Massachusetts licenses independent clinical counselors as the LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor), through the Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions. Massachusetts is not a Counseling Compact member. Below: what Massachusetts asks of a counselor already licensed in another state, and where those applications slow down.
Massachusetts LMHC License Requirements
The independent clinical license in Massachusetts is the LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor).
Exams named for licensure: NCMHCE. The regulations define the "Board Examination" as the NCMHCE. A passing score stays valid for five years.
3,360 hours of post-degree supervised experience for the independent license.
Licensed elsewhere: Reciprocal recognition (262 CMR 2.03) requires a license from a state with substantially equivalent or higher standards, a passed NCMHCE (as part of that licensure or within the past five years), good standing, and at least three years of continuous full-time licensed practice (or the part-time equivalent).
How Much Does a Massachusetts LMHC License Cost?
We have not published a Massachusetts figure yet
We have not verified Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions's current schedule, and board fees change between legislative sessions
Board: Board of Registration of Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions
We handle the Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts Applications Get Delayed
Massachusetts accepts the NCMHCE only. A counselor who passed only the NCE will need to sit for the NCMHCE before Massachusetts will license them.
At 3,360 hours, Massachusetts 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 3 years of licensure elsewhere. Count from the date your independent license was issued, not your associate license.
NCE-only counselors from other states must pass the NCMHCE before Massachusetts will license them.
Post-master's experience is 3,360 hours over two to eight years, with 960 direct client hours and 130 hours of supervision (75 individual), at a ratio of at least one supervision hour per 16 client hours.
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 Massachusetts LMHC License
Renewal Cycle
Every 2 years
CE Requirement
30 CE hours per renewal cycle
The Counseling Compact and Massachusetts
Massachusetts is not a Counseling Compact member, so there is no privilege-to-practice route here. Practicing with clients located in Massachusetts takes a Massachusetts license, through endorsement where the state offers it or a full application where it does not.
Addiction counselors in Massachusetts
Massachusetts credentials addiction counselors as CADC, CADC II, CCS and CCJP, through the Massachusetts Board of Substance Abuse Counselor Certification (IC&RC member board). That credential is separate from the LMHC, and the Counseling Compact does not cover it. These are IC&RC certifications; state addiction counselor licensing in Massachusetts was not reviewed here.
Keeping it current
Massachusetts renews the LMHC every 2 years, with 30 hours of continuing education per cycle. Domestic and sexual violence training is also required for licensure and renewal under M.G.L. c. 112, s. 264. 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.
Massachusetts LMHC License FAQ
What is the counselor license called in Massachusetts?
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Can I use the Counseling Compact for Massachusetts?
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I'm licensed in another state. How do I get licensed in Massachusetts?
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Which exam does Massachusetts 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.
- Board Examination is the NCMHCE — checked 2026-10-08
- application and reciprocity requirements — checked 2026-10-08
- 3,360 hours, direct contact, supervision — checked 2026-10-08
- 30 CE hours every two years — checked 2026-10-08
- not a compact member — checked 2026-10-08
- addiction credentials — checked 2026-10-08
- board site returned 403 to automated fetches; facts taken from 262 CMR — 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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