumbered Minnesota license held while you live there can anchor privileges into the other operational states through CompactConnect.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Minnesota BBHT: LPC/LPCC Reciprocity Application, updated 2025-02-27 (instructions, $432 fees) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minn. Stat. 148B.56 Reciprocity (Revisor of Statutes, 2025 chapter 148B) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minn. Stat. 148B.53 subd. 3 Fees (Revisor of Statutes) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minnesota BBHT: Reciprocity Licenses by State (updated 2024-03-15) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Minnesota BBHT: LPC and LPCC Reciprocity page (Internet Archive capture 2026-04-21) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements (Minnesota $80 total) ↗ (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]