Compact License Application
The Compact Commission is developing a complex website and database from scratch to issue privileges. No other compact has ever had to do this and make the system interface with 37 states. The Commission is taking the time to make sure it is done right the first time, hoping to avoid issues when we start accepting applications.
To provide counseling services through the compact, professional counselors use the professional counseling license granted by their home state (their primary state of residence) to apply for the privilege to practice in other member states.
Applications are expected to open in 2025. This website will have application information when it becomes available.
Your license is granted by your home state. A compact privilege to practice is granted by other compact member states after your have applied for the privilege to practice in those states through the compact.
Applications for compact privileges are currently not open. The compact commission is working hard to open applications to practitioners as soon as possible.
Once applications for compact privileges open (expected early 2025), the link to the application will be available on this website. In the meantime, practitioners should ensure their home state license is in good standing. They may also want to prepare for a jurisprudence exam if such an exam is required by the state in which they plan to apply for a compact privilege.
No. Although your state passing the compact is an important step, it does not automatically approve your license for use in other states. Professional Counselors must apply for the privilege to practice in each state through the compact. We expect applications for compact privileges to open in 2025.
When it opens, the application will be linked on this website.
For the purpose of the compact, a professional counselor’s home state is the state in which they primarily reside. Professional counselors need a license in their home state in order to participate in the compact.
For some professional counselors, their home state may be different from the state where they currently practice and hold a license.
For you to practice in other states through the compact, your home state must be a compact member.
The only way for you to practice in a non-compact member state is to apply for a single-state license directly through the state licensing board.
Practitioners interested in advocating for their state to join the compact can learn more about the process below.
To participate in the compact, a practitioner must join via their home state license. A license from a state other than the home state does not qualify.
The compact explicitly requires professional counselors to use a license from their home state to participate in the compact. Other licenses can still be used to practice in the state that issued them but cannot be used for participation in the compact.
For a practitioner to apply for a compact privilege in another state, that state must first be a member of the compact. If that state has not joined the compact, they have not agreed to the terms of the compact or may not qualify to join based on the state participation requirements of the compact. Therefore, practitioners cannot use the compact to practice in non-member states.
The Compact is not currently granting the privilege to practice in other states. Therefore, you cannot use the compact to see clients in other states. Once the compact is granting privileges, you can apply for a privilege in the client’s new state.
Counselors must have a license or a privilege to practice in the state where the client is located.
Only licensed professional counselors who hold an unencumbered license to independently diagnose, assess, treat, and practice at the highest level in a participating state may apply for a privilege to practice in the Counseling Compact. Licensed professional counselors who do not hold degrees in counseling but in a closely related field are potentially eligible to apply for a privilege if they meet all requirements for licensure as a licensed professional counselor in their home state which is a member of the Compact and if all requirements of Section 3 and 4 of the Compact are met.
Someone licensed as an LMFT or LCSW by their home state typically is not eligible for the counseling compact as they have not completed the education and exam requirements of the compact.
Visit News – Counseling Compact for the most recent announcements from the Compact.
Financial FAQ for Counselors
The following FAQs are intended to provide information regarding the Commission’s progress on setting a fee for qualified applicants who wish to obtain a privilege to practice in member states. The FAQs listed below will be updated and revised as needed for further clarification. Please check back here for updates.
- You must pay a fee for each compact state you wish to have the privilege to practice in.
- Applicants will pay an administrative fee and the state fee for each privilege to practice they request.
- Each state will determine the fee for that state. The state fee ranges from $0 to $264 in a similar compact already issuing privileges.
- This has not been determined. The Finance Committee will review the basic operating expenses of the commission and make a recommendation to the Rule Committee. The Executive Committee will review the rule and it will be promulgated under the bylaws of the Commission. The full commission will then vote to approve the fee during a public meeting.
- These have not been set. Each state has the authority in the compact to set its fee.
- The administrative fee will be added to each request. If you make one request, you will pay one administrative fee. If you make ten requests, you will pay the administrative fee ten times. This allows the commission to keep the administrative fee lower so more counselors have equitable access to apply for a privilege to practice in another state. The lower fee means that those who use the compact at a higher frequency bear more of the financial burden of keeping the compact operational. The Commission is designed to be self-funded and has ongoing financial obligations it must meet through the collection of administrative fees.
- All payments will be made online through the compact website. Most major credit and debit cards will be accepted. A final determination will be made once the credit card processing vendor is selected. Cash or checks will not be accepted.
