Licensing Questions LPC

Licensing Questions LPC

To be eligible to become an LPC Associate in Texas, you must have graduate degree in counseling or a counseling-related field from an accredited program and pass the National Counseling Exam (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) administered by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). Applicants who have not yet taken the licensing exam should contact NBCC. Information on that process is available on NBCC’s webpage (you do not need pre-approval from BHEC to take the exam). The LPC Associate license allows you to begin accruing the supervised clinical experience necessary to become a full Licensed Professional Counselor. All applicants for LPC Associate must: • submit a complete application and fee (fee covers both Associate license and upgrade to full LPC) • submit a signed supervisory agreement form with a board approved supervisor • submit passing scores from the NBCC • submit an official transcript that shows the conferral date of your graduate counseling degree • complete the Texas Jurisprudence Examination • submit a self-query report from the National Practitioner Data Bank • submit electronic fingerprints for a nationwide criminal history search. After passing the exam, the applicant should contact a board-approved supervisor to set up a supervisory relationship by completing the Supervisory Agreement Form found on the BHEC forms webpage. Applicants for licensure who have passed the licensing exam and have set up supervision with a board-approved supervisor should submit their application and supporting documents via our online licensing system.
Accordion Sample D-In State: To be eligible to be a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) you must hold a license as an LPC-Associate in Texas and complete supervised training under a board approved supervisor. All in-state candidates must complete the following in no less than 18 months and no more than 60 months: • 1,500 or more hours of supervised direct counseling practice • 3,000 or more hours of supervised practice (direct and indirect combined) Upon completion of the required supervised experience, the LPC Associate submits an application for upgrade along with supporting documents via our online licensing system. All applicants for upgrade to full LPC must: • submit a complete application (fee was imbedded in the Associate fee) • complete the Texas Jurisprudence Examination • submit a self-query report from the National Practitioner Data Bank • submit Supervised Experience Documentation form(s) -Out of State: Licensed Professional Counselors from out of state must submit the online application and fee along with the same documentation as that required for obtaining an LPC Associate license as shown above. Additionally, verifications from each state in which an LPC license was held must be submitted directly to this office by the issuing agency.escription
All fees are found in Chapter 885 of the Texas Administrative Code. A link to the rules is available on the BHEC website. The link to Chapter 885 is found toward the middle of the page under the heading: Relevant Administrative Rules.
A list of active supervisors is available on the BHEC website.
If you took the exam for another state’s licensing authority you will need to contact NBCC to have the scores transferred to Texas. For more information please visit NBCC's webpage.
Electronic transcripts should be sent to transcripts@bhec.texas.gov . Hardcopy transcripts should be mailed to: BHEC LPC Transcripts 1801 Congress Suite 7.300 Austin, TX 78701
The jurisprudence exam is administered online by a third-party vendor. To register visit our Jurisprudence Exam webpage.
Instructions for obtaining a self-query can be found at the NPDB webpage.
Upon submission of your application, you will be sent guidance on fingerprint submission. The fingerprinting is done electronically and locations all over the country. There is a fee paid to the fingerprint facility. Typically, it takes approximately 15 minutes to complete the process of getting fingerprinted.
BHEC has a verification form that an applicant should submit to the verifying state. Some states will complete the form while others will provide verification on their own form. A small number of states use their online verification for this purpose. The verification request form can be found on our forms webpage.
BHEC has a Clinical Supervision Verification Form available on our forms webpage. This form should be filled out by and signed by the supervisor.
There are many variables that impact application processing times. Typically, one can expect the process to take several weeks. BHEC provides a chart that shows the receipt date of the applications staff is currently processing here.
Yes. There are various waivers and advantages provided for active duty military, veterans and military spouses. For more information review Council rule 882.60 and 882.61.