To earn a Licensed Professional Counselor license in Texas, you need a qualifying master’s or doctoral degree of at least 60 graduate semester hours, passing scores on a national counseling exam and the Texas Jurisprudence Examination, an LPC Associate license, and 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience before you can practice independently. The Texas LPC license requirements sit in Occupations Code Chapter 503 and Title 22 of the Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 681, and they are administered by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors under the Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC).1State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code 503 – Licensed Professional Counselors
The path runs in a fixed order: degree, exams, associate license, supervised hours, full license, then biennial renewal. Skipping or reordering steps is not an option, and each stage has its own paperwork and fees.
Graduate Degree and Coursework
Every applicant starts with a graduate degree in counseling or a closely related field from an accredited institution, totaling at least 60 semester hours of graduate coursework.2Cornell Law Institute. 22 Texas Administrative Code 681.82 – Academic Requirements A 48-hour minimum still applies to anyone who started their program before August 1, 2017, but nearly all current applicants fall under the 60-hour rule.
The coursework itself has to cover specific content areas listed in 22 TAC ยง 681.83: counseling theories, human development, group dynamics, career development, assessment techniques, research methods, ethics, and cultural diversity. Programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) are built around those areas, which makes them a natural fit. A non-CACREP degree can still qualify, but you carry the burden of proving your transcript covers the required content.
Your degree also has to include a supervised practicum of at least 300 clock hours, of which a minimum of 100 must be spent in direct client counseling.3Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. LPC Rulebook 2025 Shadowing, paperwork, and observation do not count toward the direct contact portion. Only time spent actually counseling clients qualifies.
The Two Required Exams
Texas requires two separate exams before you can practice, even at the associate level.
The first is a national exam administered by the National Board for Certified Counselors: either the National Counselor Examination (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE).4Cornell Law Institute. 22 Texas Administrative Code 681.72 – Required Application Materials The NCE tests general counseling knowledge across areas like human development, theories, and professional ethics. The NCMHCE is narrower and more clinical, using simulated client cases to test assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning. Either exam satisfies Texas. If you plan to pursue the National Certified Counselor credential later, you will need the NCE specifically.
The second is the Texas Jurisprudence Examination, which covers the Licensed Professional Counselor Act, BHEC rules, and other state laws that govern the profession, including mandatory reporting, confidentiality, and the board’s disciplinary authority.5Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Jurisprudence Examination It is open-book, which leads some applicants to treat it as a formality and fail.
Applying for the LPC Associate License
You do not go straight from a degree to a full LPC. You first apply for an LPC Associate license, which lets you practice under supervision while you accumulate the required clinical hours.
Applications are submitted through the BHEC Online Licensing System. Along with the application form itself, you send in official transcripts sent directly from your institution, passing scores from the NCE or NCMHCE, and your jurisprudence exam results.4Cornell Law Institute. 22 Texas Administrative Code 681.72 – Required Application Materials You also complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check through both the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI.6Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Application for Criminal History Evaluation Letter
The LPC Associate application fee is $165, and the criminal history evaluation costs $150, for an initial total of $315.7Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council Fee Schedule The national exam is billed separately by the testing organization. Processing generally takes several weeks after everything is in, and the usual cause of delay is missing transcripts or incomplete background paperwork rather than board backlog.
Supervised Clinical Experience
The associate stage is where you build clinical competence, and the board treats it as substantive training rather than a waiting period. You must complete 3,000 clock hours of supervised experience, with at least 1,500 of those hours in direct client counseling.8Justia Law. Texas Administrative Code Title 22, Part 30, Chapter 681, Subchapter C, Section 681.92 The rules also set a floor of 18 months, so you cannot compress the hours into a shorter sprint.
Throughout the associate period, you must receive at least four hours of face-to-face supervision each month from a board-approved supervisor (LPC-S). Up to half of those hours can be conducted through live video, and up to half can be in group settings with other associates, but you cannot use both substitutions for the same hours. Your supervisor must hold an unrestricted LPC in good standing for at least five years and must have completed a 40-hour supervision training course or a doctoral-level supervision course.9Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Applying to Be a Texas LPC Supervisor
One cap catches associates by surprise: no more than 10% of your total supervised experience hours can come from counseling conducted through technology. That limit hits hardest in rural settings where telehealth makes up a large share of the caseload.
If your LPC Associate license expires before you finish the required hours, you have to reapply under whatever requirements are in force at that time, though previously completed hours generally carry over.10Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Professional Counselors – Applying for a License FAQs
What a Texas LPC Can and Cannot Do
Chapter 503 defines the practice broadly. Licensed counselors can assess, evaluate, and treat mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders; conduct assessments using instruments that measure aptitudes, interests, abilities, and personal characteristics; and develop treatment plans using cognitive, behavioral, psychodynamic, and systemic strategies.1State of Texas. Texas Occupations Code 503 – Licensed Professional Counselors The scope covers individual, group, and family counseling, career development, substance abuse treatment, and rehabilitation counseling, but only within the counselor’s specific training.
The statute draws firm lines around physical health and certain psychological testing. Texas LPCs cannot diagnose or treat physical disorders, cannot use standardized projective techniques, and cannot prescribe medication.
Renewal and Continuing Education
Texas LPC licenses renew on a two-year cycle. Each renewal period you must complete 24 clock hours of continuing education.11Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Renewing an LPC License The hours are not fully interchangeable: at least six must cover professional ethics, and at least three must address cultural diversity or competency with distinct populations.12Cornell Law Institute. 22 Texas Administrative Code 681.140 – Requirements for Continuing Education You also have to complete a human trafficking prevention training course approved by the Health and Human Services Commission, which counts as one hour toward the 24-hour total.
Renewal happens through the BHEC portal, and the fee is $141.7Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council Fee Schedule Keep your CE certificates and course documentation for at least three years after each renewal period ends. The board can audit records at any time, and showing up without proof is treated the same as never having completed the hours.
Consequences of Falling Out of Compliance
Letting CE lapse, missing a renewal, or violating the ethics code is not just a paperwork problem. The board can impose administrative penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense, along with reprimand, probation, suspension, or revocation depending on severity.13Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. LPC Rulebook 2026 In cases where a counselor poses an immediate threat to public safety, the board can temporarily suspend a license before completing a full investigation.
Practicing Across State Lines
A Texas LPC lets you practice in Texas. If you want to see clients in another state, including by telehealth, you need that state’s license as well. The Counseling Compact, which would let counselors practice across member states without separate licensure, has been publicly supported by the Texas LPC Board, but Texas has not joined it and cannot until the Legislature passes enabling legislation.14Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council. Board News LPC15Counseling Compact. Counseling Compact Even once Texas joins, the compact will not apply to LPC Associates; only counselors holding a full, independent license will qualify for interstate privileges.