Counseling License from Texas to Maryland: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Texas to Maryland by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC), verify your Texas license, and meet Maryland's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: submit NCE or NCMHCE scores. A state law exam is ALSO required: the Maryland Law Assessment (MLA), taken online through CCE, with the certificate submitted with the application. The Board may waive the examination requirement for applicants from jurisdictions granting similar endorsement to Maryland licensees who passed a Board-approved exam (COMAR 10.58.12.06)..
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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 Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC): your Texas license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Maryland's own exam rule, and Maryland applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Maryland tier corresponds to your Texas license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Texas → Maryland
| Texas (current) | Maryland (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.) | $250 (LCPC out-of-state application fee (check or money order); + separate $150 license fee due on notification of eligibility; non-refundable; Maryland Law Assessment fee paid to CCE and CHRC fingerprint fee paid separately. Maryland is not yet issuing Counseling Compact privileges.) |
| 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) | no approval timeframe is published; the Board determines within 30 days of receipt whether the application is complete, and applicants get 90 days to cure deficiencies before the file is closed |
| Licensing authority | Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors | Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Maryland sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Maryland's current requirements on the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current clinical professional counselor license in good standing with no past or pending discipline, verified by the other board on Maryland's out-of-state verification form.
- Show the other jurisdiction's clinical licensure requirements are equivalent to or exceed Md. Health Occ. §17-304, or qualify under the COMAR equivalency provisions.
- Submit official transcripts for a master's or doctoral counseling degree.
- Pass the Maryland Law Assessment and submit NCE or NCMHCE scores.
- Complete a criminal history records check (CHRC).
- Pay the fees ($250 (LCPC out-of-state application fee (check or money order); + separate $150 license fee due on notification of eligibility; non-refundable; Maryland Law Assessment fee paid to CCE and CHRC fingerprint fee paid separately. Maryland is not yet issuing Counseling Compact privileges.)) and allow no approval timeframe is published; the Board determines within 30 days of receipt whether the application is complete, and applicants get 90 days to cure deficiencies before the file is closed.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Maryland accept a Texas counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Texas to Maryland by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, LCPC), verify your Texas license, and meet Maryland's endorsement requirements. National exam is not retaken: submit NCE or NCMHCE scores. A state law exam is ALSO required: the Maryland Law Assessment (MLA), taken online through CCE, with the certificate submitted with the application. The Board may waive the examination requirement for applicants from jurisdictions granting similar endorsement to Maryland licensees who passed a Board-approved exam (COMAR 10.58.12.06)..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Texas to Maryland?
National exam is not retaken: submit NCE or NCMHCE scores. A state law exam is ALSO required: the Maryland Law Assessment (MLA), taken online through CCE, with the certificate submitted with the application. The Board may waive the examination requirement for applicants from jurisdictions granting similar endorsement to Maryland licensees who passed a Board-approved exam (COMAR 10.58.12.06).
What does the move cost?
$250 (LCPC out-of-state application fee (check or money order); + separate $150 license fee due on notification of eligibility; non-refundable; Maryland Law Assessment fee paid to CCE and CHRC fingerprint fee paid separately. Maryland is not yet issuing Counseling Compact privileges.)
How long will it take?
no approval timeframe is published; the Board determines within 30 days of receipt whether the application is complete, and applicants get 90 days to cure deficiencies before the file is closed.
Maryland joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Maryland had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Maryland takes Maryland's own authorization, normally a Maryland license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Maryland BOPCT: LCPC Out of State Applicants application and instructions ($250 + $150, MLA, CHRC) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- COMAR 10.58.12.06 Licensure Eligibility: Out-of-State Applicants ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Maryland BOPCT: LCPC out-of-state instructions (legacy form; experience tiers) ↗ (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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