Rhode Island licenses independent clinical counselors as the LCMHC (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor), through the Board of Clinical Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Rhode Island Department of Health). Rhode Island has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not issuing privileges yet. Below: what Rhode Island asks of a counselor already licensed in another state, and where those applications slow down.
Rhode Island LCMHC License Requirements
The independent clinical license in Rhode Island is the LCMHC (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor).
Exams named for licensure: NCMHCE. The rule names the NCMHCE; another exam requires Board approval. The NCE is not listed.
2,000 hours of post-degree supervised experience for the independent license.
Those hours are completed under the associate credential, the LCMHCA (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate).
Licensed elsewhere: A clinical mental health counselor licensed in another state with a 60-semester-hour CACREP clinical mental health counseling degree is deemed to meet the Rhode Island education requirement. Other out-of-state applicants are reviewed against the full requirements.
How Much Does a Rhode Island LCMHC License Cost?
We have not published a Rhode Island figure yet
We have not verified Board of Clinical Mental Health Counselors and Marriage and Family Therapists (Rhode Island Department of Health)'s current schedule, and board fees change between legislative sessions
We handle the Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island Applications Get Delayed
Rhode Island accepts the NCMHCE only. A counselor who passed only the NCE will need to sit for the NCMHCE before Rhode Island will license them.
The current rule, 216-RICR-40-05-11 (effective 2023-05-15), uses the LCMHC and LCMHCA titles. The associate tier came from 2022 legislation (S 2616A / H 7872A).
Postgraduate experience is at least two years with 2,000 hours of direct client contact and 100 hours of supervision, earned after the graduate degree.
Rhode Island is a Counseling Compact member (37th; 2024 legislation S 2183 / H 7141A) but is not issuing privileges yet.
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 Rhode Island LCMHC License
Renewal Cycle
Every 2 years
CE Requirement
40 CE hours per renewal cycle
The Counseling Compact and Rhode Island
Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island takes a full Rhode Island license, and holding a Rhode Island license does not yet give you a privilege anywhere else.
Addiction counselors in Rhode Island
Rhode Island credentials addiction counselors as LCDP and LCDCS, through the Rhode Island Department of Health, on recommendation of the Board of Chemical Dependency Professionals (certification by the Rhode Island Certification Board required). That credential is separate from the LCMHC, and the Counseling Compact does not cover it. LCDP licensure requires and is renewed on current certification from the Rhode Island Certification Board.
Keeping it current
Rhode Island renews the LCMHC every 2 years, with 40 hours of continuing education per cycle. At least 20 of the 40 hours must be Category 1. LCMHCA licenses expire three years from issuance. 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.
Rhode Island LCMHC License FAQ
What is the counselor license called in Rhode Island?
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Can I use the Counseling Compact for Rhode Island?
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I'm licensed in another state. How do I get licensed in Rhode Island?
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Which exam does Rhode Island 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.
- titles, board name, exam, hours, endorsement equivalence, CE, associate expiry, effective 2023-05-15; RIDOH site blocked automated access (403) — checked 2026-10-08
- LCDP/LCDCS titles and issuing authority — checked 2026-10-08
- compact membership (37th) — checked 2026-10-08
- not live — checked 2026-10-08
- board site listed by the Compact as https://health.ri.gov/licenses/detail.php?id=228; 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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