Counseling License from Vermont to Pennsylvania: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors ↗
A counseling license transfers from Vermont to Pennsylvania by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, verify your Vermont license, and meet Pennsylvania's endorsement requirements. No exam retake on the endorsement route: 49 Pa. Code 49.18 issues the license 'without examination'. Under the separate reciprocity rule (49.16) the Board accepts exam grades from another jurisdiction (e.g., the NCE) if the exam is similar and the passing grade at least equals Pennsylvania's, but only where that state grants reciprocity to Pennsylvania licensees. No state jurisprudence exam is required..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Both states have enacted the Counseling Compact, but neither was issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27. When both go operational, cross-border work between them could run on a privilege; a relocation would still need a Pennsylvania license. The route is endorsement through the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors: your Vermont license is verified, your NCE or NCMHCE score is credited under Pennsylvania's own exam rule, and Pennsylvania applies any jurisprudence and background checks it requires. Check which Pennsylvania tier corresponds to your Vermont license before you file, because the titles do not map one to one.
What changes, Vermont → Pennsylvania
| Vermont (current) | Pennsylvania (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing | Counseling Compact enacted — not yet issuing |
| Application fee | fee not verified: OPR sets fees in statute (26 V.S.A. chapter 65) and its fee documents on outside.vermont.gov returned 403, while legislature.vermont.gov refused connections on 2026-09-27; the application fee is non-refundable. Vermont is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet. | $100 (application fee for licensure and original license issuance as an LPC per 49 Pa. Code 47.4(6); no separate endorsement fee is listed. Pennsylvania is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.) |
| Processing time | ~1 weeks (OPR's apply page says 'Please allow a minimum of 5 full business days for processing. Processing times may vary depending on volume'; no maximum is stated. A 90-day provisional license may be issued when license verification is the only outstanding item.) | the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion |
| Licensing authority | Vermont Office of Professional Regulation, Board of Allied Mental Health Practitioners | Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Pennsylvania sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Pennsylvania's current requirements on the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a professional counselor license in good standing in another state, with a letter from that state certifying licensure and reporting any disciplinary history.
- Meet Pennsylvania's educational requirement (63 P.S. 1907(f)(2) and 49 Pa. Code 49.13(a)(3), a 60-semester-hour counseling graduate degree).
- Demonstrate at least 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience that conformed to the licensing state's rules.
- Demonstrate active practice of professional counseling for 5 of the last 7 years before applying (49 Pa. Code 49.18(5)).
- Complete 3 hours of Board-approved child abuse recognition and reporting training and submit two certificates of recommendation (49 Pa. Code 49.12).
- Pay the fees ($100 (application fee for licensure and original license issuance as an LPC per 49 Pa. Code 47.4(6); no separate endorsement fee is listed. Pennsylvania is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)) and allow the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Pennsylvania accept a Vermont counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Vermont to Pennsylvania by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, verify your Vermont license, and meet Pennsylvania's endorsement requirements. No exam retake on the endorsement route: 49 Pa. Code 49.18 issues the license 'without examination'. Under the separate reciprocity rule (49.16) the Board accepts exam grades from another jurisdiction (e.g., the NCE) if the exam is similar and the passing grade at least equals Pennsylvania's, but only where that state grants reciprocity to Pennsylvania licensees. No state jurisprudence exam is required..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Vermont to Pennsylvania?
No exam retake on the endorsement route: 49 Pa. Code 49.18 issues the license 'without examination'. Under the separate reciprocity rule (49.16) the Board accepts exam grades from another jurisdiction (e.g., the NCE) if the exam is similar and the passing grade at least equals Pennsylvania's, but only where that state grants reciprocity to Pennsylvania licensees. No state jurisprudence exam is required.
What does the move cost?
$100 (application fee for licensure and original license issuance as an LPC per 49 Pa. Code 47.4(6); no separate endorsement fee is listed. Pennsylvania is a pending Counseling Compact state, so no privilege fee applies yet.)
How long will it take?
the Board publishes no processing timeframe for endorsement applications; an Act 41 applicant may be granted a provisional license at the Board's discretion.
Pennsylvania joined the Counseling Compact. Can I use a privilege there?
Not yet. Pennsylvania had enacted the compact but was not issuing or accepting privileges as of 2026-09-27, so counseling clients located in Pennsylvania takes Pennsylvania's own authorization, normally a Pennsylvania license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- Pennsylvania Code 49 Pa. Code 49.18, Licensure by endorsement ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Pennsylvania Code 49 Pa. Code 49.16, Application for licensure by reciprocity ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Pennsylvania Code 49 Pa. Code 49.12, General qualifications (child abuse training, recommendations) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Pennsylvania Code 49 Pa. Code 47.4, Licensure fees ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- PA Department of State: Professional Counselor Licensure Snapshot (endorsement and Act 41) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- PA State Board: LPC application FAQs (Act 41 provisional license) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Vermont OPR: Allied Mental Health Applications and Renewals (endorsement, fast track, five-year rule, compact status) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Vermont OPR: Fast-Track Endorsement (3 V.S.A. 136a) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Vermont OPR: Application Instructions for Licensure as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor (Internet Archive copy of the official PDF; live file returned 403) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Vermont OPR: Allied Mental Health FAQs ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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