Texas licenses Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC) through the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, part of the Behavioral Health Executive Council. You start as an LPC Associate and upgrade after your supervised hours. 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.
Texas at a glance
License
Exam
What it takes
LPC Associate
NCE or NCMHCE
A qualifying graduate degree, the national exam, the Texas jurisprudence exam, a supervisory agreement with an LPC-Supervisor. $165 application. Valid 60 months.
LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor)
Already passed
3,000 supervised hours, at least 1,500 of them direct client counseling, over at least 18 months.
Texas, step by step
Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors (Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council)
Degree: a graduate degree in counseling or a counseling-related field with 60 semester hours (22 TAC 681.83). A counseling-related degree must show a course in each listed area, plus addictions, a second ethics course, couples or family counseling and psychopathology, and a practicum of at least 300 clock-hours with 100 hours of direct client counseling on the transcript.
The exam: Texas accepts either the NCE or the NCMHCE. You do not need the board's approval to register, and Texas sets no limit on attempts; register and check eligibility with CCE. Scores take 4 to 6 weeks to validate, and if you tested for Texas they go to the board automatically.
Jurisprudence exam: the Texas LPC jurisprudence exam, taken online, $39.
LPC Associate: apply in BHEC's online licensing system with your exam scores, jurisprudence certificate, transcript and a signed supervisory agreement with a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPC-S); a fingerprint background check is part of every new application. The LPC Associate / LPC / provisional application fee is $165. You must hold the Associate license before you start counting hours; it expires after 60 months.
Supervised hours: at least 3,000 clock-hours under a board-approved supervisor, including at least 1,500 hours of direct client counseling, earned over no fewer than 18 months (22 TAC 681.92). You stay under supervision until the full LPC is issued.
Upgrade to LPC: your supervisor submits documentation within 30 days of the end of supervision, and you apply to upgrade. LPC renewal is $141 every two 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.