How to Apply for a Compact Privilege in CompactConnect

The application itself is short. Most of the problems counselors run into happen before they open CompactConnect, or right after they close it. This walkthrough is in the order we use with clients. One rule frames everything else: the Commission requires the licensee to complete and submit the entire application personally. Employers, third-party affiliates and other representatives may not legally complete or submit it on your behalf.

Before you register

1. Confirm your home state is live

As of October 2026 the live states are Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wyoming. Your home state, the one where you primarily reside, must be on that list. So must every state you want a privilege in. If either side is merely enacted, CompactConnect cannot help you yet. Background: enacted but not live.

2. Confirm your license is the qualifying tier

The Commission lists the eligible home license for each live state:

• Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Wyoming: LPC
• Indiana: LMHC
• Minnesota, Ohio: LPCC
• Tennessee: LPC-MHSP

An Ohio LPC, a Minnesota LPC, a Tennessee LPC without the MHSP designation, and any associate or provisional licensee cannot apply.

3. Check your record for the last two years

The compact requires no encumbrance or restriction on any license or privilege within the previous two years. That covers every license you hold, not only your home license. A consent agreement, probation term or practice restriction in another state counts. If you have anything in that window, sort it out with the board before you attest to anything.

4. Handle any home-state pre-step

• Georgia licensees must apply with the Georgia board to confirm compact eligibility before they can apply through the compact.
• Oklahoma lists a completed FBI background check on file as part of eligibility.
• Other home states may require a fingerprint check if you were licensed before they ran FBI checks. Member states must conduct criminal background checks on applicants for an initial privilege, so expect this question in some form.

5. Do each remote state's jurisprudence step

The Commission's jurisprudence list shows Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Oklahoma and Tennessee requiring an exam, and Ohio requiring an attestation that you watched its required video. That list is dated March 2025 and marked subject to change, so confirm with each remote state. Completing the exam before you apply saves a second session. See jurisprudence exams for counselors.

6. Have these at hand

• Your home license number and its exact expiration date
• Your legal name exactly as it appears on your license
• Your Social Security number or NPI (the compact requires a licensee to have one or the other)
• Your current home address
• A card for the fees: $30 per privilege to the Commission plus each state's fee
• Jurisprudence completion records for each remote state

Inside CompactConnect

7. Register

Go to the CompactConnect registration page from counselingcompact.gov/application. Use your own email address, one you will still have in five years, not a work address an employer controls. Your account is personal and will hold every privilege and renewal you ever buy.

8. Let the system find your license

Your home board sends licensee data to the Commission's data system, and CompactConnect works from that record rather than from anything you upload. If the system cannot find you, retyping rarely fixes it. The usual causes are a name mismatch, an address the board has not updated, or a board data upload that has not yet included a recent renewal or upgrade.

9. Choose your remote states

Select each state where you want a privilege. Each one carries its own fees. Request only states where you expect to practice: every privilege renews separately and costs money each cycle.

10. Read and sign the attestations

The Commission's instructions say you provide legal attestations confirming that your information is accurate. Read every one, slowly. These are legal statements, and a false attestation is grounds for discipline.

11. Pay

Fees in October 2026, totals per privilege: Oklahoma $30, Ohio $55, Arkansas, Indiana and Minnesota $80 each, Georgia $130, Louisiana $160, Tennessee $210, Arizona and Wyoming $280 each. See what a compact privilege costs for the breakdown.

12. Watch for the privilege number

The Commission says your privilege number should appear on your dashboard almost instantly, and that you can start practicing in the remote state as soon as it appears. If it does not appear, the Commission asks you to contact info@counselingcompact.gov.

When things go wrong

• "License not found." Call your home board first. Ask them to confirm how your name and address are recorded and when they last sent data to the Commission.
• Your license shows, but you are not eligible. Usually a tier problem (LPC rather than LPCC), a missing pre-step (Georgia), or an encumbrance flag. The board can tell you which.
• Payment went through, no privilege. Email the Commission with your account email and the time of payment. Do not buy again.
• You just upgraded or renewed. Wait until your board's record shows the new license or date, then apply. A privilege takes the expiration date of your home license as it stands when the privilege is issued.

After your privilege is issued

1. Print the verification document from your dashboard. There is no wall certificate. Anyone can confirm your privilege through the public CompactConnect search.
2. Calendar the renewal. Your privilege expires with your home license. It does not extend automatically when you renew at home; you renew it in CompactConnect afterward. See privilege renewal.
3. Read the remote state's rules. You practice under its law, including its telehealth, record-keeping and duty-to-warn provisions.
4. Tell your malpractice carrier and check whether your policy covers the new state.
5. Check billing before you market. The Commission warns that platforms and insurers may not accept a privilege for billing. See advertising and insurance under a privilege.
6. Set up adverse-action reporting. You must report any adverse action, encumbrance or restriction imposed by a non-member state to the Commission within 30 days.

Doing it with someone beside you

Because you must submit it yourself, the most useful help is preparation and a second pair of eyes. In our Compact Privilege Concierge we audit your eligibility, prepare you for each jurisprudence step, and then run a guided filing session where you share your screen and complete the application while we check each entry with you. After that we track every privilege's renewal. Read why you file your own compact application for the reasoning, or ask us a question.