NCE Cost, Registration, and Eligibility: State-Licensure Route vs. NCC Route

There are two ways to sign up for the National Counselor Examination, and they cost different amounts, run on different timelines, and have different retake rules. You can register for the NCE on its own as part of state licensure, or take it as part of an application for the National Certified Counselor (NCC) credential^[1]. This guide covers both routes, what each costs, who is eligible, and the steps in order. Everything here is from NBCC’s current handbooks and website; fees change, so confirm the numbers before you pay.

The two routes at a glance

Sources: the state-licensure handbook^[1], the national-certification handbook^[2], and NBCC’s NCC page^[3].

How much does the NCE cost?

State-licensure route

NBCC’s state-licensure handbook does not print the exam fee; you see the current amount when you register in the CCE Credentialing Gateway^[1]. Check it there (or ask your board) rather than trusting a number from an old program handout. What the handbook does say about money:

• Online payment is by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or American Express). The paper registration route takes a money order payable to NBCC^[1].
• Exam fees are not refundable or transferable, and are forfeited if you do not test inside your window^[1].
• Rescheduling an appointment costs $50, and must be done at least 24 hours ahead^[1].
• Missing the appointment, arriving more than 15 minutes late, or bringing the wrong ID forfeits the fee^[1].
• Every retake requires a new registration and the exam fee again^[1].
• An official score verification report is a separate paid request, but you do not need one for the board you tested for; CCE sends that score automatically^[1].

Your state board charges its own licensure application fees on top of the exam fee. Check its site.

NCC route

NBCC lists the NCC application fee as $375 with exam registration included, or $250 without^[3]. Payment is by credit card and is not refundable or transferable^[2]. You can defer to the next administration without penalty if you contact NBCC more than 30 days before your cycle opens; later than that, or if you miss your date, there is a $150 reregistration fee^[2].

Who is eligible to take the NCE?

For the exam itself

NBCC writes the NCE for a minimally qualified candidate with a graduate degree from a counseling program that is CACREP-accredited or housed in an institutionally accredited college or university, with coursework in eight areas: human growth and development, social and cultural foundations, helping relationships, group counseling, career counseling and lifestyle development, assessment, research and program evaluation, and professional orientation^[1]. The handbook notes that states may allow candidates with comparable education from related helping degrees to sit for licensure^[1].

For state licensure

Your board decides. The handbook sends every question about state requirements to the board you are applying to^[1]. Use NBCC’s state board directory to find yours, and see LPC, LMHC, and LPCC title differences if your state uses an unfamiliar license name.

For the NCC credential

NBCC’s NCC eligibility policy^[4] requires:

• A master’s, education specialist, certificate of advanced study, or doctoral degree in counseling from an accredited counseling program.
• At least 48 semester hours (72 quarter hours) of graduate coursework.
• Graduate courses in nine content areas: the eight above plus counseling field experience (at least 6 semester hours of supervised field experience).
• A professional endorsement.
• 3,000 hours of supervised post-graduate counseling work and 100 hours of supervision, each over at least 24 months. This is waived for graduates of CACREP-accredited programs, fully licensed counselors, and holders of a doctorate in counseling.
• A passing score on the NCE or the NCMHCE.

How to register: the state-licensure route, step by step

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Scheduling details from the handbook: you can schedule online or by calling Pearson VUE, but only after you have the Authorization to Test email. Candidates with approved accommodations schedule by phone^[1]. You can test at a Pearson VUE center or online through OnVUE; the test-day rules for each are in NCE exam day: what to expect.

Registering through the NCC application

• Apply in the NBCC Credentialing Gateway and register for the exam inside the application^[2].
• Once approved, NBCC emails your Authorization to Test 2 to 3 weeks before your exam window opens; then you schedule online or by phone^[2].
• If you do not pass, you wait at least 30 days, cannot test twice in the same cycle, and have up to three attempts within two years of applying before the application closes^{[2, 4]}.
• You may also retake through the state-licensure route and use that passing score for the NCC, with additional fees^[2].

Budgeting for prep

Exam fees are the fixed cost; preparation is the one you control. You can do a lot for free: the NCE topic library has a summary, cheat sheet, and practice question for all 227 topics (start with professional orientation and ethics, which also covers the licensure and credentialing questions the exam itself asks), and the free NCE practice test samples every CACREP area. Because a failed attempt means paying the exam fee again, it is worth knowing your practice score before you register.

Not sure the NCE is even your exam? Read what the NCE is and NCMHCE vs NCE.