Counseling License from Texas to Washington: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program ↗
A counseling license transfers from Texas to Washington by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program, verify your Texas license, and meet Washington's endorsement requirements. Applicants from a substantially equivalent state obtain the license 'without repeating education or exams already completed in another state' (DOH out-of-state page); the specific national exam Washington accepts was not stated on the pages read. No Washington jurisprudence exam is listed for out-of-state applicants..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Texas to Washington 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. You apply to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program, which verifies your Texas license and standing, matches it to Washington's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Washington jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Texas → Washington
| Texas (current) | Washington (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.) | $95 (LMHC application fee per WAC 246-809-990; initial license fee $80 and UW HEAL-WA online access fee $16 are charged separately. Applicants on the reciprocity/probationary route also pay the probationary 'application and initial license' fee of $175. Washington is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.) |
| 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) | DOH publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state LMHC applications on the pages read |
| Licensing authority | Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors | Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Washington sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Washington's current requirements on the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current license in a state DOH considers substantially equivalent, held for at least two years, with no history of disciplinary action (RCW 18.130.077).
- Have been first licensed in a substantially equivalent state; a later license from a universal-licensure state does not cure a non-equivalent original license (SHB 1724).
- From a state whose scope DOH found not substantially equivalent (Arkansas, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Carolina, Wisconsin), apply for both the probationary license and the full LMHC and close the gap within the probationary period.
- Use the DOH state credential search tool to confirm which out-of-state pathway applies.
- Pay the fees ($95 (LMHC application fee per WAC 246-809-990; initial license fee $80 and UW HEAL-WA online access fee $16 are charged separately. Applicants on the reciprocity/probationary route also pay the probationary 'application and initial license' fee of $175. Washington is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow DOH publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state LMHC applications on the pages read.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Washington accept a Texas counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Texas to Washington by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Washington State Department of Health, Licensed Mental Health Counselor program, verify your Texas license, and meet Washington's endorsement requirements. Applicants from a substantially equivalent state obtain the license 'without repeating education or exams already completed in another state' (DOH out-of-state page); the specific national exam Washington accepts was not stated on the pages read. No Washington jurisprudence exam is listed for out-of-state applicants..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Texas to Washington?
Applicants from a substantially equivalent state obtain the license 'without repeating education or exams already completed in another state' (DOH out-of-state page); the specific national exam Washington accepts was not stated on the pages read. No Washington jurisprudence exam is listed for out-of-state applicants.
What does the move cost?
$95 (LMHC application fee per WAC 246-809-990; initial license fee $80 and UW HEAL-WA online access fee $16 are charged separately. Applicants on the reciprocity/probationary route also pay the probationary 'application and initial license' fee of $175. Washington is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
DOH publishes no processing timeframe for out-of-state LMHC applications on the pages read.
Washington joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Washington had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Washington takes Washington's own authorization, normally a Washington license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Washington DOH: Mental Health Counselor, Out-of-State Applicants (probationary license, substantial equivalency, universal licensure) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- WAC 246-809-990, mental health counselor fees ↗ (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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