- States that require a jurisprudence examination may charge a fee as part of the registration process to take the exam. That fee will be collected by the state and not the Compact Commission.
- The administrative fee is subject to change at any time as voted upon by the Full Commission. States may change their required fees at their discretion.
- If you apply for an individual state license, you must submit additional documentation with your application. This includes transcripts, exam scores, and official verifications, all of which incur extra costs that must be considered when calculating the total cost of a state license. However, when applying for a privilege to practice, you do not need to provide transcripts, exam scores, or official verifications, resulting in cost savings for the applicant.
- When you have the privilege to practice in a state, you are not required to fulfill that state’s continuing education (CE) requirements, which may differ from those of your home state which may also lead to potential cost and time savings.
- Licensees may also see time savings because they do not need to track multiple licenses and multiple expiration dates. Privileges will expire based on the home state license renewal cycle. The additional time could allow for additional clients.
Legislative Process
The compact map shows which states are compact members: Map If your state has not yet introduced legislation, introducing it is the first step. See below for how to help with this process.
Because the legislative process is unpredictable, it is impossible to guarantee a compact bill will be introduced or enacted in a particular state. When bills are introduced or enacted, the website map is updated promptly, so you may refer to that page for up-to-date information.
If your state is listed as “not enacted” on the map, this means the bill was introduced during your state’s most recent legislative session but did not pass. Your state may introduce the bill and try to pass it next year.
When legislation is pending in a state, that state will eventually either enact the legislation, or the bill will fail. If your state went from light blue to gray, the compact bill did not pass this year.
It is still possible that your state may join the compact in a future year.
If you would like to advocate for the Compact in your state, please contact your state legislators, the state chapter of your national membership organization or your state board.
You can find the latest information at News – Counseling Compact
As with other compacts, and in accordance with the Counseling Compact’s Rule on Rulemaking and Section 10 of the Compact legislation, the Compact prioritizes transparency and notice to the public in the rulemaking process.
Rules are first proposed and discussed in the Rules Committee, and then the Executive Committee must approve the proposed rules for a vote of the full Compact Commission. Prior to the Commission meeting, rules are posted for a 30-day public comment period with all comments being considered. A hearing may also be requested.
Meetings of the Rules Committee, Executive Committee, and full Commission are all open to the public unless there is an item which specifically qualifies for closed session pursuant to the terms of the Compact.
Please refer to this sheet for information about the Counseling Compact and professional identity.
Additional Licensing Concerns
Only licensed profressional counselors who hold an unencumbered license to independently diagnose, assess, treat, and practice at the highest level in a participating state may apply for a privilege to practice in the Counseling Compact. Licensed professional counselors who do not hold degrees in counseling but in a closely related field are potentially eligible to apply for a privilege if they meet all requirements for licensure as a licensed professional counselor in their home state which is a member of the Compact and all requirements of Section 3 and 4 of the Compact are met.
Social workers may be interested in the Social Work Licensure Compact.
Psychologists may be interested in PsyPact.
Marriage and Family Therapists do not have a compact.
Practitioners practicing through the compact must have license to practice independently. If your role requires supervision (such as student, assistant, or other type of provisional license), you are not eligible to practice through the compact.
The compact only covers counselors who can practice independently, without supervision. Transferring supervised hours between states is a matter for the state board where counselors intend to apply for an independent license.
The compact does not extend to cover supervisor credentialing. State regulatory boards in each state oversee supervisor credentialing.
For a state to join the Compact, it must currently require that counselors complete a 60-hour degree in counseling or 60 hours of graduate coursework in designated areas. Each member state must also require passage of an examination.
The state licensing requirements in the Compact ensure all member states have the same minimum requirements for individuals entering the profession. If you received your license under previous licensing requirements, but your state has since changed the licensing requirements, you can likely be grandparented into utilizing the compact.
Practitioners only need to complete CEUs for their home state.
Practitioners do need to complete jurisprudence examinations in each state where they want to apply for a privilege to practice. More information on the states that require the jurisprudence examination can be found at Jurisprudence Examination.
The Counseling Compact, as needed, will provide general guidance to insurance companies about the legal authorization a compact privilege provides for practice in another compact member state. However, the exact policies of individual insurance companies are not yet known to the
Compact.
Here is a statement from CMS regarding recognition of licensure compacts and Medicare.