Counselor Licensure Exam

Directory · checked Oct 30, 2026

All counseling exams on this site

Five exams have full sections here: a guide, exam facts, cost, passing rules, a study plan, area pages and a practice test. Five more are tracked as fact cards only, until they have practice sets of their own.

Updated Oct 30, 2026 · Not affiliated with NBCC, CCE, AMFTRB, CRCC, ACA or AAMFT.

Exams with practice sets

ExamExam ownerLeads toQuestionsExam timeWhere you testPracticeSourceChecked
NCENBCCState license and NCC200225 minTest center or onlinePractice test
Exam facts 		[1][2][3][4]
NCMHCENBCCClinical license, NCC, CCMHC11 cases225 minTest center or onlinePractice test
Exam facts 		[3][5][6][7][8]
CPCECCEProgram exit exam160225 minCampus, test center or onlinePractice test
Exam facts 		[9][10][11]
MFTAMFTRBLMFT license (not CA)1804 hPrometric centerPractice test
Exam facts 		[12][13][14][15][16]
CRCCRCCCRC certification175210 minTest center or onlinePractice test
Exam facts 		[17][18][19][20][21]

Facts checked Oct 30, 2026 against the testing organizations; sources are listed under Source notes.

What each exam section holds

Every exam has the same core pages, so you can move between them: the exam guide, exam facts with the current and next form, cost, the passing rule (for the rehabilitation exam, pass rates), a study plan drawn from the exam's own outline, one page per content area or domain (the CPCE's areas share the NCE pages), and a practice test.

Topics that every exam touches are written once and shared: counseling ethics, counseling theories, and the state-by-state licensure table.

Tracked next, facts only

ExamExam ownerLeads toWhere you testPracticeSourceChecked
California LPCC Law & EthicsBBSCalifornia LPCCPearson VUE—[22][23]
California LMFT Law & EthicsBBSCalifornia LMFTPearson VUE—[15]
California LMFT ClinicalBBSCalifornia LMFTPearson VUE—[15]
Texas LPC JurisprudenceTexas LPC boardTexas LPCOnline—[24]
Praxis School Psychologist (5403)ETS / NASPNCSPTest center or at home—[25][26]

Facts checked Oct 30, 2026 against the testing organizations; sources are listed under Source notes.

Guides across the exams

  • Counseling license typesLPC, LMHC, LPCC, LCPC and the rest: one license under state names, plus LMFT and LCSW
  • How to become an LPCDegree, licensing exam, associate stage, supervised hours and the full counseling license
  • Counseling CompactCompact members, the states issuing privileges, and how a privilege works
  • Counseling ethicsThe 2014 ACA Code section by section, the NBCC Code beside it, and ethics questions
  • Counseling theoriesFifteen counseling theories: founder, goal, techniques and the trap, plus practice
  • NCC certificationNCC requirements, the CACREP waiver, fees, retakes and the CCMHC
  • How to become an LMFTDegree, supervised hours, board approval and the AMFTRB exam, with the states that differ

Source notes

  1. [1]NBCC: National Counselor Examination (NCE) nbcc.org · checked Oct 30, 2026
  2. [2]NBCC: NCE Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, rev. Sep 24, 2024 (PDF) sanbcccore.blob.core.windows.net · checked Oct 30, 2026
  3. [3]NBCC: National Certified Counselor (NCC) nbcc.org · checked Oct 30, 2026
  4. [4]NBCC: NCE Content Outline, 2023 (PDF) sanbcccore.blob.core.windows.net · checked Oct 30, 2026
  5. [5]NBCC: National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) nbcc.org · checked Oct 30, 2026
  6. [6]NBCC: NCMHCE Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, rev. Nov 20, 2025 (PDF) sanbcccore.blob.core.windows.net · checked Oct 30, 2026
  7. [7]NBCC: NCMHCE Candidate Handbook for National Certification, rev. Oct 16, 2025 (PDF) sanbcccore.blob.core.windows.net · checked Oct 30, 2026
  8. [8]NBCC: NCMHCE Content Outline, rev. Oct 8, 2025 (PDF) sanbcccore.blob.core.windows.net · checked Oct 30, 2026
  9. [9]CCE: Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE) cce-global.org · checked Oct 30, 2026
  10. [10]CCE: CPCE Content Outline, Aug 2024 (PDF) cce-global.org · checked Oct 30, 2026
  11. [11]CCE: CPCE Candidate Handbook, rev. Mar 25, 2025 (PDF) cce-global.org · checked Oct 30, 2026
  12. [12]AMFTRB Handbook for Candidates, 2026 edition, rev. Apr 30, 2026 (PDF) ptcny.com · checked Oct 30, 2026
  13. [13]AMFTRB: detailed exam reference amftrb.org · checked Oct 30, 2026
  14. [14]AMFTRB: your exam roadmap amftrb.org · checked Oct 30, 2026
  15. [15]California BBS: LMFT exams bbs.ca.gov · checked Oct 30, 2026
  16. [16]AMFTRB Handbook for Candidates, 2027 edition, rev. Aug 24, 2026 (PDF) ptcny.com · checked Oct 30, 2026
  17. [17]CRCC: CRC exam overview crccertification.com · checked Oct 30, 2026
  18. [18]CRCC: CRC Certification Guide, updated July 1, 2026 (PDF) crccertification.com · checked Oct 30, 2026
  19. [19]Illinois IDFPR: LPC and LCPC qualifications for licensure (PDF) idfpr.illinois.gov · checked Oct 30, 2026
  20. [20]49 Pa. Code § 49.11: licensure examination pacodeandbulletin.gov · checked Oct 30, 2026
  21. [21]North Carolina Board of LCMHC: applying for the LCMHC ncblcmhc.org · checked Oct 30, 2026
  22. [22]California BBS: LPCC exams bbs.ca.gov · checked Oct 30, 2026
  23. [23]California BBS: LPCC applicants bbs.ca.gov · checked Oct 30, 2026
  24. [24]Texas BHEC: LPC Jurisprudence Examination bhec.texas.gov · checked Oct 30, 2026
  25. [25]ETS: Praxis School Psychologist (5403) praxis.ets.org · checked Oct 30, 2026
  26. [26]NASP: national certification (NCSP) nasponline.org · checked Oct 30, 2026