South Dakota licenses Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC) and Licensed Professional Counselors-Mental Health (LPC-MH). The LPC uses the NCE; the LPC-MH, which requires the LPC first, uses the NCMHCE. 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.
Two NBCC exams in South Dakota. The LPC requires the NCE, the exam Counselor Ticket is written to, and you must pass it before you submit your plan of supervision. The LPC-MH requires the NCMHCE, a case-study exam our guide does not cover; trainees may take it any time during training.
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.
South Dakota at a glance
License
Exam
What it takes
LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor)
NCE
48 counseling credits (60 if you began the program on or after July 1, 2024), the NCE, 2,000 supervised postgraduate hours within four years.
LPC-MH (Licensed Professional Counselor-Mental Health)
NCMHCE
An LPC, a CACREP or equivalent degree with a mental health emphasis, 2,000 hours of direct-client-contact supervision within four years.
South Dakota, step by step
South Dakota Board of Examiners for Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists
Degree (SDCL 36-32-64): a master's or doctorate with at least 48 counseling credits if you began before July 1, 2024, or 60 if you began on or after that date.
LPC trainees: pass the NCE (register directly with NBCC), then submit your Plan of Supervision ($100).
LPC hours (ARSD 20:68:04:10):2,000 hours under the approved plan: at least 1,000 hours of direct client contact, at least 100 hours of supervision with a board-approved supervisor, and at least 900 hours of counseling-related activity.
LPC-MH (SDCL 36-32-65): hold the LPC, have a degree with the mental health studies the law lists, complete 2,000 hours of direct-client-contact postgraduate supervision within four years, and pass the NCMHCE.
Fees: Plan of Supervision $100; biennial license fee $225, renewed by November 30 of even-numbered years.
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.