Illinois licenses independent clinical counselors as the LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor), through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (Professional Counselor Licensing and Disciplinary Board). Illinois is not a Counseling Compact member. Below: what Illinois asks of a counselor already licensed in another state, and where those applications slow down.
Illinois LCPC License Requirements
The independent clinical license in Illinois is the LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor).
Illinois also issues the LPC (lower tier; IDFPR describes the LCPC as the independent practice license), so confirm which tier your work and your payers require.
Exams named for licensure: NCE, NCMHCE and CRC. The LCPC requires both the NCE and the NCMHCE, or the CRC exam instead. Anyone who passed only one of the NBCC exams takes the other as part of the Illinois application.
3,360 hours of post-degree supervised experience for the independent license.
Licensed elsewhere: Endorsement applicants show substantially equivalent education, experience and exams. If you have held an independent-level license for five consecutive years without discipline, you send license certifications for those years instead of proof of education and experience.
How Much Does an Illinois LCPC License Cost?
We have not published an Illinois figure yet
We have not verified Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (Professional Counselor Licensing and Disciplinary Board)'s current schedule, and board fees change between legislative sessions
We handle the Illinois 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 Illinois Applications Get Delayed
At 3,360 hours, Illinois asks for more supervised experience than most states. Counselors licensed elsewhere on 3,000 hours should check whether endorsement waives the difference before assuming it does.
The endorsement route expects 5 years of licensure elsewhere. Count from the date your independent license was issued, not your associate license.
The LPC is a supervised-practice license; clinical independence comes with the LCPC.
Supervised experience is two full-time years (1,680 hours each, 3,360 total), at least half in direct client service, with an average of 4 hours of supervision a month.
Starting 2026-07-01, new LCPC applicants need a degree of at least 60 semester hours (it was 48).
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 Illinois LCPC License
Renewal Cycle
Every 2 years
CE Requirement
30 CE hours per renewal cycle
The Counseling Compact and Illinois
Illinois is not a Counseling Compact member, so there is no privilege-to-practice route here. Practicing with clients located in Illinois takes an Illinois license, through endorsement where the state offers it or a full application where it does not.
Addiction counselors in Illinois
Illinois credentials addiction counselors as CRADC, CAADC, CSADC and CCJP, through the Illinois Certification Board (IAODAPCA, IC&RC member board). That credential is separate from the LCPC, and the Counseling Compact does not cover it. These are IC&RC certifications, not state licenses.
Keeping it current
Illinois renews the LCPC every 2 years, with 30 hours of continuing education per cycle. All Illinois counselor licenses expire March 31 of odd-numbered years; no CE is due in the first cycle. CE includes 3 hours of ethics plus sexual harassment prevention, implicit bias, cultural competency and periodic dementia training. 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.
Illinois LCPC License FAQ
What is the counselor license called in Illinois?
+
Can I use the Counseling Compact for Illinois?
+
I'm licensed in another state. How do I get licensed in Illinois?
+
Which exam does Illinois accept?
+
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.
- LCPC exams, hours, endorsement, expiration (effective 05/2025) — checked 2026-10-08
- CE hours and topics — checked 2026-10-08
- board page, CORE system — checked 2026-10-08
- not a compact member — checked 2026-10-08
- addiction credentials — 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.
View PricingBook Online
Share your details and preferred availability.