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LicenseReciprocity

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

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: New Jersey Professional Counselor Examiners Committee (State Board of Marriage and Family Therapy Examiners, Division of Consumer Affairs) (Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC) ↗

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 2026-09-27. 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 changes, Pennsylvania → New Jersey

Side-by-side: Pennsylvania vs New Jersey (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
Pennsylvania (current)New Jersey (destination)
Counseling Compact statusCounseling Compact enacted — not yet issuingCounseling 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 ($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)) and allow the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.

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

Reverse: New Jersey → PennsylvaniaCounseling in PennsylvaniaCounseling in New JerseyAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

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..

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

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.

What does the move cost?

$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)

How long will it take?

the Committee publishes no processing timeframe for reciprocity applications.

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 2026-09-27, 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 2026-09-27.

Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27

How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]