Counseling License from Texas to District of Columbia: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Texas to District of Columbia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Texas license, and meet District of Columbia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the official national exam score must be transferred electronically from NBCC. 17 DCMR 6605.2 exempts an applicant who already passed a professional counselor licensure board exam in another US jurisdiction, the CRCC exam, or the NACCMHC (now NBCC) clinical exam from taking the NCE, so NCE or NCMHCE results are accepted. No DC jurisprudence exam or laws-and-rules course is listed on the endorsement checklist, and the Counseling Compact commission lists no jurisprudence requirement for DC..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Neither state gives you a working compact route here: a state that has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not yet operational behaves like a non-member. The route is endorsement through the District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC): your Texas license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under District of Columbia's own exam rule, and District of Columbia applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which District of Columbia tier corresponds to your Texas license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Texas → District of Columbia
| Texas (current) | District of Columbia (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Full re-application required | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | $165 (LPC Associate/LPC/Provisional License Application fee per 22 TAC 885.1(b) as amended in the 2026-03-13 Texas Register ($154 base + $6 Texas.gov + $5 OPP); this is the ordinary LPC application fee, since Texas has no separate endorsement fee. Jurisprudence exam $39; fingerprinting paid to the vendor. Texas has not enacted the Counseling Compact.) | $230 (DC charges a combined $230 application and license fee for LPC endorsement (DC Health endorsement checklist and Licensure-by-Endorsement policy); the two parts are not published separately. + $50 criminal background check fee paid online with the application; NBCC score-transfer fee separate. DC is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.) |
| Processing time | ~6 weeks (BHEC's out-of-state LPC application guide says 'Please allow at least 6 weeks for processing before contacting BHEC for a status update'; no maximum is stated) | the current LPC licensing page and endorsement checklist publish no processing timeframe; a legacy 2015 DC Health instruction PDF (30-60 days) was not relied on because it predates the 2024 endorsement changes |
| Licensing authority | Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors | District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — District of Columbia sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm District of Columbia's current requirements on the District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current, good-standing independent professional counselor license in another state (official verification from every jurisdiction ever licensed).
- Show either 5 years of independent clinical counseling practice under that license (written attestation + resume in lieu of supervision forms) or 3 years of independent licensure plus the NBCC National Certified Counselor credential; otherwise document the full 3,500 post-graduate supervised hours.
- Have NBCC transfer the official national exam score electronically.
- Submit an official transcript for a master's or higher in counseling or a related field (minimum 60 hours) plus the Coursework Completion Form.
- Complete a fingerprint criminal background check ($50) and submit an NPDB self-query report dated within 30 days.
- Pay the fees ($230 (DC charges a combined $230 application and license fee for LPC endorsement (DC Health endorsement checklist and Licensure-by-Endorsement policy); the two parts are not published separately. + $50 criminal background check fee paid online with the application; NBCC score-transfer fee separate. DC is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.)) and allow the current LPC licensing page and endorsement checklist publish no processing timeframe; a legacy 2015 DC Health instruction PDF (30-60 days) was not relied on because it predates the 2024 endorsement changes.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does District of Columbia accept a Texas counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Texas to District of Columbia by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the District of Columbia Board of Professional Counseling (DC Health), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), verify your Texas license, and meet District of Columbia's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the official national exam score must be transferred electronically from NBCC. 17 DCMR 6605.2 exempts an applicant who already passed a professional counselor licensure board exam in another US jurisdiction, the CRCC exam, or the NACCMHC (now NBCC) clinical exam from taking the NCE, so NCE or NCMHCE results are accepted. No DC jurisprudence exam or laws-and-rules course is listed on the endorsement checklist, and the Counseling Compact commission lists no jurisprudence requirement for DC..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Texas to District of Columbia?
National exam is not retaken: the official national exam score must be transferred electronically from NBCC. 17 DCMR 6605.2 exempts an applicant who already passed a professional counselor licensure board exam in another US jurisdiction, the CRCC exam, or the NACCMHC (now NBCC) clinical exam from taking the NCE, so NCE or NCMHCE results are accepted. No DC jurisprudence exam or laws-and-rules course is listed on the endorsement checklist, and the Counseling Compact commission lists no jurisprudence requirement for DC.
What does the move cost?
$230 (DC charges a combined $230 application and license fee for LPC endorsement (DC Health endorsement checklist and Licensure-by-Endorsement policy); the two parts are not published separately. + $50 criminal background check fee paid online with the application; NBCC score-transfer fee separate. DC is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.)
How long will it take?
the current LPC licensing page and endorsement checklist publish no processing timeframe; a legacy 2015 DC Health instruction PDF (30-60 days) was not relied on because it predates the 2024 endorsement changes.
District of Columbia joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. District of Columbia had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in District of Columbia takes District of Columbia's own authorization, normally a District of Columbia license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- DC Health: Professional Counseling Licensing (LPC/LGPC tiers, endorsement checklists, DCMR links) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- DC Board of Professional Counseling: Licensure-by-Endorsement policy (D.C. Code 3-1207.10(c) as amended 2024; $230 fee; 5-year / 3-year+NCC routes) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- DC Board of Professional Counseling: LPC New License Application Checklist by Endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- D.C. Code 3-1207.10 Qualifications for licensure (subsection (c), professional counselor endorsement) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 17 DCMR 6605 National Examination (DC Register rule text) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- BHEC: Applying for an LPC License, Licensed in Another Jurisdiction (no reciprocity, endorsement or temporary licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- BHEC: How to Apply for an LPC License from Out of State (online application guide, 6-week processing note) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Texas Register 2026-03-13: Figure 22 TAC 885.1(b), BHEC fee schedule ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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