Colorado licenses independent clinical counselors as the LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor), through the State Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners (Division of Professions and Occupations). Colorado has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not issuing privileges yet. Below: what Colorado asks of a counselor already licensed in another state, and where those applications slow down.
Colorado LPC License Requirements
The independent clinical license in Colorado is the LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor).
Exams named for licensure: NCE. Board rule names the NBCC counselor certification exam (the NCE). Applicants for both the license and candidate registration also pass a board-developed jurisprudence exam. Exam scores are valid for five years.
2,000 hours of post-degree supervised experience for the independent license.
Those hours are completed under the associate credential, the LPC Candidate (Licensed Professional Counselor Candidate).
Colorado requires a state law or jurisprudence exam.
Licensed elsewhere: Licensure by endorsement runs through the Occupational Credential Portability Program. You qualify either by showing an equivalent degree, a passed counseling exam and two years of supervised post-master's practice, or by holding a current, unrestricted license with a similar scope for at least one year.
How Much Does a Colorado LPC License Cost?
We have not published a Colorado figure yet
We have not verified State Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners (Division of Professions and Occupations)'s current schedule, and board fees change between legislative sessions
Board: State Board of Licensed Professional Counselor Examiners (Division of Professions and Occupations)
We handle the Colorado application end-to-end.
Eligibility screening, document prep, board follow-ups, and tracking — so you don't lose a board meeting cycle to a missing form.
View full pricingWhere Colorado Applications Get Delayed
The endorsement route expects 1 year of licensure elsewhere. Count from the date your independent license was issued, not your associate license.
Colorado's candidate registration is a pre-license status, not a clinical license tier. A candidate registration expires after four years unless the board extends it.
The 2,000 supervised hours include at least 1,500 face-to-face direct client hours over two post-master's years (one post-doctoral year), with 50 hours of supervision per 1,000 hours of practice.
Supervisor attestations and verifications from other boards take the longest. Request them the week you decide to apply, not the week you file.
Renewing Your Colorado LPC License
CE Requirement
40 CE hours per renewal cycle
The Counseling Compact and Colorado
Colorado has enacted the Counseling Compact (June 8, 2022), but it is not issuing or accepting privileges yet. Each member state has to finish its own setup, including FBI fingerprint authority, before it goes live. Until it does, practicing in Colorado takes a full Colorado license, and holding a Colorado license does not yet give you a privilege anywhere else.
Addiction counselors in Colorado
Colorado credentials addiction counselors as Licensed Addiction Counselor, Certified Addiction Specialist and Certified Addiction Technician, through the State Board of Addiction Counselor Examiners (Division of Professions and Occupations). That credential is separate from the LPC, and the Counseling Compact does not cover it. The addiction counselor license requires the NAADAC master addiction counselor exam or an equivalent.
Keeping it current
Colorado renews the LPC on its own cycle, with 40 hours of continuing education per cycle. Continuing professional development: 40 professional development hours each renewal cycle, prorated for new licenses. If you hold licenses in several states, each runs its own calendar and its own CE rules, which is most of what our annual compliance service tracks.
Colorado LPC License FAQ
What is the counselor license called in Colorado?
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Can I use the Counseling Compact for Colorado?
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I'm licensed in another state. How do I get licensed in Colorado?
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Which exam does Colorado accept?
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Where these facts come from
Checked against primary sources. Boards change rules between sessions, so we confirm the current process again before anything is filed.
- LPC requirements, candidate registration, jurisprudence exam — checked 2026-10-08
- exam, hours, supervision ratio — checked 2026-10-08
- endorsement — checked 2026-10-08
- 40 PDH per renewal cycle — checked 2026-10-08
- addiction counselor credentials — checked 2026-10-08
- member, not yet live — checked 2026-10-08
- SB22-077 signed 2022-06-08 (via search result) — checked 2026-10-08
- board site (and the addiction board page) returned 403 to automated fetches; facts taken from statute and rule — checked 2026-10-08
What Working with Us Costs
Transparent, a la carte service fees. Board, exam and fingerprinting fees are paid directly to those organizations. Our concierge fee is separate and is the only thing you pay us.
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