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

Updated · Data verified · source: New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) ↗
Generated from a source-cited dataset with AI-assisted research; facts checked against official sources · How these pages are made

Does New Jersey accept a Pennsylvania counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to New Jersey by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet New Jersey's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken. The Committee's LPC exam is the NCE, and NBCC/CCE can release scores to the state portal. The out-of-state route requires that the other state's exam requirements be substantially equivalent (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5). No New Jersey jurisprudence exam appears in the Committee's application materials.

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Both states have enacted the Counseling Compact, but neither was issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-10-29. When both go operational, cross-border work between them could run on a privilege; a relocation would still need a New Jersey license. The route is endorsement through the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC): your Pennsylvania license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under New Jersey's own exam rule, and New Jersey applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which New Jersey tier corresponds to your Pennsylvania license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.

What's different between Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into New Jersey. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.

Route, each way

Pennsylvania to New Jersey (this page): Licensure by endorsement.

New Jersey to Pennsylvania (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.

The route is the same in both directions.

Does coming from Pennsylvania matter?

Coming from Pennsylvania does not change the answer: every origin (the other 49 states and DC) gets the same result for a move into New Jersey.

Counseling Compact membership

Pennsylvania has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not issuing under it yet; New Jersey has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not issuing under it yet.

Because they are not both active members, the Counseling Compact does not cover this move.

Application fee

New Jersey lists $75 for an out-of-state applicant and Pennsylvania lists $100 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.

Exam rules on record

New Jersey and Pennsylvania carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.

  • New Jersey (this move): National exam is not retaken. The Committee's LPC exam is the NCE, and NBCC/CCE can release scores to the state portal. The out-of-state route requires that the other state's exam requirements be substantially equivalent (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5). No New Jersey jurisprudence exam appears in the Committee's application materials.
  • Pennsylvania (the reverse move): No exam retake on the endorsement route: 49 Pa. Code 49.18 issues the license 'without examination'. Under the separate reciprocity rule (49.16) the Board accepts exam grades from another jurisdiction (e.g., the NCE) if the exam is similar and the passing grade at least equals Pennsylvania's, but only where that state grants reciprocity to Pennsylvania licensees. No state jurisprudence exam is required.

What changes, Pennsylvania → New Jersey

Side-by-side: Pennsylvania vs New Jersey (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-10-29
Pennsylvania (current)New Jersey (destination)
Counseling Compact statusLicensure by endorsement · Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuingLicensure by endorsement · 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.)$75 (nonrefundable application fee per the Committee's application form and Application Process Overview; criminal history check fee separate ($18.75 for applicants already fingerprinted for a DCA board, per the paper form rev. 1/2/19); initial LPC license fee not verified on an official page)
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 Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications
Licensing authorityPennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional CounselorsNew Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC)

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm New Jersey's current requirements on the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a valid, current professional counselor license in good standing in another state whose education, training and exam requirements are substantially equivalent to New Jersey's (N.J.S.A. 45:1-7.5).
  5. Have practiced professional counseling within the five years before applying.
  6. Have the other state's licensing board send license verification directly to the Committee.
  7. Have official graduate transcripts sent directly from the college or university.
  8. Complete the Division of Consumer Affairs criminal history background check (fingerprinting).
  9. Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.

Official links

New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) ↗New Jersey application ↗

Related guides

Counseling in PennsylvaniaCounseling in New JerseyAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

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

Not yet. New Jersey had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-10-29, so counseling clients located in New Jersey takes New Jersey's own authorization, normally a New Jersey license.

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-10-29.

Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-10-29

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