The Counseling Compact: Which States Issue Privileges, and How to Get One

The short version

The Counseling Compact lets a professional counselor licensed in one member state practice in another member state on a privilege to practice, instead of earning a second full license. It is not a multistate license: you apply for each state separately, and every privilege hangs off the license you hold where you live.

The catch is timing. 40 jurisdictions have enacted it, but a state can only issue or honor privileges once its own setup is finished, and in October 2026 that was true of 10. For everywhere else, including California, Texas, New York and Illinois, which have not joined, the route is still a full license by endorsement or application.

States issuing privileges

In the order they went live. Fees are each state's own, on top of the $30 Commission fee.

Arizona

Live since Sep 30, 2025 · state fee $250

Minnesota

Live since Sep 30, 2025 · state fee $50

Ohio

Live since Jan 5, 2026 · state fee $25

Louisiana

Live since Apr 20, 2026 · state fee $130

Georgia

Live since Jun 2, 2026 · state fee $100

Indiana

Live since Jun 8, 2026 · state fee $50

Arkansas

Live since Jul 30, 2026 · state fee $50

Wyoming

Live since Aug 31, 2026 · state fee $250

Tennessee

Live since Sep 1, 2026 · state fee $180

Oklahoma

Live since Oct 1, 2026

Enacted, not issuing yet

Members that are still setting up. A counselor licensed here cannot use the Compact yet, and nobody can practice here on a privilege until the state goes live.

Not in the Compact

A full license is the only route here. Michigan, New York have bills pending.

Alaska California Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Massachusetts Michigan New Mexico New York Northern Mariana Islands Oregon Puerto Rico Texas U.S. Virgin Islands

Privilege or full license

	Compact privilege	Full state license
What you get	A privilege to practice in one member state, tied to your home-state license	A full license from that state, independent of any other
Where	Only member states that are issuing privileges	Any state
Who files	You, personally, through CompactConnect	You or a representative, with the state board
Cost	The $30 Commission fee plus the state’s own privilege fee	The board’s application, exam-verification and fingerprint fees
If you move	Your home state changes, and privileges have to follow it	The license stays valid; you renew it on its own cycle
Renewal	Renews with your home license	Its own cycle, its own CE rules

Who is eligible

You hold a license at the independent level (LPC, LMHC, LPCC or your state’s equivalent) in your home state, and it is unencumbered.
Your home state is the state you live in, and it is a member that is issuing privileges.
No adverse action against any license in the period the Compact sets, and you meet the state’s background-check requirements.
You complete any jurisprudence exam the destination state requires.

You file it yourself. The Commission requires the licensee to personally complete and submit the privilege application; employers and third parties may not. Any service that says it will file your Compact application for you is offering something the Compact does not allow.

How we help

Readiness review ($149): we check your home license level, residence, record and each target state's status before you spend anything. Credited if you go ahead.
Privilege concierge ($299 first state, $149 each additional): the eligibility audit, jurisprudence prep where a state requires it, a guided CompactConnect session with you at the keyboard, and renewal tracking.
Full licenses ($499 endorsement, $749 full application) for the states the Compact does not reach, filed end to end.

See all pricing

The other behavioral health compacts

Psychologists have PSYPACT, which authorizes telepsychology across member states for doctoral psychologists; our sister team at White Glove PSYPACT handles it. Social workers have the Social Work Licensure Compact, a true multistate license, which had not issued any licenses as of October 2026. Marriage and family therapists have no compact at all; the sister site White Glove MFT covers their endorsement route. Dual-licensed? We can coordinate both.

The four side by side.

Common questions

Can a company file my Counseling Compact application for me?

No. The Commission states that clinicians must personally complete the application, and that employers, third parties and other representatives may not legally complete or submit it. What a service can do is make sure you are eligible, prepare you for any jurisprudence exam, and walk through the filing with you.

My state joined the Counseling Compact. Can I practice in other member states now?

Only if both your home state and the state you want to practice in are issuing privileges. Most members have enacted the law but are still setting up, mainly FBI fingerprint authority. Enacted is not the same as live.

Do associates or pre-licensed counselors qualify?

No. A privilege requires an unencumbered license at the independent level in your home state. Associates keep working toward that license; the move-states route for them is the destination state’s own rules.

Does the Counseling Compact cover addiction counselors, MFTs or social workers?

No. It covers professional counselors only. Social workers have their own compact, which has not issued licenses yet, and marriage and family therapists have no compact. Addiction-counselor credentials are separate state credentials.

What does a compact privilege cost?

The Commission charges $30 per privilege, and each state adds its own fee, from nothing in Oklahoma to $250 in Arizona and Wyoming (Ohio adds $25, for $55 in all). Some states also require a jurisprudence exam. Our concierge fee is separate and listed on the pricing page.

Authoritative sources

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