Pennsylvania licenses one level of counselor, the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). There is no associate license: you build supervised hours first and apply once they are done. 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.
Pennsylvania at a glance
License
Exam
What it takes
LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor)
NCE (or another exam the rule lists)
60 graduate semester hours including a counseling master's, 3,000 supervised hours over 2 to 6 years (2,400 with a doctorate), child abuse training. $100.
Pennsylvania, step by step
Pennsylvania State Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors
Education: a planned program of 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) of graduate coursework in counseling or a closely related field, including a 48-semester-hour master's, or a doctorate in counseling or a closely related field.
The exam: the NCE. The rule also accepts the CRC, art therapy (ATCB), music therapy (CBMT), NAMP psychology and two addictions exams (AAODA and NBCC's EMAC); it does not list the NCMHCE. You register with the testing organization, pay its fee and have the score sent to the board.
Supervised experience: at least 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience earned after the first 48 graduate semester hours (doctorates: 2,400 hours, 1,200 after the doctorate). At least half must be assessment, counseling, therapy, psychotherapy, consultation or family or group work. Supervisors meet with you at least 2 hours for every 40 hours (at least 1 individually and in person), and the hours take no less than 2 years and no more than 6, with 500 to 1,800 hours credited in any 12 months.
Apply: apply through PALS (pals.pa.gov) with two certificates of recommendation and proof of 3 hours of child abuse recognition and reporting training. New applicants need a fingerprint-based FBI background check through IdentoGO.
Fees (49 Pa. Code 47.4): LPC application and license $100; biennial renewal $95. Confirm the amount in PALS when you apply.
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.