In Ohio, counselors are licensed under the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage and Family Therapist Board. The license that is obtained from the board is the LPC. Summarized below are the requirements needed to meet in order to qualify for a license. OCA always encourages those seeking licensure to communicate directly with the OCSWMFT board for the most accurate information.

Program Completion

• Complete a Master’s-level program in either clinical mental health counseling, clinical rehabilitation counseling, or addiction counseling. The Master’s program must be accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).

Examination Pre-Approval

• Apply for NCE examination preapproval by completing the LPC license application at eLicense.ohio.gov. There is an $80 application fee as well as a $3.50 processing fee.
• For those attending a CACREP program and are enrolled in their final term, submit a letter from the school indicating that you will graduate in the term for which you are applying. If you have already graduated, you will submit an official transcript instead.
• For those attending a program that is not CACREP accredited, submit a transcript showing your conferred degree and coursework.
• Click here for more information about requesting testing accommodations.
• Those with an out-of-state degree or license who do not meet their requirements of Rule 4757-13-01 or 4757-13-06 will not be approved to sit for the exam.

Registering for the Exam

• Upon approval, you will receive a letter of eligibility. You can register and pay for the exam by visiting the NBCC/CCE State Licensure page and clicking on the ProCounselor tab. Please make sure that you sign up for the NCE exam. Either log in or create a new account. 
• Once logged in, submit your exam registration and make your payment. Within about 4 weeks, you will receive an email from Pearson Vue with scheduling instructions. Visit http://www.pearsonvue.com/cce/ to learn more about exam administration and to search for test locations.
• The NCE is generally offered the first two full weeks of the month, Monday through Saturday at 9:00 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. The exam has a 4-hour testing window. Please note that Saturday testing is not available at all sites. Some sites have limited slots, so scheduling early is recommended.

Applying for the License

• Complete the LPC application at eLicense.ohio.gov. You will also need to submit the following:
• Internship supervisor evaluation rating form (Non-CACREP graduates only)
• NCE test results - results must be emailed to counseling@cswb.ohio.gov
• Official transcript indicating a conferred graduate degree in counseling - transcript may be provided by the applicant or the college/university. Email the transcript to counseling@cswb.ohio.gov
• BCI and FBI criminal records check
• Review OCSWMFTB’s laws and rules prior to submission. A video on the laws and rules can be found here.

Review Status of License

• You can track the status of your application by visiting the eLicense website. Here you can check to see if the board has received your exam scores, transcript, supervision hours, and/or background check.