Florida licenses Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHC). New graduates register as a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern, build two years of supervised hours, and pass the NCMHCE. Everything below comes from the board's own pages and rules, checked October 18, 2026. Fees and rules change, so confirm on the linked pages before you pay.
Florida's exam is the NCMHCE, not the NCE. Florida licenses mental health counselors on the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination, a case-study exam. Counselor Ticket is written to the NCE, so it helps with the shared knowledge but does not cover the NCMHCE format; use NBCC's own NCMHCE materials for that.
Check with your board. 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.
Florida at a glance
License
Exam
What it takes
Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern
None to register
A qualifying master's (60 semester hours), a 700-hour practicum with 280 direct client hours, a board-approved qualified supervisor. $150 fee.
LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor)
NCMHCE
Two years of post-master's supervised experience with 1,500 hours of face-to-face psychotherapy, the NCMHCE, three required Florida courses. $180 in fees.
Florida, step by step
Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Mental Health Counseling
Degree: a master's of at least 60 semester hours (80 quarter hours). Since July 1, 2025, the program must be accredited by CACREP, MPCAC or an equivalent body; non-CACREP programs must show 3-semester-hour courses in each required content area (substance abuse among them). The degree must include the equivalent of a 700-hour supervised practicum, internship or field experience with at least 280 hours of direct client services; graduates of non-CACREP programs send a letter from the university verifying it.
Register as an intern: register as a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern with a board-approved qualified supervisor before your post-master's hours count. The fee is $150, non-refundable. Florida requires electronic fingerprints (Livescan) for this profession.
Supervised experience: two years of post-master's experience under a qualified supervisor, made up of at least 100 hours of supervision over no fewer than 100 weeks, 1,500 hours of face-to-face psychotherapy with clients, and at least one hour of supervision every two weeks, documented on the Verification of Clinical Experience Form.
The exam: the NCMHCE. Florida does not require board approval first: register with NBCC at any time. The board lists the fee as $350 to the Center for Credentialing & Education for the first attempt and $275 for a re-exam.
Florida courses: an 8-hour Florida laws and rules course and a 3-hour HIV/AIDS course (or the HIV/AIDS affidavit) from board-approved providers on CE Broker, plus a 2-hour domestic violence course within six months of licensure. There is no separate jurisprudence exam.
Apply for the LMHC: a $100 application fee (non-refundable), a $75 initial license fee and a $5 unlicensed activity fee, $180 in all. The board reviews within 30 days and sends an approval or a deficiency letter; an incomplete application expires after one year.
The steps that hold nearly everywhere: a counseling master's degree (usually 60 semester hours, often CACREP-accredited), your board's approval, an NBCC exam, about two years of supervised experience, then the full license. The NCE has 200 questions (160 scored) in 3 hours 45 minutes; the NCMHCE is 11 clinical case studies in the same time; either can be retaken after 30 days (NBCC/CCE candidate handbooks). The full walk-through: How to get your counseling license.