Counseling License from Texas to Hawaii: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, Mental Health Counselor Program, Licensed Mental Health Counselor (MHC) ↗
No — Hawaii has no reciprocity or endorsement path for Texas counseling license holders. You must apply to the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, Mental Health Counselor Program, Licensed Mental Health Counselor (MHC) as a new applicant and meet Hawaii's full licensing requirements, including any exams it requires that you have not already passed.
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Verdict
Full re-application
Hawaii has no endorsement path for counselors licensed in Texas or anywhere else, so plan for a full application to the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, Mental Health Counselor Program, Licensed Mental Health Counselor (MHC). Your Texas license does not stand in for Hawaii's requirements: expect the board to review your graduate degree, national exam, and post-degree supervised experience against its own standard, as it would for a first-time applicant. Neither Texas nor Hawaii is operational in the Counseling Compact, so it plays no part in this move.
What changes, Texas → Hawaii
| Texas (current) | Hawaii (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Full re-application required | Full re-application required |
| 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.) | $60 ($60 non-refundable application fee (Hawaii PVL Mental Health Counselor requirements and instructions, form MHC-00 rev. 06/24). A separate license fee is due once all requirements are met, prorated by triennium year: $444, $350 or $256 on the published schedule. That schedule runs only through June 30, 2026, so fees for licenses issued in the 2026-2029 triennium were not published on the form read. $25 dishonored-payment charge. NBCC score-report fee separate. Hawaii has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so no privilege exists.) |
| 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 program publishes no processing timeframe; an application is deemed abandoned if licensure is not completed within one year of filing (HRS 436B-9) |
| Licensing authority | Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors | Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, Mental Health Counselor Program, Licensed Mental Health Counselor (MHC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Hawaii sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Review Hawaii's initial-licensure requirements on the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, Mental Health Counselor Program, Licensed Mental Health Counselor (MHC) website (linked below).
- Expect to meet Hawaii's education/experience requirements and pass any required exams you have not already passed — a national exam you passed often still counts, as can prior out-of-state licensure toward experience.
- Submit the standard (new applicant) application with fees ($60 ($60 non-refundable application fee (Hawaii PVL Mental Health Counselor requirements and instructions, form MHC-00 rev. 06/24). A separate license fee is due once all requirements are met, prorated by triennium year: $444, $350 or $256 on the published schedule. That schedule runs only through June 30, 2026, so fees for licenses issued in the 2026-2029 triennium were not published on the form read. $25 dishonored-payment charge. NBCC score-report fee separate. Hawaii has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so no privilege exists.)).
- Allow the program publishes no processing timeframe; an application is deemed abandoned if licensure is not completed within one year of filing (HRS 436B-9).
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Hawaii accept a Texas counseling license?
No — Hawaii has no reciprocity or endorsement path for Texas counseling license holders. You must apply to the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, Mental Health Counselor Program, Licensed Mental Health Counselor (MHC) as a new applicant and meet Hawaii's full licensing requirements, including any exams it requires that you have not already passed.
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Texas to Hawaii?
National exam is not retaken: an applicant who already passed the NCE has NBCC send written documentation directly to the program. Hawaii's application requires the NCE ('All applicants shall pass the National Counselor Examination'); the program's documents do not say whether an NCMHCE-only licensee is accepted. No jurisprudence exam.
What does the move cost?
Application fee: $60 ($60 non-refundable application fee (Hawaii PVL Mental Health Counselor requirements and instructions, form MHC-00 rev. 06/24). A separate license fee is due once all requirements are met, prorated by triennium year: $444, $350 or $256 on the published schedule. That schedule runs only through June 30, 2026, so fees for licenses issued in the 2026-2029 triennium were not published on the form read. $25 dishonored-payment charge. NBCC score-report fee separate. Hawaii has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so no privilege exists.) Add the cost of documenting Hawaii's full requirements, such as transcripts and supervised-hour verification.
How long will it take?
the program publishes no processing timeframe; an application is deemed abandoned if licensure is not completed within one year of filing (HRS 436B-9)
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Hawaii PVL: Requirements and Instructions, Mental Health Counselor License Application (MHC-00 rev. 06/24; 'There is no reciprocity') ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Hawaii PVL: Mental Health Counselor Program FAQs (Q5, no reciprocity agreement with any state) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- HRS 453D-8 Reciprocity (Hawaii Legislature, data.capitol.hawaii.gov) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Hawaii PVL: Mental Health Counselor Licensing Program ↗ (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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