Skip to content
LicenseReciprocity

Transfer Your Counseling License to Texas: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors ↗

Texas offers no licensure-by-endorsement route for an out-of-state counselor, so a license here means a full application to the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, reviewed against Texas's complete requirements however long you have been licensed elsewhere. 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.). Processing: ~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). Texas has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so no privilege reaches it either.

Moving to Texas from a specific state?

Pick your current state — the checker returns your exact pathway.

Run the Reciprocity Checker →

Verdict

Full re-application required

Texas has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so the planning is simple, if slower. There is no compact privilege to fall back on, including for telehealth: you cannot lawfully counsel a client located in Texas until Texas authorizes you, which for most counselors means a license from the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors (check the notes below for any telehealth-only registration). Start the application before you need the income.

Budget time accordingly. Because Texas has no endorsement path, the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors does not take your current license as a shortcut; expect it to check your graduate degree, national exam, and post-degree supervised experience against its own standard, as it would for a first-time applicant.

Texas's independent tier is the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC); the LPC Associate is the supervised tier. The BHEC states: 'Texas does not offer reciprocity, licensure-by-endorsement, or temporary licensure.' An out-of-state counselor uses the regular LPC application and must document the full Chapter 503 requirements, including 3,000 supervised hours, though the national exam score transfers from NBCC instead of being retaken. endorsement_available is therefore false. Aggregator claims that Texas offers counselor reciprocity are wrong. The fee figure image in the Texas Register was read row by row: the counselor application row shows $165.00 total. Texas has not enacted the Counseling Compact; compact_member and compact_status are assembler-provided.

Texas requirements at a glance

Out-of-state counseling license transfer requirements for Texas, verified 2026-09-27
ExamNo endorsement route. The national exam already passed (NCE or NCMHCE) is not retaken: scores are requested from NBCC for direct submission to the Texas portal. Every applicant must also pass the Texas Jurisprudence Examination within six months before applying.
Additional requirements
  • Meet the full Texas LPC requirements in Occupations Code ch. 503, including at least 3,000 hours of supervised experience ('These requirements cannot be waived')
  • Hold a graduate degree meeting Board Rules 681.82 and 681.83, with official transcripts sent directly to the Board
  • Submit the Practicum Documentation Form and the Supervised Experience Documentation Form
  • Submit a certified National Practitioner Data Bank self-query report
  • Complete fingerprinting after the application is submitted
  • Pass the Texas Jurisprudence Examination within six months before applying
Fees$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.)
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)

Step by step

  1. Confirm Texas's current requirements on the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors website — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors (application linked on this page).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Meet the full Texas LPC requirements in Occupations Code ch. 503, including at least 3,000 hours of supervised experience ('These requirements cannot be waived').
  5. Hold a graduate degree meeting Board Rules 681.82 and 681.83, with official transcripts sent directly to the Board.
  6. Submit the Practicum Documentation Form and the Supervised Experience Documentation Form.
  7. Submit a certified National Practitioner Data Bank self-query report.
  8. Complete fingerprinting after the application is submitted.
  9. Pass the Texas Jurisprudence Examination within six months before applying.
  10. Pay the fees ($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.)) and allow ~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).

Official links

Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors ↗Texas application ↗

Coming from a specific state?

Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into Texas:

Alabama → TexasAlaska → TexasArizona → TexasArkansas → TexasCalifornia → TexasColorado → TexasConnecticut → TexasDelaware → TexasDistrict of Columbia → TexasFlorida → TexasGeorgia → TexasHawaii → TexasIdaho → TexasIllinois → TexasIndiana → TexasIowa → TexasKansas → TexasKentucky → TexasLouisiana → TexasMaine → Texas
All 50 origin states
Maryland → TexasMassachusetts → TexasMichigan → TexasMinnesota → TexasMississippi → TexasMissouri → TexasMontana → TexasNebraska → TexasNevada → TexasNew Hampshire → TexasNew Jersey → TexasNew Mexico → TexasNew York → TexasNorth Carolina → TexasNorth Dakota → TexasOhio → TexasOklahoma → TexasOregon → TexasPennsylvania → TexasRhode Island → TexasSouth Carolina → TexasSouth Dakota → TexasTennessee → TexasUtah → TexasVermont → TexasVirginia → TexasWashington → TexasWest Virginia → TexasWisconsin → TexasWyoming → Texas

Nearby states

Counseling license transfer into the states bordering Texas:

Texas for other professions

Frequently asked questions

Does my counseling license transfer to Texas?

Texas offers no licensure-by-endorsement route for an out-of-state counselor, so a license here means a full application to the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, reviewed against Texas's complete requirements however long you have been licensed elsewhere. 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.). Processing: ~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). Texas has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so no privilege reaches it either.

Do I have to retake the NCE or NCMHCE to get licensed in Texas?

No endorsement route. The national exam already passed (NCE or NCMHCE) is not retaken: scores are requested from NBCC for direct submission to the Texas portal. Every applicant must also pass the Texas Jurisprudence Examination within six months before applying.

How much does a Texas counseling license cost as an out-of-state applicant?

$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.)

How long does Texas take to process the application?

~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)

Is Texas in the Counseling Compact?

No. Texas had not enacted the compact as of 2026-09-27. No privilege reaches Texas, including for telehealth, so a Texas license is required to counsel clients located there.

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.

Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27

How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]