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LicenseReciprocity

Counseling License from South Carolina to Georgia: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗

A counseling license transfers from South Carolina to Georgia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your South Carolina license, and meet Georgia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the applicant submits an official passing score on the NBCC NCE or NCMHCE. An applicant who has not passed either exam may be required to pass one before endorsement is considered. No Georgia jurisprudence exam is required for endorsement or for a compact privilege..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

A counseling license moves from South Carolina to Georgia by endorsement. Georgia is operational in the Counseling Compact, but South Carolina is not, so there is no home-state license here to anchor a privilege. Once you hold a Georgia license and live in Georgia, it can anchor privileges into the other operational states. You apply to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), which verifies your South Carolina license and standing, matches it to Georgia's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Georgia jurisprudence and background requirements.

What changes, South Carolina → Georgia

Side-by-side: South Carolina vs Georgia (Counseling (LPC / LMHC)), verified 2026-09-27
South Carolina (current)Georgia (destination)
Counseling Compact statusCounseling Compact enacted — not yet issuingCounseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice
Application fee$130 (non-refundable endorsement application fee per the Board's Counselors Endorsement Application (05/21/2025 v1); the Board's LPC initial license fee under S.C. Code Regs. 10-33(B)(2) is also $130. Returned-check fee up to $30. Applicants disclosing a conviction must add a SLED and other-state background check. South Carolina is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)$100 ($100 non-refundable LPC endorsement application fee; the 05/02/2023 paper form lists $110, which includes a $10 mail-in processing fee. The current online GOALS fee schedule (goals.sos.ga.gov) returned HTTP 403 and could not be checked. Fingerprint background check paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Georgia charges $100 + $30 commission admin fee = $130 for a privilege; no jurisprudence exam).)
Processing timethe Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications~5 weeks (the endorsement application form says to allow up to 25 business days (about 5 weeks) to process a complete application. The Board may also take up the file at a meeting, and an application must be complete 15 days before a meeting to be placed on its agenda. Incomplete applications are withdrawn after 60 days.)
Licensing authoritySouth Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensure of Professional Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists, Addiction Counselors and Psycho-Educational Specialists (SC LLR)Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm Georgia's current requirements on the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a current, unencumbered clinical-level (independent) professional counselor license in another state; associate-level licenses are not eligible.
  5. Verify at least 2 years of unrestricted licensure at the Georgia LPC level from every state ever licensed (Form N or the state's own verification, including any discipline).
  6. Verify at least 2 years of active, unrestricted practice at the LPC level immediately preceding the application.
  7. Submit an official passing NCE or NCMHCE score and an official master's or doctoral transcript sent directly by the school.
  8. Complete a nationwide fingerprint criminal background check at the applicant's expense (O.C.G.A. 43-10A-5(i)).
  9. Pay the fees ($100 ($100 non-refundable LPC endorsement application fee; the 05/02/2023 paper form lists $110, which includes a $10 mail-in processing fee. The current online GOALS fee schedule (goals.sos.ga.gov) returned HTTP 403 and could not be checked. Fingerprint background check paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Georgia charges $100 + $30 commission admin fee = $130 for a privilege; no jurisprudence exam).)) and allow ~5 weeks (the endorsement application form says to allow up to 25 business days (about 5 weeks) to process a complete application. The Board may also take up the file at a meeting, and an application must be complete 15 days before a meeting to be placed on its agenda. Incomplete applications are withdrawn after 60 days.).

Official links

Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗Georgia application ↗Counseling Compact ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Georgia → South CarolinaCounseling in South CarolinaCounseling in GeorgiaAll counseling statesThe Counseling Compact explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Georgia accept a South Carolina counseling license?

A counseling license transfers from South Carolina to Georgia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage & Family Therapists (Secretary of State), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your South Carolina license, and meet Georgia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the applicant submits an official passing score on the NBCC NCE or NCMHCE. An applicant who has not passed either exam may be required to pass one before endorsement is considered. No Georgia jurisprudence exam is required for endorsement or for a compact privilege..

Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from South Carolina to Georgia?

National exam is not retaken: the applicant submits an official passing score on the NBCC NCE or NCMHCE. An applicant who has not passed either exam may be required to pass one before endorsement is considered. No Georgia jurisprudence exam is required for endorsement or for a compact privilege.

What does the move cost?

$100 ($100 non-refundable LPC endorsement application fee; the 05/02/2023 paper form lists $110, which includes a $10 mail-in processing fee. The current online GOALS fee schedule (goals.sos.ga.gov) returned HTTP 403 and could not be checked. Fingerprint background check paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Georgia charges $100 + $30 commission admin fee = $130 for a privilege; no jurisprudence exam).)

How long will it take?

~5 weeks (the endorsement application form says to allow up to 25 business days (about 5 weeks) to process a complete application. The Board may also take up the file at a meeting, and an application must be complete 15 days before a meeting to be placed on its agenda. Incomplete applications are withdrawn after 60 days.)

Will a Georgia license get me into other compact states?

Yes, once Georgia is your home state. Georgia is operational, so an active, unencumbered Georgia 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.

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

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