LPC Requirements in CT: Exam, Supervised Hours, and Renewal

To earn a Licensed Professional Counselor credential in Connecticut, you need a qualifying graduate degree with at least 60 counseling-related semester hours, a passing score on a national NBCC exam, and 3,000 hours of supervised postgraduate experience completed over no fewer than two years. The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) reviews applications, and the LPC requirements in CT split into two tracks depending on whether you started your graduate program before or on/after July 1, 2017.¹

Education

Public Act 17-94 raised the state’s education and fieldwork standards for counselor licensure, and the effective date determines which set of rules applies to you.

If You Matriculated Before July 1, 2017

You need a master’s or doctoral degree in social work, marriage and family therapy, counseling, or psychology from a regionally accredited institution, with at least 60 graduate semester hours in or related to counseling. The coursework must cover eight areas:²

Human growth and development
Social and cultural foundations
Counseling theories and techniques (or helping relationships)
Group dynamics, processing, and counseling
Career and lifestyle development
Appraisals or tests and measurements for individuals and groups
Research and evaluation
Professional orientation to counseling

If You Matriculated On or After July 1, 2017

You must meet one of two educational paths:³

A graduate degree in clinical mental health counseling from a program accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP); or
A graduate degree in counseling, social work, marriage and family therapy, or psychology from a regionally accredited institution, with at least 60 graduate semester hours covering the eight areas above plus four more: addiction and substance abuse counseling, trauma and crisis counseling, diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders, and counseling techniques as a separate category.

The post-2017 track also requires a 100-hour practicum and a 600-hour clinical mental health counseling internship as part of the graduate program.³ Those clinical components do not apply to pre-2017 applicants.¹

The National Exam

Every LPC applicant must pass one of two exams administered by the National Board for Certified Counselors: the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE).² If you have not taken one, register through the NBCC. Your official score report has to go directly from NBCC to the Connecticut DPH; you cannot forward it yourself. Connecticut does not set its own passing score, and candidates receive an unofficial score immediately after testing.

3,000 Hours of Supervised Postgraduate Experience

After your degree, you must accumulate 3,000 hours of supervised postgraduate professional counseling experience over a minimum of two years. At least 100 of those hours must be direct supervision, meaning face-to-face, one-on-one consultation with a qualifying supervisor that includes at least a monthly written evaluation of your practice.²³

Your supervisor must hold one of these credentials:²

Licensed Professional Counselor
Physician certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Licensed psychologist
Advanced practice registered nurse certified as a psychiatric and mental health clinical nurse specialist or nurse practitioner
Licensed marital and family therapist
Licensed clinical social worker

The LPCA: Required If You’re Supervised in Connecticut

If your supervised experience takes place in Connecticut, you must hold a Professional Counselor Associate (LPCA) license during that entire supervision period.² The LPCA lets you practice counseling under supervision but not independently.¹

The education standards for the LPCA match the post-July 2017 LPC track: a CACREP-accredited degree, or a 60-hour degree with the expanded coursework, plus the 100-hour practicum and 600-hour internship.⁴ Unlike the full LPC, the LPCA does not require you to pass a national exam.¹

There is no application fee for the LPCA. Renewal is annual at $195, and Connecticut sets no cap on the number of renewals, so you can hold it as long as it takes to finish your supervised hours.¹⁴

How to Apply

Both LPC and LPCA applications are filed online through the state eLicense portal at elicense.ct.gov.² The initial application fee for the full LPC is $200.⁵

The following documents have to be sent to the DPH directly from the source, not by you:

Official transcripts from your institution, with a completed Course of Study Form
Verification of the 3,000 supervised hours and the 100 direct supervision hours
Official NCE or NCMHCE score report from NBCC
License verification from every state where you hold or have ever held a counseling license or certificate

Paper documents can be mailed to Connecticut Department of Public Health, Professional Counselor Licensure, 410 Capitol Ave., MS #12 APP, P.O. Box 340308, Hartford, CT 06134, or faxed to (860) 707-1980.⁴

If You’re Already Licensed in Another State

Connecticut has no formal reciprocity, but if you currently hold a professional counselor license (or equivalent) elsewhere, you can substitute three years of licensed work experience for the standard 3,000 supervised hours.² You still have to meet the education and exam requirements, and each employer must send a letter directly to the DPH confirming your employment as a professional counselor and the dates of service. License verification from every state where you hold or have held a credential is also required.

Renewal and Continuing Education

The Connecticut LPC renews every year at $200.⁵ Each one-year renewal period requires at least 15 contact hours of continuing education, including at least three hours in professional ethics and at least one hour in cultural competency. On top of that, once every six years you need two contact hours on mental health conditions common to veterans and their families.⁶

First-time renewals are exempt from CE until the following cycle. Keep your certificates of completion for at least three years. Waivers are available if you are not in active practice or have a qualifying medical disability or illness.⁶

A Note on the Counseling Compact

Connecticut joined the Counseling Compact under Public Act 23-195, which is meant to let licensed counselors practice across state lines without holding a separate license in each state.⁷ The compact launched nationally on September 30, 2025, with Arizona and Minnesota issuing the first privileges, and Ohio following on January 5, 2026.⁸ Connecticut is not yet issuing or accepting compact privileges; the state remains in the rulemaking phase, and DPH advises checking its website for updates before relying on the compact to practice here or from here.

1
Connecticut Counseling Association. Licensure FAQ 2022 Revisions
2
CT.gov. Professional Counselor Licensing Requirements
3
CT.gov. Educational Requirements
4
CT.gov. Professional Counselor Associate
5
CT.gov. Professional Counselor Licensing
6
CT.gov. Continuing Education
7
CT.gov. Counseling Compact
8
Counseling Compact Commission. News