Skip to content
LicenseReciprocity

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

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) ↗

A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to North Dakota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet North Dakota's endorsement requirements. National exams are not retaken, but the sending state must have REQUIRED them: the LPC reciprocity route is open only if the applicant's state requires the NCE (the form says the NCMHCE 'does not apply to LPC licensure' and an either/or NCE-or-NCMHCE state does not qualify), and the LPCC tier requires a passing NCMHCE. Proof of passing a board-approved counselor exam is submitted with the reciprocity application. No state jurisprudence exam was found in the Board's rules or forms..

Verify this exact pair in the checker

Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.

Run the Reciprocity Checker →

Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

A counseling license moves from Pennsylvania to North Dakota 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 North Dakota license. You apply to the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE), which verifies your Pennsylvania license and standing, matches it to North Dakota's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any North Dakota jurisprudence and background requirements.

What changes, Pennsylvania → North Dakota

Side-by-side: Pennsylvania vs North Dakota (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
Pennsylvania (current)North Dakota (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.)$150 (LPCC application fee per NDAC 97-02-01.1-04 and the LPCC application form. Because the LPCC is a specialty license issued only to ND LPCs, an out-of-state applicant also files the LPC reciprocity application ($150, of which $50 is non-refundable per the form; NDAC 97-02-01-01.1), so the realistic total is $300. LPCC renewal $75 biennially on top of the $150 LPC renewal. NBCC score-report and transcript fees are separate. North Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
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 published in the Board's rules or application forms; applications are valid for one year from submission
Licensing authorityPennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional CounselorsNorth Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE)

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm North Dakota's current requirements on the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Obtain the North Dakota LPC first (by reciprocity, which requires a state whose law requires a 60-semester-hour counseling master's, a 100-hour practicum plus 600-hour internship, the NCE, and 100 hours of supervision by a licensed counselor); the LPCC application requires an ND LAPC or LPC license number.
  5. Hold a current LPCC-equivalent clinical license from a state whose requirements are equal to or more stringent than North Dakota's (NDAC 97-02-01.1-03).
  6. Submit a copy of the other state's license and a copy of its licensing statute and rules, with the name and address of its licensing board (NDAC 97-02-01-04).
  7. Have an official graduate transcript sent directly to the Board and list all 60 required semester hours by content area.
  8. Submit proof of a passing NCMHCE score for the LPCC tier.
  9. Pay the fees ($150 (LPCC application fee per NDAC 97-02-01.1-04 and the LPCC application form. Because the LPCC is a specialty license issued only to ND LPCs, an out-of-state applicant also files the LPC reciprocity application ($150, of which $50 is non-refundable per the form; NDAC 97-02-01-01.1), so the realistic total is $300. LPCC renewal $75 biennially on top of the $150 LPC renewal. NBCC score-report and transcript fees are separate. North Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow no processing timeframe published in the Board's rules or application forms; applications are valid for one year from submission.

Official links

North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE) ↗North Dakota application ↗

Related guides

Reverse: North Dakota → PennsylvaniaCounseling in PennsylvaniaCounseling in North DakotaAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does North Dakota accept a Pennsylvania counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to North Dakota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners (NDBCE), verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet North Dakota's endorsement requirements. National exams are not retaken, but the sending state must have REQUIRED them: the LPC reciprocity route is open only if the applicant's state requires the NCE (the form says the NCMHCE 'does not apply to LPC licensure' and an either/or NCE-or-NCMHCE state does not qualify), and the LPCC tier requires a passing NCMHCE. Proof of passing a board-approved counselor exam is submitted with the reciprocity application. No state jurisprudence exam was found in the Board's rules or forms..

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

National exams are not retaken, but the sending state must have REQUIRED them: the LPC reciprocity route is open only if the applicant's state requires the NCE (the form says the NCMHCE 'does not apply to LPC licensure' and an either/or NCE-or-NCMHCE state does not qualify), and the LPCC tier requires a passing NCMHCE. Proof of passing a board-approved counselor exam is submitted with the reciprocity application. No state jurisprudence exam was found in the Board's rules or forms.

What does the move cost?

$150 (LPCC application fee per NDAC 97-02-01.1-04 and the LPCC application form. Because the LPCC is a specialty license issued only to ND LPCs, an out-of-state applicant also files the LPC reciprocity application ($150, of which $50 is non-refundable per the form; NDAC 97-02-01-01.1), so the realistic total is $300. LPCC renewal $75 biennially on top of the $150 LPC renewal. NBCC score-report and transcript fees are separate. North Dakota is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)

How long will it take?

no processing timeframe published in the Board's rules or application forms; applications are valid for one year from submission.

North Dakota joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?

Not yet. North Dakota had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in North Dakota takes North Dakota's own authorization, normally a North Dakota 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]