Every state and DC licenses professional counselors, and nearly all of them use exams from the National Board for Certified Counselors. What differs is the name of the license (LPC, LMHC, LCPC, LPCC), which exam the state wants, how many supervised hours you need, and whether the state adds its own law exam. Here are the steps that hold nearly everywhere, then three states worked through.
Check your own board. License names, hour counts, fees and rules change, and your state board has the final word. Counselor Ticket is a study aid. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), the Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE), the American Counseling Association (ACA), CACREP or any state counseling board; NCE and NCMHCE are NBCC's marks, used here only to name the exams. Laws on confidentiality, duty to warn, reporting and licensing differ by state; follow your state's law, your agency and your supervisor.
The two NBCC exams
Exam
Format
Used for
NCE (National Counselor Examination)
200 multiple-choice questions (160 scored), 3 hours 45 minutes; a new 170-question version starts July 1, 2027
The licensing exam in most states (often for the associate or full LPC), and one route to the National Certified Counselor (NCC) credential
NCMHCE (National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination)
11 clinical case studies with 9 to 15 questions each (100 scored), 3 hours 45 minutes
Required instead of, or as well as, the NCE in a number of states, often for the clinical license tier
You can retake either exam after 30 days, with a new registration and fee each time; your state decides how many attempts you get (NBCC/CCE candidate handbooks). Many students take the NCE in their last semester through their program, as part of applying for the NCC.
The steps
Earn the degree
A master's degree in counseling, usually 60 semester hours with a practicum and internship. A CACREP-accredited program is the simplest path: most boards accept it without a course-by-course review, and some require it.
Apply to your state board
The board reviews your transcript (and often a background check, fingerprints and a fee) and approves you to take the exam it requires. Many states issue an associate, intern or provisional license first (LPC Associate, LPC-A, LAPC, Registered Intern), so you can practice under supervision while you build hours.
Register for the exam and schedule
Register through CCE's Credentialing Gateway (my.cce-global.org) and pay the fee shown there. Pearson VUE emails an Authorization to Test, and you book a test center seat or an online OnVUE appointment inside your board's window (up to 6 months).
Take the exam
For the NCE: 200 questions, 3 hours 45 minutes, one break after question 100; you get an unofficial score report when you finish, and a pass goes to your board within 30 days. If you do not pass, wait 30 days, re-register and use the domain breakdown to aim your study.
Collect supervised hours
Most states want about two years and roughly 3,000 hours of post-degree supervised experience (a set share of it face-to-face with clients) under an approved supervisor before the full license.
Finish your state's extra steps
Some states add a jurisprudence or law and ethics exam (Texas, California) or required courses (Florida's laws and rules course, for example). Then the board issues your full license; renewal usually means continuing education every two years.
Three states, worked through
Texas
The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council licenses LPCs. New graduates pass the NCE and the Texas Jurisprudence Exam and get an LPC Associate license.
As an LPC Associate you complete at least 3,000 supervised hours (at least 1,500 of them direct client contact) over at least 18 months under an LPC-Supervisor, then apply for the full LPC.
Florida
The Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling licenses LMHCs. Graduates register as a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern.
Interns complete two years of post-master's supervised clinical experience (at least 1,500 hours of face-to-face psychotherapy) and Florida's required courses, including laws and rules.
Florida's exam for the LMHC is the clinical NCMHCE, not the NCE, so a Florida counselor studies for the NCMHCE before the full license.
California
The Board of Behavioral Sciences licenses LPCCs. Graduates register as an Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC) and pass the California Law and Ethics Exam.
After 3,000 supervised hours over at least two years (104 weeks), they take the NCMHCE for the LPCC.
