Counseling License from Pennsylvania to Missouri: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to Missouri by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Missouri's endorsement requirements. No national exam is retaken. The Committee's LPC reciprocity checklist (RSMo 324.009 path) does not require NCE/NCMHCE score submission; eligibility rests on at least 1 year of full licensure in another state. Reciprocity applicants must pass the open-book online Missouri Jurisprudence (Legal and Ethical Responsibilities) Exam, which the Committee says cannot be waived..
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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 Missouri license. The route is endorsement through the Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration): your Pennsylvania license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Missouri's own exam rule, and Missouri applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Missouri tier corresponds to your Pennsylvania license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Pennsylvania → Missouri
| Pennsylvania (current) | Missouri (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.) | $100 (LPC Application for Licensure by Reciprocity fee (form MO 375-1100); waived with proof of military service; MACHS fingerprint fee paid separately to the vendor (amount not stated on the pages read)) |
| 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 Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications |
| Licensing authority | Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors | Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Missouri sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Missouri's current requirements on the Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold full (independent, not supervised or provisional) professional counselor licensure in another state for at least 1 year.
- Have no past or current discipline and no pending complaint on the out-of-state license.
- Complete a fingerprint background check through MACHS.
- Pass the open-book Missouri Jurisprudence (Legal and Ethical Responsibilities) Exam.
- Submit proof of 2 hours of suicide prevention training.
- Submit a notarized reciprocity application with license verification and proof of lawful presence.
- Pay the fees ($100 (LPC Application for Licensure by Reciprocity fee (form MO 375-1100); waived with proof of military service; MACHS fingerprint fee paid separately to the vendor (amount not stated on the pages read))) and allow the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Missouri accept a Pennsylvania counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to Missouri by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors (Division of Professional Registration), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Missouri's endorsement requirements. No national exam is retaken. The Committee's LPC reciprocity checklist (RSMo 324.009 path) does not require NCE/NCMHCE score submission; eligibility rests on at least 1 year of full licensure in another state. Reciprocity applicants must pass the open-book online Missouri Jurisprudence (Legal and Ethical Responsibilities) Exam, which the Committee says cannot be waived..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Pennsylvania to Missouri?
No national exam is retaken. The Committee's LPC reciprocity checklist (RSMo 324.009 path) does not require NCE/NCMHCE score submission; eligibility rests on at least 1 year of full licensure in another state. Reciprocity applicants must pass the open-book online Missouri Jurisprudence (Legal and Ethical Responsibilities) Exam, which the Committee says cannot be waived.
What does the move cost?
$100 (LPC Application for Licensure by Reciprocity fee (form MO 375-1100); waived with proof of military service; MACHS fingerprint fee paid separately to the vendor (amount not stated on the pages read))
How long will it take?
the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.
Missouri joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Missouri had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Missouri takes Missouri's own authorization, normally a Missouri license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors: Application Forms ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors: LPC Reciprocity Qualifications checklist ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors: Application for Licensure by Reciprocity ($100 fee) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors: Counselor Compact Update ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Missouri Division of Professional Registration: Section 324.009 RSMo reciprocity requirements summary ↗ (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]