Frequently Asked Questions

National certification in professional counseling is an achievement affirming that a counselor has met national standards determined within the counseling profession itself. National certification was developed to promote visibility and accountability in the counseling profession. It also promotes professional identity and pride, and can act as a job search booster for those who will eventually work in more than one state. In contrast to applying for state licensure, applying for the NCC credential must be a completely voluntary act.

No. The NCC is a Master’s level, voluntary credential held by many counselors in addition to their state licensure. State licensure is mandatory to practice counseling independently; these standards are set by each state.

National certification and state licensure are often confused. In many instances the exam requirement is the same for both processes--adding a layer to the confusion. The National Counselor Examination, which is a requirement for the NCC credential, is the same exam used by about 35 states for the state counselor license.

Holding the NCC at an early point in one’s career can be advantageous for counseling professionals. It can serve as a job search booster. Some states award salary supplements to counselors holding NBCC credentials. Fully certified NCCs as well as Board Eligible NCCs may identify their professional status on business cards, letterhead, cover letters and resumes. While waiting to meet state licensure requirements or completing a PhD, this professional designation can be extremely useful.

NBCC’s certifications are widely recognized throughout the mental health field. In fact, NBCC’s mission is to advocate and monitor counselors’ status throughout the mental health field. Professionals who hold national certification can say they have met national standards set by counselors, not legislators.

The answer to this question depends on one’s professional goals. If you are interested in obtaining a license to practice independently in your state, then you should contact your state board for information about applying for a license. Most states require an earned master’s degree as a precondition for application. Click here for the contact information for your state licensure board.

If your immediate goal is not state licensure, then you can begin the national certification process as early as your graduate school years. Check with your graduate school’s counselor education department to find out if it offers the Graduate Student Application for the NCC credential (GSA-NCC). Since NBCC’s National Counselor Exam (NCE) is required by many state boards for licensure, it often makes sense to pursue state licensure after earning national certification.

The Graduate Student Applications program for the National Certified Counselor (GSA-NCC) credential provides an avenue for well-advanced students and very recent graduates to begin the application process for national certification. If your school participates in the GSA NCC program, applications and instructions will be available through a designated Campus Coordinator at the school. The Campus Coordinator (usually a faculty or staff member) provides administrative support in the process, allowing NBCC to offer the NCC application fee at a lower rate than the rate for non- participants.

To see if your school currently participates in the GSA program, contact a faculty member or faculty advisor from your program. If your school is interested in participating in the GSA program, a faculty member should contact NBCC.

Several items of information are included with the GSA-NCC application. For ease of reference later on, plan on saving the MY NCC GUIDE as well as the Code of Ethics and the Practice of Internet Counseling document.

Student applicants must be currently enrolled in a counselor education program preparing them for a degree in counseling. They must be well-advanced in the program of study. Most importantly they must be voluntary participants.

Very recent graduates of participating schools may be eligible to apply for the NCC through the GSA program. They must possess a master’s degree or higher from the participating institution and they must test within six months of graduating.

If your school is not a GSA school, you will need to apply for national certification as a non-student after you have graduated. Applications can be found by clicking here. If you are a graduate of a CACREP accredited program you will use Option B. If you are a graduate of a program that is not CACREP accredited, you will use Option C. Applicants under Option C must be able to document the post-graduate experience and supervision requirements of 3,000 hours of work experience as a counselor and 100 hours of counseling supervision before applying.

No. Students enrolled in programs that are not accredited by CACREP may apply for the NCC credential as Board Eligible applicants. Board Eligible applicants will need to verify that coursework has been completed in each of the following areas: Human Growth and Development, Social and Cultural Foundations, Helping Relationships, Group Work, Career and Lifestyle Development, Appraisal, Research and Program Evaluation, Professional Orientation, and Field Experience.

Once you have passed the National Counselor Examination (NCE), you will become a Board Eligible National Certified Counselor. In order to be fully certified, you will need to meet experience and supervision requirements: 3,000 hours of work experience as a counselor and 100 hours of counseling supervision.

The application review process can take 4-6 weeks. NBCC will contact you if there is a problem with the application. Once the application is approved, you will be registered for the National Counselor Examination (NCE). Approximately two weeks before the exam date, in either April or October of each year, you will receive an exam admission letter in the mail.

Applicants from participating GSA schools will test on campus as long as at least three students have applied. Special arrangements can be made upon request for individuals to test at specific public testing sites that NBCC sets up in each state as well as overseas.

The purpose of the NCE is to assess knowledge, skills, and abilities viewed as important for providing effective counseling services. The NCE is designed to be general in nature. It is intended to assess cognitive knowledge, which should be known by all counselors, regardless of their individual professional specialties. For more information about the exam (what topics it covers, how it is scored, and how long it takes), please click here. Study guide information is available on that same page.

Once applicants have passed the NCE, graduated and submitted a final transcript, and turned in their Counseling Supervisor’s Endorsement form, they may ask (in writing) to have their official NCE score report sent to a third party (such as a state licensure board). The cost is $20. Detailed instructions are available here.

Once you pass the NCE, you are required to submit an official transcript showing graduate degree conferred in a mental health field, as well as a completed Counseling Supervisor’s Endorsement Form. Upon approval of those required documents, if you are a graduate of a CACREP-accredited program, you will earn full certification; if you are a graduate of a non-CACREP-accredited program, you will earn Board Eligible NCC status until you are able to document the required post-graduate hours to become a fully certified NCC.

NCCs are certified for a period of five years. During that time, they are expected to accrue 100 clock hours of continuing education to maintain the credential. They also pay an annual fee of $60 to support the costs of maintaining the credential.

NBCC offers a specialty credential for school counselors called the National Certified School Counselor credential (NCSC). To be eligible for a specialty credential, you must already hold the NCC. After you obtain the NCC and accrue three years of post-graduate supervised work experience as a school counselor, you may be eligible to apply for the NCSC. Another exam is required to obtain this credential. It is the National Certified School Counselor Examination (NCSCE). For more information about this exam, please click here.

There is a combination application for those wishing to obtain the NCC and the NCSC at the same time, but it is only available to those who have completed their advanced degrees and have accrued at least three years of post-graduate supervised work experience as a school counselor. Therefore, GSA applicants are not eligible to apply. A graduate student interested in the NCSC should first obtain the NCC credential and then use the single NCSC application once all experience requirements have been met.