North Dakota licenses independent clinical counselors as the LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor), through the North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners. North Dakota has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not issuing privileges yet. Below: what North Dakota asks of a counselor already licensed in another state, and where those applications slow down.
North Dakota LPCC License Requirements
The independent clinical license in North Dakota is the LPCC (Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor).
North Dakota also issues the LPC (base license; the LPCC is a clinical specialty added on top of it), so confirm which tier your work and your payers require.
Exams named for licensure: NCE and NCMHCE. The LPC (and LAPC) requires the NCE; the LPCC additionally requires the NCMHCE.
3,000 hours of post-degree supervised experience for the independent license.
Those hours are completed under the associate credential, the LAPC (Licensed Associate Professional Counselor).
Licensed elsewhere: An LPC applicant licensed in a state with substantially the same requirements can be licensed by reciprocity, and the exam may be waived. The LPCC is granted by reciprocity to clinical counselors from states with requirements equal to or more stringent than North Dakota's.
How Much Does a North Dakota LPCC License Cost?
We have not published a North Dakota figure yet
We have not verified North Dakota Board of Counselor Examiners's current schedule, and board fees change between legislative sessions
We handle the North Dakota 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 North Dakota Applications Get Delayed
You must hold the North Dakota LPC before you can get the LPCC.
LPCC: 3,000 post-master's clinical hours over 2 years with 100 hours of face-to-face supervision (at least 60 individual), plus a supervisor-signed clinical skills form.
The LAPC lasts at most 2 years and can be extended only on the recommendation of the supervisor and three other counselors.
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 North Dakota LPCC License
Renewal Cycle
Every 2 years
CE Requirement
40 CE hours per renewal cycle
The Counseling Compact and North Dakota
North Dakota has enacted the Counseling Compact, 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 North Dakota takes a full North Dakota license, and holding a North Dakota license does not yet give you a privilege anywhere else.
Addiction counselors in North Dakota
North Dakota credentials addiction counselors as LAC, MAC and LCAC, through the North Dakota Board of Addiction Counseling Examiners. That credential is separate from the LPCC, and the Counseling Compact does not cover it. LCAC was a grandfather license (applications before 2024-01-01); new clinical-level applicants take the MAC.
Keeping it current
North Dakota renews the LPCC every 2 years, with 40 hours of continuing education per cycle. LPC renewal needs 30 hours (3 in ethics); LPCC holders add 10 clinical hours, preapproved by the board. 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.
North Dakota LPCC License FAQ
What is the counselor license called in North Dakota?
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Can I use the Counseling Compact for North Dakota?
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I'm licensed in another state. How do I get licensed in North Dakota?
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Which exam does North Dakota 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/LAPC titles, reciprocity and exam waiver (43-47-06(4)), 2-year renewal, LAPC 2-year limit — checked 2026-10-08
- LPC/LAPC require NCE, supervision 100 hours (60 individual), reciprocity procedure, 30 CE hours with 3 ethics — checked 2026-10-08
- LPCC: NCMHCE, 3,000 hours, 100 supervision hours, reciprocity, +10 CE hours — checked 2026-10-08
- SB 2187 (Counseling Compact) governor signed, filed with Secretary of State 2023-04-27 — checked 2026-10-08
- North Dakota is a member, not yet issuing — checked 2026-10-08
- addiction titles L.A.C., L.C.A.C., M.A.C. and board of addiction counseling examiners — checked 2026-10-08
- board site listed by the Compact as http://www.ndbce.org/; it refused or blocked automated access from this server, so the URL is not recorded as verified — 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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