New York, California (Path B), Massachusetts and Utah require the NCMHCE, and New Mexico and Vermont require both NBCC exams. A counselor licensed elsewhere on the NCE alone will need to pass the NCMHCE to be licensed in those states. Ohio dropped its NCMHCE requirement for the LPCC on January 1, 2026.
Here is a call we get often. A counselor has held an independent license for eight or twelve years, took the NCE back when that was the standard choice, and now wants to add New York or California. The application is going well until someone points out the exam requirement. They will need to pass the NCMHCE.
It is not a penalty and it is not negotiable. It is just the rule in a short list of states, and it is much easier to plan around when you know it at the start.
Which states require the NCMHCE?
- New York (LMHC). The Office of the Professions accepts only the NCMHCE and states plainly that the NCE is not acceptable. That applies to endorsement applicants too: New York's endorsement route requires that your original license was based on an exam acceptable to the state.
- California (LPCC). Out-of-state applicants on Path B must pass the NCMHCE and the California Law and Ethics Exam. Path A, for counselors licensed at least two years, requires the Law and Ethics Exam but is not listed with an NCMHCE requirement in the board's out-of-state guide. Which path you qualify for decides whether you re-test. Details are in our California LPCC guide.
- Massachusetts (LMHC). Licensure by reciprocity requires proof that you passed the board's exam, the NCMHCE, either as part of your original licensure or within the previous five years, on top of three years of continuous licensed practice.
- Utah (CMHC). The NCMHCE is the exam for the clinical mental health counselor license.
- New Mexico (LPCC) and Vermont require both exams, so an NCE-only counselor still owes the NCMHCE there.
Rules move in both directions. Ohio dropped its NCMHCE requirement for the LPCC on January 1, 2026, so if you saw Ohio on an older version of a list like this one, it no longer belongs there.
Does the compact get me around this?
Partly, and only in some states. A compact privilege rests on your home-state license, and the compact does not ask which national exam you passed. But New York, California and Massachusetts are not compact members, and Utah and Vermont have joined without yet issuing privileges. For the three largest states on the list, the compact offers nothing today. See the compact page for the current live list.
How do you plan the re-test so it does not stall everything?
- Find out when the state lets you sit. Some boards approve you to test only after reviewing your application; California, for example, makes Path B applicants eligible for the NCMHCE after the application is approved and the Law and Ethics Exam is passed. Others let you test independently. That sequencing sets your whole timeline.
- Check the July 1, 2027 cutoff. New versions of both NBCC exams start that day. If your testing window straddles it, decide which version you want to prepare for.
- Order score verification the day you pass. Boards want it directly from NBCC.
- Run the rest of the file in parallel. Transcripts, license verifications from every state you have held a license in, and supervision documentation all take weeks to arrive. None of them need to wait for the exam.
For a counselor with a decade in practice, the hard part of the NCMHCE is usually format, not content. Doing a handful of timed practice cases before the real thing makes a real difference.
If a re-test is part of your path to a new state, our Full State License Application service sequences the application around the exam date so the board has everything else in hand the day your score arrives.
Common questions
- I've been licensed 10 years on the NCE. Do I really have to take the NCMHCE for New York?
- Yes. New York accepts only the NCMHCE, and its endorsement route requires that your original license rested on an exam New York accepts. Years of practice do not substitute for the exam.
- Does California make out-of-state counselors take the NCMHCE?
- Under Path B, yes. Path A, for counselors who have held an independent license at least two years, lists the California Law and Ethics Exam but not the NCMHCE in the board's out-of-state guide. Which path you qualify for matters.
- Is an old NCMHCE score still good for Massachusetts?
- Massachusetts accepts the NCMHCE if you passed it as part of your original licensure, or within the previous five years. A score that was not part of your original license and is older than five years would not meet the rule.
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