Utah licenses independent clinical counselors as the CMHC (Clinical Mental Health Counselor), through the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), with the Utah Behavioral Health Board. Utah has enacted the Counseling Compact but is not issuing privileges yet. Below: what Utah asks of a counselor already licensed in another state, and where those applications slow down.
Utah CMHC License Requirements
The independent clinical license in Utah is the CMHC (Clinical Mental Health Counselor).
Exams named for licensure: NCMHCE. R156-60e-302.4(4) requires the NCMHCE only; the NCE is used only to show that a degree in an "equivalent field" qualifies. Since 2024-05-01 an applicant who has failed the exam at least once can instead log 500 more direct client care hours and submit two recommendation letters (alternate exam pathway, Utah Code 58-60-405(1)(g)(ii)).
3,000 hours of post-degree supervised experience for the independent license.
Those hours are completed under the associate credential, the ACMHC (Associate Clinical Mental Health Counselor).
Licensed elsewhere: Utah Code 58-1-302 licenses a counselor from another state, district or territory whose license has a similar scope of practice, who has at least one year of practice under it, and who is in good standing. DOPL may also license other applicants case by case on education, exam and experience.
How Much Does a Utah CMHC License Cost?
We have not published a Utah figure yet
We have not verified Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), with the Utah Behavioral Health Board's current schedule, and board fees change between legislative sessions
Board: Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), with the Utah Behavioral Health Board
We handle the Utah 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 Utah Applications Get Delayed
Utah accepts the NCMHCE only. A counselor who passed only the NCE will need to sit for the NCMHCE before Utah will license them.
The endorsement route expects 1 year of licensure elsewhere. Count from the date your independent license was issued, not your associate license.
The old counselor rule R156-60c (including the 3,000-hour/1,000-direct-hour R156-60c-302a) was replaced by the combined Mental Health Professional Practice Act Rule, R156-60e, effective 2026-01-01 and last amended 2026-05-26.
Hours now come from the statute: at least 1,200 direct client care hours after the degree, 100 of them in direct clinical supervision and 25 directly observed, plus 3,000 hours or two years of clinical supervision while CMS requires that for Medicare billing (Utah Code 58-60-405, as amended effective 2026-07-01).
The Counseling Compact lists no jurisprudence requirement for a privilege to practice in Utah.
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 Utah CMHC License
Renewal Cycle
Every 2 years
CE Requirement
40 CE hours per renewal cycle
The Counseling Compact and Utah
Utah has enacted the Counseling Compact (March 24, 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 Utah takes a full Utah license, and holding a Utah license does not yet give you a privilege anywhere else.
Addiction counselors in Utah
Utah credentials addiction counselors as MAC, AMAC, ASUDC and SUDC, through the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL). That credential is separate from the CMHC, and the Counseling Compact does not cover it. Master Addiction Counselor, Associate MAC, Advanced Substance Use Disorder Counselor and Substance Use Disorder Counselor are all licensed by DOPL under the same rule as counselors (R156-60e).
Keeping it current
Utah renews the CMHC every 2 years, with 40 hours of continuing education per cycle. Includes 6 hours of ethics, law or technology ethics and 2 hours of suicide prevention; up to 10 excess hours carry over (R156-60e-402.1). 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.
Utah CMHC License FAQ
What is the counselor license called in Utah?
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Can I use the Counseling Compact for Utah?
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I'm licensed in another state. How do I get licensed in Utah?
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Which exam does Utah 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.
- exam (NCMHCE only), alternate exam pathway, ACMHC and extern titles, addiction titles and exams, CE hours and renewal cycle; rule last changed 2026-05-26 — checked 2026-10-08
- qualifications: 1,200 direct hours, 100 supervision hours, 3,000 hours or two years for Medicare, exam or alternate pathway (version effective 2026-07-01) — checked 2026-10-08
- license by endorsement, one year of practice — checked 2026-10-08
- compact bill S.B. 237 signed by the governor 2022-03-24 — checked 2026-10-08
- DOPL committee minutes 2026-05-28: R156-60e CMHC exam discussion — checked 2026-10-08
- no privilege jurisprudence requirement listed for UT — checked 2026-10-08
- board page; returned 403 to automated access, so the rule and statute were used instead — 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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