Your state
Every state and DC, each checked against that state's own board pages and rules:
Alabama: ALC, then the LPC after 3,000 hours; the NCE; $200 application
Alaska: Associate, then the LPC; NCE or NCMHCE; 3,000 hours; $200 + license fee
Arizona: LAC, then the LPC after 3,200 hours; NCE, NCMHCE or CRC; $250
Arkansas: LAC (the NCE), then the LPC after 3,000 hours; optional NCMHCE cuts 500 hours
California: APCC registration and the California Law and Ethics Exam, then the LPCC; the exam is the NCMHCE, not the NCE
Colorado: LPCC candidate, then the LPC after 2,000 hours; the NCE + jurisprudence
Connecticut: LPC after 3,000 supervised hours; NCE or NCMHCE; $315
Delaware: LACMH, then the LPCMH; NCE or NCMHCE; 3,200 hours; $272
Maryland: LGPC, then the LCPC after 3,000 hours; the NCE for both; $200
Massachusetts: LSMHC, then the LMHC; the NCMHCE only; 3,360 hours
Michigan: LLPC, then the LPC after 3,000 hours; NCE, NCMHCE or CRC; $259.05
Minnesota: LPC (the NCE), LPCC (NCMHCE after 4,000 hours)
Mississippi: P-LPC with the NCE, then the LPC (NCMHCE) after 3,000 hours
Missouri: PLPC with the NCE, then the LPC after 3,000 hours; Missouri jurisprudence exam
Montana: PCLC candidate, then the LCPC; NCE or NCMHCE; 3,000 hours; $200
Nebraska: PLMHP, then the LMHP and LIMHP; NCE or NCMHCE; 3,000 hours
Nevada: CPC Intern, then the CPC after 3,000 hours; the exam is the NCMHCE
New Hampshire: Candidate, then the LCMHC; the exam is the NCMHCE; 3,000 hours; $325
New Jersey: LAC, then the LPC after three supervised years; the NCE for both; $75
New Mexico: LMHC (the NCE), LPCC (NCE and NCMHCE after 3,000 hours)
New York: Limited permit, then the LMHC; the exam is the NCMHCE, and the NCE is not accepted
North Carolina: LCMHCA, then the LCMHC after 3,000 hours; NCE, NCMHCE or CRC; jurisprudence exam; $238
North Dakota: LAPC and LPC (NCE), LPCC (NCMHCE after 3,000 hours); $150
Ohio: LPC (NCE or NCMHCE), LPCC after 3,000 hours with no second exam since 2026; $80 / $100
Oklahoma: LPC candidate, then the LPC after 3,000 hours; NCE or NCMHCE + Oklahoma jurisprudence
Oregon: Registered Associate, then the LPC; NCE or NCMHCE + Oregon law and rules; 1,900 direct hours
Pennsylvania: LPC only (no associate license); the NCE; 3,000 hours over 2 to 6 years
Rhode Island: Associate, then the LCMHC; the exam is the NCMHCE; 2,000 client hours; $70
South Carolina: LPC Associate (NCE or NCMHCE), then the LPC after 1,500 hours; $130
South Dakota: LPC (NCE), LPC-MH (NCMHCE); 2,000 hours each; $225
Tennessee: LPC (the NCE + jurisprudence), LPC-MHSP (adds the NCMHCE and 3,000 hours)
Texas: LPC Associate, then the LPC; NCE or NCMHCE; $39 jurisprudence exam
Utah: ACMHC, then the CMHC after 3,000 hours; the exam is the NCMHCE
Vermont: Roster, then the LCMHC; both the NCE and the NCMHCE; 3,000 hours
Virginia: Resident in Counseling, then the LPC; NCMHCE or NCE; residency of 21+ months
Washington: LMHCA, then the LMHC; NCE or NCMHCE; 3,000 hours; $95 + $80
West Virginia: LPC-Associate, then the LPC after 3,000 hours; NCE, NCMHCE or CRC
Wisconsin: Training license, then the LPC after 3,000 hours; NCE, NCMHCE or CRC
Wyoming: Provisional, then the LPC; NCE, NCMHCE or CRC; 3,000 hours; $219 to $419
Moving states? The Counseling Compact, now law in more than 30 states, is meant to let a counselor licensed in one member state practice in the others through a privilege to practice once its system is running. Check your board for the current status.