Andrew A. Helwig is Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado Denver and recently retired after 22 years at the university. In 1990, Dr. Helwig wrote the first edition of the Study Guide for the National Counselor Examination and began conducting counselor exam review workshops. He has now conducted 240 workshops in 18 states and his NCE and CPCE Study Guide is in its sixth edition.
State Counselor Licensure Requirements
Most states use the National Counselor Examination (NCE) for their counselor licensure process. Detailed information for 17 Selected States, including requirements for licensure and how to contact the state licensing boards for additional information, is presented below. These states use the NCE (although a few also use other exams) and are generally the states with the most licensed counselors. All Other States are presented in another list which follows.
Some of the information for the states came from the American Counseling Association publication titled, Licensure Requirements for Professional Counselors. Additional information listed under most states came directly from the individual state law or the rules implementing the counseling statute.
More information about the NCE is available from the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) at www.nbcc.org. Many of the universities in each state also use the Counselor Preparation Comprehensive Examination (CPCE) which also comes from NBCC. That exam is similar to the NCE so preparing for one facilitates preparation for the other.
Counselor licensure is described and summarized for the following Selected States:
Click here for counselor licensure information for all Other States.