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United States · Licensing exam

National Certified Counselor requirements, and who can take the NCE

For a state license, your board decides whether you can sit the NCE or NCMHCE, so its rules come first. For NBCC’s own credential, the National Certified Counselor requirements in NBCC’s eligibility policy (revised April 30, 2026) are a graduate degree in counseling with at least 48 semester hours, nine content areas, an endorsement, a passing NCE or NCMHCE and, unless waived, two years of supervised work.

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Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

NCE exam requirements for a state license

NBCC’s handbooks leave eligibility to each state board. They describe the candidate both exams are built for: someone with a graduate degree from a counseling program accredited by CACREP or run by an institutionally accredited college or university, with courses in eight areas. The NCE handbook adds that states may let people with comparable degrees in related helping fields sit the exam.

Your board may ask for more than a degree before you test, and some boards add exams of their own, such as Texas’s jurisprudence exam.

Find your board in NBCC’s State Board Directory ↗The NCE exam in Texas →

What are the National Certified Counselor requirements?

NBCC’s NCC eligibility policy asks for all of these:

  • A master’s, education specialist, Certificate of Advanced Study or doctoral degree in counseling from an accredited program
  • At least 48 semester hours or 72 quarter hours of graduate counseling coursework
  • Graduate courses in nine areas: human growth and development, social and cultural foundations, helping relationships, group work, career counseling, assessment, research and program evaluation, professional orientation, and counseling field experience
  • At least 6 semester or 10 quarter hours of supervised field experience in the degree, and at least 2 semester or 3 quarter hours for each other course
  • A positive endorsement from a colleague with a graduate mental health degree who isn’t related to you
  • 3,000 hours of supervised post-graduate counseling work over at least 24 months, with 100 hours of supervision
  • A passing score on the NCE or the NCMHCE
  • An official sealed transcript showing the degree

When the supervised work is waived

The 3,000-hour work requirement can be waived if you graduated from a CACREP-accredited program, hold a full state counseling license, or have a doctoral degree in counseling from an accredited school.

The exam part of NCC

If you fail the NCE or NCMHCE through the NCC route, you wait at least 30 days to retake it, and you can retest at up to two more administrations within two years of your application. After three fails, or two years, the application closes and you start a new one.

NBCC’s policy also says state licensure candidates must meet their state’s requirements, which may differ from NCC’s.

NCC and exam fees →Registering through the NCC application →
Sources: NBCC and 4 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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