Kentucky licenses Licensed Professional Counselor Associates (LPCA), who practice under a supervision agreement, and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCC). 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.
Kentucky at a glance
License
Exam
What it takes
LPCA (Licensed Professional Counselor Associate)
Check with the board on timing
A qualifying degree with 60 graduate semester hours and a written agreement with an approved supervisor.
LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor)
NCE or NCMHCE
At least 4,000 hours of counseling experience under approved supervision.
Kentucky, step by step
Kentucky Board of Licensed Professional Counselors
Education: a master's, specialist or doctoral degree in counseling or a related field from a regionally accredited school, with 60 graduate semester hours (90 quarter) covering the nine areas in KRS 335.525; related-field graduates add coursework in any missing area.
The exam (201 KAR 36:070): an LPCC applicant must pass the NCE or the NCMHCE.
LPCA: enter a written supervision agreement with a supervisor of record licensed by the board as an LPCC supervisor; it names the agency where you will practice and the nature of your work.
Supervised experience: KRS 335.525 requires at least 4,000 hours of experience in the practice of counseling under approved supervision before the LPCC. Your supervisor reviews your clinical documentation and can view sessions.
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.