Counseling License from Pennsylvania to Wyoming: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board ↗
A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to Wyoming by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board, verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Wyoming's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the applicant has the testing agency (NBCC) send an official exam score report to the Board. The reciprocity packet lists no Wyoming jurisprudence exam..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Pennsylvania to Wyoming by endorsement. Wyoming 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 Wyoming license and live in Wyoming, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. You apply to the Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board, which verifies your Pennsylvania license and standing, matches it to Wyoming's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Wyoming jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Pennsylvania → Wyoming
| Pennsylvania (current) | Wyoming (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.) | $375 (LPC by Reciprocity application fee per the Board's reciprocity application; the $419 total due at application also includes a $39 background-check fee and a $5 NPDB continuous-query fee; all fees non-refundable. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Wyoming's total privilege cost is $280 including the $30 commission fee, with no jurisprudence exam, per the commission's fee table).) |
| 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 | 5–8 weeks (board-stated: review 'generally takes 2-3 weeks in addition to the 3-5 weeks for the background check') |
| Licensing authority | Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors | Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Wyoming sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Wyoming's current requirements on the Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a similar license in another jurisdiction whose current requirements are substantially similar to Wyoming's (the Board compares state requirements and does not pre-review).
- Have official verification sent from every jurisdiction where you hold or have held a license or certification.
- Submit two FD-258 fingerprint cards completed within six months, plus proof of lawful presence.
- Have the school send an official master's transcript, adding a transcript evaluation form if the degree is not in counseling.
- Have an official exam score report sent to the Board and include your Professional Disclosure Statement.
- Pay the fees ($375 (LPC by Reciprocity application fee per the Board's reciprocity application; the $419 total due at application also includes a $39 background-check fee and a $5 NPDB continuous-query fee; all fees non-refundable. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Wyoming's total privilege cost is $280 including the $30 commission fee, with no jurisprudence exam, per the commission's fee table).)) and allow 5–8 weeks (board-stated: review 'generally takes 2-3 weeks in addition to the 3-5 weeks for the background check').
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Wyoming accept a Pennsylvania counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Pennsylvania to Wyoming by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board, verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet Wyoming's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the applicant has the testing agency (NBCC) send an official exam score report to the Board. The reciprocity packet lists no Wyoming jurisprudence exam..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Pennsylvania to Wyoming?
National exam is not retaken: the applicant has the testing agency (NBCC) send an official exam score report to the Board. The reciprocity packet lists no Wyoming jurisprudence exam.
What does the move cost?
$375 (LPC by Reciprocity application fee per the Board's reciprocity application; the $419 total due at application also includes a $39 background-check fee and a $5 NPDB continuous-query fee; all fees non-refundable. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Wyoming's total privilege cost is $280 including the $30 commission fee, with no jurisprudence exam, per the commission's fee table).)
How long will it take?
5–8 weeks (board-stated: review 'generally takes 2-3 weeks in addition to the 3-5 weeks for the background check')
Will a Wyoming license get me into other compact states?
Yes, once Wyoming is your home state. Wyoming is operational, so an active, unencumbered Wyoming 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.
- Wyoming MHPLB: Licensed Professional Counselor by Reciprocity Instructions and Application (Board-linked Google Doc) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Wyoming MHPLB: Application and Forms (LPC by reciprocity, processing times) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Wyoming MHPLB: Questions and Answers (reciprocity is state-to-state comparison, no pre-review) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (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
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