United States · Licensing examPut in your test date and the planner spreads the 33 NCE lessons over the days you have.
Pick the date of your test and how long you can study each day. You’ll get a plan that takes you right up to the test.
How do you plan your time studying for the NCE?
- Confirm with your state board whether you need the NCE or the NCMHCE. This plan is built for the NCE.
- Download NBCC’s free handbook and content outline. The outline shows where the 160 scored NCE questions go: 48 to Counseling Skills and Interventions and 47 to Areas of Clinical Focus, the two biggest domains.
- Set your study plan to end before the last day of your test window. The end date is in the Authorization to Test email from Pearson VUE.
- Practice with questions as you go, and answer every one: NBCC says there’s no penalty for guessing.
- Testing on or after July 1, 2027? Study from NBCC’s 2027 specifications instead, because the domains change.
Free NCE study materials from NBCC
For the NCE: NBCC’s free handbook (with sample questions) and content outline, then the NBCC Foundation’s $34.95 study guide with 180 practice questions. For the NCMHCE: the free handbook’s sample case, the NCMHCE content outline, and the Foundation’s $34.95 guide with six practice cases. The study guide page has what each official document covers, and the where-to-learn page compares the paid options.
Studying for the NCMHCE case studies
The NCMHCE asks you to apply what you know to a client’s story, not just recall it. NBCC’s handbook says the questions measure application and higher thinking levels, and each case is split into an intake and two later sessions. Once you move to the next part of a case, you can’t change earlier answers. So practice reading a part, answering all its questions, then moving on, the way the real exam runs.
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