The National Counselor Examination is the multiple-choice knowledge test that state boards use for the entry counseling license, and one of two exams the NCC accepts. Today's form has 200 questions, 160 of them scored. On July 1, 2027 it gets shorter and gains a fixed passing score.
Updated Oct 30, 2026 · Not affiliated with NBCC, CCE, AMFTRB, CRCC, ACA or AAMFT.
questions on today's form200
testing time225 min
exam fee, Oct 2026$275
from July 1, 2027170 questions, pass at 360
The exam at a glance
Fact
Detail
Source
Checked
Exam owner
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)For state licensure the exam is administered by NBCC's affiliate, the Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE), and delivered by Pearson VUE.
NBCC: National Counselor Examination (NCE) · NBCC: NCE Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, rev. Sep 24, 2024 (PDF) [1][2]
Leads to
State counselor licensure (the entry license in most states) and the National Certified Counselor (NCC) credentialOne of the two NBCC licensure exams; the NCC accepts the NCE or the NCMHCE.
NBCC: National Counselor Examination (NCE) · NBCC: National Certified Counselor (NCC) [1][3]
Questions
200 multiple-choice questionsFrom July 1, 2027: 170 questions with three answer options.
NBCC: NCE Content Outline, 2023 (PDF) · NBCC: NCE Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, rev. Sep 24, 2024 (PDF) [2][4]
Scored questions
160 scored; 40 unscored field-test questions are mixed in and not marked
NBCC: NCE Content Outline, 2023 (PDF) · NBCC: NCE Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, rev. Sep 24, 2024 (PDF) [2][4]
Exam time
3 hours 45 minutes (225 minutes)
NBCC: NCE Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, rev. Sep 24, 2024 (PDF) [2]
Where you test
Pearson VUE test center or OnVUE online proctoringOnly specific, limited accommodations are available on OnVUE.
NBCC: NCE Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, rev. Sep 24, 2024 (PDF) [2]
Passing score
A raw cut score set for each exam form (modified Angoff, then equated)Raw score 0–160; NBCC says the passing score may vary slightly by form, and there is no fixed percentage. From July 1, 2027: a scaled score of 100–500 with 360 to pass on every form.
NBCC: NCE Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, rev. Sep 24, 2024 (PDF) · NBCC: NCE Examination Specifications, effective July 1, 2027 (PDF) [2][5]
Results
Unofficial score report at the end of the exam; the official score reaches your state board within 30 days of the end of the monthly testing cycle
NBCC: NCE Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, rev. Sep 24, 2024 (PDF) · NBCC: score reports [2][6]
Exam fee
$275Paid to NBCC/CCE in the Credentialing Gateway. The NBCC handbook does not print the fee; $275 is the figure state boards publish (Virginia, checked Oct 2026). Through the NCC route the exam is included in the $375 NCC application.as of Oct 30, 2026 · state board figure; NBCC does not print the fee
Virginia Board of Counseling: examination information · NBCC: NCE Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, rev. Sep 24, 2024 (PDF) [2][7]
Retakes
After a 30-day wait, with a new registration and fee; your state board sets the attempt limitNCC route: up to 3 attempts within 2 years per application, each retake with a $150 reregistration fee.
NBCC: NCE Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, rev. Sep 24, 2024 (PDF) · NBCC: NCE Applicant Handbook for National Certification, rev. Sep 24, 2024 (PDF) [2][8]
Pass rate
Not published by NBCCPrograms whose students apply for the NCC as students get aggregate scores compared with national statistics.
NBCC: National Counselor Examination (NCE) · NBCC: NCE Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, rev. Sep 24, 2024 (PDF) · NBCC: student FAQ (NCC student applicants) [1][2][9]
Changes in 2027
From July 1, 2027: 170 questions with three options (140 scored), a 100–500 scale with 360 to pass, a new 6-domain outline shared with the NCMHCE, and a Spanish formCandidates who test before the switch take the current form; NBCC plans no overlap period.
NBCC: NCE Examination Specifications, effective July 1, 2027 (PDF) · NBCC: National Counselor Examination (NCE) [1][5]
Boards in 42 of the 51 jurisdictions on our state-by-state table accept the exam for a counseling license. How they use it, per our state cards (Oct 30, 2026):
Either exam. In 21 states it is one of two routes to the license, the other being the clinical case exam, the NCMHCE. Ohio:NCE or NCMHCE for the LPC; no second exam for the LPCC. Changed on January 1, 2026. Before that, the LPCC required the NCMHCE after the NCE.
First step of two. In 11 states it earns the first license, and the higher clinical tier asks for the NCMHCE on top. The side-by-side is on NCE vs NCMHCE.
The only route. In eight states, Colorado and New Jersey among them, the board lists no other exam route.
Other mixes. Illinois and Pennsylvania also accept the CRC exam; Illinois sets different exams for its two licenses (LPC: NCE or CRC; LCPC: CRC, or NCE + NCMHCE).
