Counseling License from Texas to Florida: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Texas to Florida by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), verify your Texas license, and meet Florida's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the Board's LMHC page names the NCMHCE (NBCC) as the accepted exam, and an out-of-state applicant has NBCC send an official score report directly to the Board. Section 456.0145 accepts 'a passing score on a national licensure examination or ... a national certification recognized by the board'; the Board does not state whether an NCE-only licensee qualifies. No separate jurisprudence exam, but an 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course is required before licensure..
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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 Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC): your Texas license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Florida's own exam rule, and Florida applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Florida tier corresponds to your Texas license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Texas → Florida
| Texas (current) | Florida (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.) | $100 ($100 non-refundable application fee; the endorsement application also collects a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048. Livescan fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. Florida 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 Board states only that Florida law requires an initial application to be reviewed within 30 days and that a license issues within 7 days after all documentation is received (s. 456.0145(2)(e)); no end-to-end processing range is published |
| Licensing authority | Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors | Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Florida sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Florida's current requirements on the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an active, unencumbered mental health counseling license (similar scope of practice) in another state, DC or US territory.
- Have actively practiced for at least 2 of the 4 years immediately before applying, with no disciplinary action in the past 5 years and no pending disciplinary proceeding.
- Have NBCC send an official passing national exam score (NCMHCE) directly to the Board.
- Complete a Board-approved 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course and a 3-hour HIV/AIDS course (or file the HIV/AIDS affidavit).
- Complete a Board-approved 2-hour domestic violence course within six months after licensure.
- Submit electronic Livescan fingerprints through an FDLE-approved vendor for background screening.
- Pay the fees ($100 ($100 non-refundable application fee; the endorsement application also collects a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048. Livescan fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. Florida is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.)) and allow the Board states only that Florida law requires an initial application to be reviewed within 30 days and that a license issues within 7 days after all documentation is received (s. 456.0145(2)(e)); no end-to-end processing range is published.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Florida accept a Texas counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Texas to Florida by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling (Florida Department of Health), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), verify your Texas license, and meet Florida's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: the Board's LMHC page names the NCMHCE (NBCC) as the accepted exam, and an out-of-state applicant has NBCC send an official score report directly to the Board. Section 456.0145 accepts 'a passing score on a national licensure examination or ... a national certification recognized by the board'; the Board does not state whether an NCE-only licensee qualifies. No separate jurisprudence exam, but an 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course is required before licensure..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Texas to Florida?
National exam is not retaken: the Board's LMHC page names the NCMHCE (NBCC) as the accepted exam, and an out-of-state applicant has NBCC send an official score report directly to the Board. Section 456.0145 accepts 'a passing score on a national licensure examination or ... a national certification recognized by the board'; the Board does not state whether an NCE-only licensee qualifies. No separate jurisprudence exam, but an 8-hour Florida Laws and Rules course is required before licensure.
What does the move cost?
$100 ($100 non-refundable application fee; the endorsement application also collects a $75 initial licensure fee + $5 unlicensed activity fee at submission ($180 total, $80 refundable if denied or withdrawn), per the Board's LMHC page and form DH-MQA 5048. Livescan fingerprinting paid separately to the vendor; NBCC score-report fee separate. Florida is not an operational compact state, so no privilege fee applies.)
How long will it take?
the Board states only that Florida law requires an initial application to be reviewed within 30 days and that a license issues within 7 days after all documentation is received (s. 456.0145(2)(e)); no end-to-end processing range is published.
Florida joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Florida had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Florida takes Florida's own authorization, normally a Florida license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Florida 491 Board: Licensed Mental Health Counselor (License by MOBILE Endorsement requirements, courses, fees, processing) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida 491 Board: Application for Licensure by Endorsement, DH-MQA 5048 (rev. 2/2024; fee breakdown, course and score-report instructions) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida Statutes s. 491.006 Licensure or certification by endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Florida Statutes s. 456.0145 MOBILE Act licensure by endorsement ↗ (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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