Ohio licenses Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC) and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors (LPCC). Since January 1, 2026, one national exam is enough: you pass the NCE or the NCMHCE for the LPC, and the LPCC no longer needs a second exam. 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.
Ohio at a glance
License
Exam
What it takes
LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor)
NCE or NCMHCE
A graduate counseling degree (CACREP, or coursework the board approves, with a 100-hour practicum and 600-hour internship). $80.
LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor)
No second exam since Jan 1, 2026
24 months and 3,000 hours of post-LPC supervised experience, 150 hours of training supervision with an LPCC-S, at least half clinical. $100.
Ohio, step by step
Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board (CSWMFT)
Degree: a graduate counseling degree from an accredited institution. Graduates of non-CACREP programs send a Counselor Course Worksheet so the board can match the coursework (OAC 4757-13-01), including a 100-hour practicum and a 600-hour internship. Students in a qualifying program can register as counselor trainees for their internship.
Apply for the LPC: apply on eLicense Ohio ($80 plus a $3.50 processing fee); you can apply in your final term with a letter of good standing, and the application stays valid two years. Exam pre-approval comes once the application is in. Complete BCI and FBI background checks and watch the board's Laws and Rules video.
The exam: the board's licensing page still describes the NCE for the LPC; under the change the board announced for January 1, 2026, LPC applicants may pass either the NCE or the NCMHCE. Register through NBCC/CCE's Ohio state licensure page, and email your results to your assigned license examiner.
LPCC experience: at least 24 months and 3,000 hours of supervised experience after the LPC, including 150 hours of training supervision with an LPCC-S, and at least half of it clinical counseling (diagnosing and treating mental and emotional disorders). A counseling doctorate can credit up to one year of clinical internship.
LPCC application: your last supervisor submits the hours, you apply on eLicense ($100 plus $3.50) and pass a background check. Since January 1, 2026, your existing NCE (or NCMHCE) pass is enough; the NCMHCE is no longer a second exam for the LPCC.
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.