Counseling License from Wyoming to Illinois: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-09-27 · source: Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) ↗
A counseling license transfers from Wyoming to Illinois by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), verify your Wyoming license, and meet Illinois's endorsement requirements. National exams are not retaken but must be complete. The Illinois LCPC requires either the CRCE (CRCC) or BOTH the NCE and the NCMHCE (NBCC). An endorsement applicant who passed only one of the NCE/NCMHCE must pass the other as part of the Illinois process. Official score reports must be sent directly to IDFPR. No state jurisprudence exam is required..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
A counseling license moves from Wyoming to Illinois by endorsement. Illinois has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so no privilege anchored to your Wyoming license reaches it. You apply to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), which verifies your Wyoming license and standing, matches it to Illinois's independent tier, and applies its own rule on crediting your national exam score, plus any Illinois jurisprudence and background requirements.
What changes, Wyoming → Illinois
| Wyoming (current) | Illinois (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Counseling Compact status | Counseling Compact member — compact privilege to practice | Licensure by endorsement |
| Application fee | $375 (LPC by Reciprocity application fee per the Board's reciprocity application; the $419 total due at application also includes a $39 background-check fee and a $5 NPDB continuous-query fee; all fees non-refundable. NOT the Counseling Compact privilege fee (Wyoming's total privilege cost is $280 including the $30 commission fee, with no jurisprudence exam, per the commission's fee table).) | $150 (LCPC application fee (all methods, incl. endorsement) per 68 IAC 1375.205(a)(1) and the IDFPR LPC/LCPC instruction packet; nonrefundable. No separate license-issuance fee listed. Other-state certification fees are charged by those boards. Illinois is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.) |
| Processing time | 5–8 weeks (board-stated: review 'generally takes 2-3 weeks in addition to the 3-5 weeks for the background check') | IDFPR publishes no processing timeframe. The instruction packet only says to allow 6 weeks from mailing before asking about status. Applications are valid for 3 years. |
| Licensing authority | Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Illinois sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Illinois's current requirements on the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold an ACTIVE LPC/LCPC or equivalent counselor license in another U.S. state or jurisdiction.
- Have Certification of Licensure sent directly from your original licensing state and the state where you most recently practiced.
- Have official score reports for the CRCE, or for both the NCE and the NCMHCE, sent directly to IDFPR.
- Document the graduate counseling degree (ED-PC form) and 2 years of post-degree supervised experience (VE-LCPC form), unless licensed at the independent level for 5 consecutive years without discipline.
- Complete the Personal History Questions (PHQ) form.
- Pay the fees ($150 (LCPC application fee (all methods, incl. endorsement) per 68 IAC 1375.205(a)(1) and the IDFPR LPC/LCPC instruction packet; nonrefundable. No separate license-issuance fee listed. Other-state certification fees are charged by those boards. Illinois is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)) and allow IDFPR publishes no processing timeframe. The instruction packet only says to allow 6 weeks from mailing before asking about status. Applications are valid for 3 years..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Illinois accept a Wyoming counseling license?
A counseling license transfers from Wyoming to Illinois by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), Division of Professional Regulation: Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC), verify your Wyoming license, and meet Illinois's endorsement requirements. National exams are not retaken but must be complete. The Illinois LCPC requires either the CRCE (CRCC) or BOTH the NCE and the NCMHCE (NBCC). An endorsement applicant who passed only one of the NCE/NCMHCE must pass the other as part of the Illinois process. Official score reports must be sent directly to IDFPR. No state jurisprudence exam is required..
Do I retake the NCE or NCMHCE moving from Wyoming to Illinois?
National exams are not retaken but must be complete. The Illinois LCPC requires either the CRCE (CRCC) or BOTH the NCE and the NCMHCE (NBCC). An endorsement applicant who passed only one of the NCE/NCMHCE must pass the other as part of the Illinois process. Official score reports must be sent directly to IDFPR. No state jurisprudence exam is required.
What does the move cost?
$150 (LCPC application fee (all methods, incl. endorsement) per 68 IAC 1375.205(a)(1) and the IDFPR LPC/LCPC instruction packet; nonrefundable. No separate license-issuance fee listed. Other-state certification fees are charged by those boards. Illinois is not a Counseling Compact state, so there is no privilege fee.)
How long will it take?
IDFPR publishes no processing timeframe. The instruction packet only says to allow 6 weeks from mailing before asking about status. Applications are valid for 3 years.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-09-27.
- IDFPR: Professional Counselor (license types, CORE online applications) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- IDFPR: LPC/LCPC application instruction sheet (Examination, Acceptance of Examination, Endorsement; packet updated 8/1/24) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 68 IAC 1375.160 Licensure by Endorsement as a Clinical Professional Counselor (ILGA JCAR; Internet Archive capture 2025-03-30) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- 68 IAC 1375.205 Fees (ILGA JCAR; Internet Archive capture 2025-03-26) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Wyoming MHPLB: Licensed Professional Counselor by Reciprocity Instructions and Application (Board-linked Google Doc) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Wyoming MHPLB: Application and Forms (LPC by reciprocity, processing times) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Wyoming MHPLB: Questions and Answers (reciprocity is state-to-state comparison, no pre-review) ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
- Counseling Compact: state privilege fees and jurisprudence requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-09-27)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-09-27
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