Counseling License from Texas to Wisconsin: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Texas to Wisconsin by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), verify your Texas license, and meet Wisconsin's endorsement requirements. The DSPS reciprocal key-steps form asks only for license verification and the Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam, an open-book exam on Wisconsin statutes and code for which access is provided once the application is submitted ($75). It asks for no new national-exam score..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Texas to Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), which verifies your Texas license and standing, matches it to Wisconsin's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Wisconsin jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Texas → Wisconsin
| Texas (current) | Wisconsin (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.) | $60 (LPC reciprocal application fee per DSPS form #12503 (V1. 5/19/2023); Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam $75 paid separately in LicensE; license-verification fees charged by the other state. Wisconsin 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) | DSPS publishes no processing timeframe for LPC reciprocal applications on the pages read |
| Licensing authority | Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors | Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Wisconsin sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Wisconsin's current requirements on the Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current LPC or substantially equivalent credential in good standing in another state or jurisdiction whose licensure requirements are substantially equivalent to Wisconsin's.
- Apply and pay online through LicensE.
- Have a license verification sent from the jurisdiction where currently licensed.
- Pass the Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam.
- Pay the fees ($60 (LPC reciprocal application fee per DSPS form #12503 (V1. 5/19/2023); Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam $75 paid separately in LicensE; license-verification fees charged by the other state. Wisconsin is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow DSPS publishes no processing timeframe for LPC reciprocal applications on the pages read.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Wisconsin accept a Texas counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Texas to Wisconsin by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Wisconsin Marriage and Family Therapy, Professional Counseling and Social Work Examining Board (Professional Counselor Section), Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), verify your Texas license, and meet Wisconsin's endorsement requirements. The DSPS reciprocal key-steps form asks only for license verification and the Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam, an open-book exam on Wisconsin statutes and code for which access is provided once the application is submitted ($75). It asks for no new national-exam score..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Texas to Wisconsin?
The DSPS reciprocal key-steps form asks only for license verification and the Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam, an open-book exam on Wisconsin statutes and code for which access is provided once the application is submitted ($75). It asks for no new national-exam score.
What does the move cost?
$60 (LPC reciprocal application fee per DSPS form #12503 (V1. 5/19/2023); Wisconsin Jurisprudence Exam $75 paid separately in LicensE; license-verification fees charged by the other state. Wisconsin is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
DSPS publishes no processing timeframe for LPC reciprocal applications on the pages read.
Wisconsin joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Wisconsin had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Wisconsin takes Wisconsin's own authorization, normally a Wisconsin license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- DSPS form #12503: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) Reciprocal License key steps (V1. 5/19/2023) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- DSPS: Professional Counselor profession page (reciprocity and temporary credential) ↗ (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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