Georgia licenses Associate Professional Counselors (APC) and Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC). New graduates pass a national exam and register a supervision contract as an APC, then upgrade after their directed experience. 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.
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.
Georgia at a glance
License
Exam
What it takes
APC (Associate Professional Counselor)
NCE or NCMHCE
A counseling master's with a 600-hour practicum or internship, a registered Directed Experience Under Supervision Contract. $100 + $10. Up to five years.
LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor)
Already passed
Three years of post-master's directed experience under supervision (four without the 600-hour internship). $100 + $10.
Georgia, step by step
Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists
Degree: a master's primarily counseling in content (or applied psychology) from a CACREP or CORE program, or a regionally accredited program substantially similar to one, covering all nine content areas the rule lists, with a supervised practicum or internship of at least 600 hours (for degrees after September 30, 2018).
The exam: the rules call for the competency exam the board prescribes; NBCC's Georgia directory lists the NCE or the NCMHCE for the LPC. The board must approve your application first.
APC license: apply through GOALS with a signed, notarized application, transcripts and a background check, and register a Directed Experience Under Supervision Contract with the board (send a new one within 14 days of any change). An APC practices only under direction and supervision, for up to five years.
Directed experience: with a master's that included the 600-hour practicum or internship, three years of post-master's directed experience under supervision; otherwise four. Since September 30, 2018, one year means at least 1,000 hours in at least 12 months with at least 35 hours of supervision, all within the 60 months before you apply. At least two years of supervision must come from an LPC who holds an NBCC Approved Clinical Supervisor or LPCA Georgia supervisor credential.
Fees (GOALS fee schedule): APC or LPC application $100, plus a $10 processing fee on every application; renewal $100. Licenses expire September 30 of even-numbered years, and the board reviews applications in about 20 business days.
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.