The Counseling Compact is an interstate agreement that lets a licensed professional counselor practice in other member states without applying for a separate license in each one. Instead, you obtain a “privilege to practice” through a single online portal at counselingcompact.gov. Thirty-nine states have enacted the compact into law as of early 2026, but only three are currently live and issuing privileges: Arizona, Minnesota, and Ohio.1Counseling Compact. Counseling Compact Map
Who Qualifies
You need an active, unrestricted license in your home state, meaning the state where you legally reside and hold your primary counseling license. That license cannot carry any current disciplinary restrictions, conditions, or limitations.
Not every counseling credential opens the door. You must hold a license that authorizes you to independently assess, diagnose, and treat behavioral health conditions. In the three live states, that means Licensed Professional Counselors in Arizona and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors in Minnesota and Ohio.2Counseling Compact. Counseling Compact Counselors still completing supervised hours toward independent licensure are not eligible, even if their license title reads LPC.
Your home state’s licensing standards must include a 60-semester-hour (or 90-quarter-hour) master’s degree in counseling covering topics like diagnosis and treatment, human growth and development, and counseling relationships. You must also have completed supervised postgraduate clinical experience at the level the Counseling Compact Commission sets, and passed a nationally recognized exam such as the National Counselor Examination or the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination. A valid Social Security number or National Provider Identifier is also required.3Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. National Provider Identifier Standard (NPI)
The rule that catches applicants off guard is the two-year clean record. You cannot have had any encumbrance or restriction on any professional license or privilege to practice within the previous two years, and that applies across all states, not just compact members.4Counseling Compact. Counseling Compact Model Legislation A disciplinary action three years ago in a non-member state does not disqualify you. One from 18 months ago does.
Which States You Can Actually Practice In
Enacting the legislation is only the first step. A state must also complete technical readiness, including FBI fingerprint-based background checks and data system integration with the Commission’s shared platform, before it can issue privileges.5Counseling Compact. FAQ That gap is why 39 enacted states translates into three live ones today. The Commission’s interactive map shows current status for each state, and it changes as more come online, so confirm there before starting an application.
How to Apply
Gather your documents before opening the portal. You will need your Social Security number, your home state license number and expiration date, and proof of residency such as a valid driver’s license or voter registration card. Having your National Provider Identifier ready helps, though the model legislation lists it as an alternative to the SSN rather than an additional requirement.4Counseling Compact. Counseling Compact Model Legislation
Everything you enter must match your home state licensing board’s records exactly. If your name on file reflects a prior legal name, or your address is outdated, fix those first. The Commission’s system cross-references your application against home state data, and mismatches delay or block the privilege.
Jurisprudence Exams
Many remote states require you to pass a jurisprudence exam covering that state’s counseling laws before granting a privilege. As of early 2025, at least 17 enacted states require or plan to require one, including Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee.6Counseling Compact. Jurisprudence Requirements Formats vary. Some states run a traditional exam; Ohio requires attestation that you watched a required video. Additional fees may apply.
Fees
Every privilege costs two fees: a $30 administrative fee to the Commission and a separate state fee set by the remote state.7Counseling Compact. Counseling Compact – Chapter 7 Rule on Fees You pay both for each state where you want to practice. Among the three live states, state fees run from $25 in Ohio to $50 in Minnesota to $250 in Arizona.8Counseling Compact. Fees There is no cap on how many privileges you can hold at once.
Applications go through the secure portal at counselingcompact.gov. You enter your information, complete any required jurisprudence steps, and pay. Because the Commission’s data system communicates directly with member state licensing boards, your privilege number typically appears on your dashboard almost instantly, and you can begin practicing in the remote state as soon as it shows up.9Counseling Compact. FAQ
Practicing Under a Privilege
The compact is built around telehealth. The model legislation specifically references enabling counselors to practice “via Telehealth” in remote states.4Counseling Compact. Counseling Compact Model Legislation You must hold a license or privilege in the state where your client is physically located during the session, regardless of where you are sitting.
The remote state’s laws control what you can do. If your home state allows a particular assessment and the remote state restricts it, the remote state’s restriction governs. The same principle applies to mandated reporting, duty-to-warn obligations, and confidentiality rules. You follow the law where the client is located. The Commission’s FAQ instructs privilege holders to “review the applicable law in each state to ensure their compliance with state law and regulation.”5Counseling Compact. FAQ
One boundary worth flagging: if either you or your client moves to a non-member state, services must stop. Build referral options into your informed consent so client care can continue.
If you face any adverse action, encumbrance, or restriction on a license in a non-member state, you must report it to the Commission within 30 days.4Counseling Compact. Counseling Compact Model Legislation Member states share investigative and disciplinary information through the centralized data system, so failing to self-report when the information surfaces elsewhere creates a much bigger problem than the underlying issue.
Renewal and How Privileges Can Be Lost
Your privilege expires on the same date as your home state license. There is no separate renewal cycle or additional application. Renew your home state license, and your privileges renew with it.5Counseling Compact. FAQ You only need to meet your home state’s continuing education requirements. Remote states cannot impose their own CE requirements on privilege holders.
The tight linkage cuts both ways. Any problem with your home state license immediately affects your ability to practice everywhere. If your home state license becomes encumbered, you lose your privilege in every remote state. Restoring it requires resolving the encumbrance and then going two full years without any further encumbrance or restriction on any license.4Counseling Compact. Counseling Compact Model Legislation Letting a license lapse due to a missed renewal payment could trigger the reset if your state treats the lapse as an encumbrance.
Insurance and Taxes
Standard malpractice policies typically define the location of care as the client’s location. Your existing policy may not automatically cover you when you treat a client in another state. Contact your carrier before practicing under a compact privilege and confirm in writing which states the policy will defend and indemnify you in. Many carriers offer multistate endorsements with premiums adjusted for the states added. An “incidental” out-of-state coverage clause is generally insufficient for structured telehealth practice with regular volume elsewhere.
Notify your carrier before seeing patients in any newly added state. Practicing in a state not covered by your policy could void coverage for claims from that work, even with a valid compact privilege.
The compact does not address taxes. Earning income from clients in a remote state may create a tax filing obligation there. The Commission’s site tells privilege holders to review applicable law in each state but offers no specific guidance on tax nexus, so a tax professional familiar with multistate telehealth practice is worth consulting before you bill across state lines.