Massachusetts licenses Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHC) through the Board of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions, with a Licensed Supervised Mental Health Counselor (LSMHC) license for graduates working toward it. 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.
Massachusetts accepts only the NCMHCE. The board's guide says no other exam is accepted for the LMHC, and the LSMHC needs the NCMHCE too. Counselor Ticket is written to the NCE, so it helps with the shared knowledge but does not cover the NCMHCE's case-study 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.
Massachusetts at a glance
License
Exam
What it takes
LSMHC (Licensed Supervised Mental Health Counselor)
NCMHCE
The qualifying degree, practicum and internship, the NCMHCE, a CORI form and an NPDB self-query. $117 application.
LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor)
NCMHCE
3,360 post-master's hours over 2 to 8 years, 960 direct client contact, 130 supervision hours. $117 + $155.
Massachusetts, step by step
Massachusetts Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions
Degree: if you started your degree after July 1, 2017, a master's of at least 60 semester credits (80 quarter) in mental health counseling or a related field covering the required course areas, with a 100-hour practicum (40 direct, 25 supervision) and a 600-hour internship (240 clinical, 45 supervision). Earlier starters need 60 credits including a master's of at least 48.
The exam: the NCMHCE from NBCC, and no other exam. Scores expire after five years; if you tested in another state, NBCC sends the official report.
Post-master's experience: at least 3,360 hours over no less than two and no more than eight years (full time is at most 35 hours a week, 48 weeks a year), including at least 960 hours of direct, face-to-face clinical counseling (at least 610 individual, couples or family; no more than 350 group) and at least 130 hours of supervision, about one hour for every 16 client hours. Across pre- and post-master's experience you need 200 supervision hours, at least 75 from a licensed mental health counselor.
Apply online: through the Health Professions Licensing Portal with a photo, an NPDB self-query, a notarized CORI form, official transcripts and license verifications, after a board-approved domestic and sexual violence training. The application fee is $117; once approved, staff email you to pay the $155 license fee.
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.