The other eight states license on the NCMHCE alone, California, Florida and New York among them. New York:NCMHCE; the NCE is not accepted.
Outside licensure, a passing score also counts toward the NCC (National Certified Counselor). Still in a master's program? The exit exam many programs give is a different test: NCE vs CPCE.
What it tests, area by area
The 2023 outline sorts tasks into six work-behavior domains; Areas of Clinical Focus (29%) is second only to Counseling Skills and Interventions (30%). NBCC also aligns the questions with the eight CACREP content areas, the structure our pages follow:
Clinical focus: presenting concerns, close to a third of the outline
Two forms, one switch date
The new form starts on July 1, 2027: 170 questions, pass at 360. Your test date alone decides which form you sit. Several prep sites we checked in October 2026 still describe only the current form; we checked both against the NBCC 2027 specifications. What it means for your test date: the 2027 form.
4 sample questions, every option explained
Question 1 of 4 · Career Development
A counselor helps a client understand her aptitudes and interests, gathers information about the requirements of several jobs, and then helps her reason about how well the two match. This approach comes from:
Parsons' trait-and-factor method has three steps: know yourself, know the requirements of jobs, and reason about the fit between them, exactly what this counselor does.
Roe linked career direction to early parent-child relationships and personality needs; she did not propose the know-yourself, know-jobs, reason-about-fit sequence.
Krumboltz explains choices through learning experiences and, later, planned happenstance; matching aptitudes to job requirements is the older trait-factor idea.
Super's life-span, life-space theory is developmental and centers on self-concept across life stages, not a one-time matching of traits to job requirements.
Question 2 of 4 · Areas of Clinical Focus · 29%
Six weeks after his wife's death, a widower still sets a place for her at dinner and speaks as if she will be home soon. According to Worden, he is struggling with which task of mourning?
Adjusting to roles and routines without the deceased is the third task, which cannot begin while he behaves as if she still lives there.
The fourth task is keeping a lasting bond while moving on; his behavior is not a healthy ongoing connection but a failure to accept the death.
Worden's first task is accepting that the death is real and final; setting her place and expecting her home shows that task is still unfinished.
Processing the pain is the second task; this widower is not yet facing the pain because he is still acting as though she is coming back.
Question 3 of 4 · Counseling and Helping Relationships
A client says, "After the divorce, I just felt abandoned." The counselor nods and repeats, "Abandoned?" This response is:
Reflecting meaning names the values or beliefs beneath a client's story; repeating 'abandoned' does not interpret what the divorce means to him.
Repeating one key word, with a nod, is a minimal encourager: it signals attention and invites the client to say more without steering the content.
A closed question asks for a yes/no or specific fact; the rising tone on one echoed word invites elaboration rather than a short answer.
A paraphrase restates the client's message in the counselor's own words; echoing a single word adds no rephrasing of the content.
Question 4 of 4 · Social and Cultural Diversity
A counselor learns how a refugee client's own community understands and talks about distress before choosing any interventions. This approach reflects which perspective?
An imposed etic forces outside, usually Western, categories onto another culture, the opposite of first asking how the community understands distress.
Universalism assumes the same concepts and methods apply across cultures; seeking the group's own understanding is a culture-specific stance.
An etic perspective looks at cultures from outside with culture-general categories; this counselor is starting from the community's own concepts instead.
An emic approach understands a culture from the inside, through its own categories and meanings, which is what learning the community's view of distress does.
Answer every question to see your score
From board approval to a score
Eligibility
In most states your board approves you to test first, generally for a graduate counseling degree covering the eight CACREP areas. Some states let advanced graduate students sit before graduating. Texas does not require prior board approval to register.
Registration
Payment goes through the Credentialing Gateway; then you pick a seat. Testing runs year-round by appointment, within the authorization window your state board sets (up to 6 months).
Test day
The appointment lasts 4 hours 15 minutes (255 minutes): 5-minute nondisclosure agreement, 10-minute tutorial, the 225-minute exam and one 15-minute break after question 100. You sit it at a test center or online.
Score
Your unofficial result shows up the moment you end the exam; your board receives the official result afterward. How the cut works: passing score.
If you fall short
You can test again after 30 days, with a new registration and fee; your board decides how many attempts you get.
Nobody can say from data, since no national figure exists. The difficulty comes from breadth: eight content areas plus a clinical domain worth 29% of the outline, with unscored field-test items mixed in. More on the passing score.
Can I sit for it from home?
Yes, on OnVUE. If you need an accommodation, plan on a test center: the online menu of accommodations is short.
Does passing make me an NCC?
Passing covers the exam requirement. The NCC is a separate application (degree, coursework, endorsement, exam), with rules described on the NCC page.
Should I test before or after the 2027 switch?
Whichever date your authorization and preparation allow. Prep that follows the current outline still covers most of the 2027 content, but ethics and law carry more weight on the new form: study guide.