We encourage you to review the website to learn more about the professional counselor licensure process in the state of North Carolina.
***Important Update Regarding Proposed Changes to Rules 21 NCAC 53 .0206 and 21 NCAC 53 .0701***
We appreciate all the comments you have submitted in writing and at the hearing regarding the proposed rules. The Board has voted to postpone the adoption of the Board’s Administrative Rules 21 NCAC 53 .0206 and 21 NCAC 53 .0701 until further deliberations by the Board. The current version of these rules will remain in effect until further notice.
The Board has adopted and filed with the Rules Review Commission the remaining seven rules: 21 NCAC 53 .0204; 21 NCAC 53 .0205; 21 NCAC 53 .0308; 21 NCAC 53 .0601; 21 NCAC 53 .0602; 21 NCAC 53 .0604; and 21 NCAC 53 .0902.
In response to the directive from Governor Roy Cooper that State agencies implement teleworking in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors has implemented teleworking arrangements for Board staff members. As of December 14, 2020, the Board office is closed to the public due to COVID-19. Due to this change, please limit phone calls and forward all questions and concerns to LCMHCinfo@ncblcmhc.org. If you still decide to call, please leave a voicemail, providing your name, email address, phone number, and a detailed description of your inquiry. However, for the quickest response, please use email. The expectation is that the teleworking will allow for the seamless continuation of the Board’s functions while limiting any impact to licensees, applicants and the public. However, if you do experience a delay in receiving a response from a Board staff member during this fluid and unprecedented situation, your understanding and patience will be appreciated. As the Board office is closed to visitors at this time, you should send and/or email, and not hand deliver, all documents to the Board office. The Board will continue to update you via the website as we continue to learn of the new developments that affect our profession. Thank you for your patience and for being a valued member of our community. (Last updated: December 11, 2020)
FAQs About Clinical Practice COVID-19 » Renewal and Application updates 2020 » Renewal and Application updates 2021 »
For any inquiries regarding the No Surprises Act that went into effect on January 1, 2022, the Board would like to direct you to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website, cms.gov/nosurprises, which offers explanations, useful information and links to additional resources to both providers and consumers.
These past few months have been difficult for all of us. The COVID-19 global pandemic, and the ensuing restrictions and shut-downs, have added stress to our lives; yet we are persevering. At this moment, however, counselors are bearing witness to how important our efforts toward healing and social justice are to support all the communities we serve. As counselors we are guided by the mission of the American Counseling Association, which is to “enhance the quality of life in society by promoting the development of professional counselors, advancing the counseling profession, and using the profession and practice of counseling to promote respect for human dignity and diversity.” (ACA Code of Ethics, 2014, p. 2, emphasis added)
The recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor are the latest examples of longstanding systemic injustice against communities of color. We all need support in the discourse of our own self-examination and self-reflection. The need for the infusion of multiculturalism and cultural competency education continues to be evident for us all. Compassion and helping to facilitate the personal growth of others is the driving force for our work. We all need help processing trauma as it impacts our collective social well-being.
The Board encourages all licensees to never forget or lose sight of the essential societal focus on cultural competency training as well as endeavoring to uphold the multicultural and social justice counseling competencies. We feel that it is important that we all embrace related training resources and opportunities to support Mental Health Counselors and our clients, specifically, at this time.
Our Board is committed to promoting respect for human dignity, diversity, facilitating healing, good mental health and protecting the public. We promise to do our part and stand with those fighting for unity, social justice, equality and equity, eradicating structural racism, and justice in the state of North Carolina and any other place in the world. We remind everyone that we are a community – committed to the tenets of self-care and personal growth, and that we are stronger together than we are apart.
NCBLCMHC licenses Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors Associates (LCMHCAs), Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (LCMHCs), and Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisors (LCMHCSs). Unless exempt for licensure under NC GS Article 24 § 90-332.1, any person engaged in the practice of counseling in the state of North Carolina must be actively licensed by the Board.
Look up, verify and monitor counselor licenses anytime and anywhere. The licensing information on the Board's website comes directly from the Board's licensing records.
Use our counselor search tool to find a counselor’s in your area. NCBLCMHC’s counselor search lists individuals that are licensed to practice in North Carolina.
If you wish to file a complaint against a North Carolina licensed professional counselor, you may do so by submitting the complaint to the Board.
The North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors’ mission under NC GS Article 24 90-329 states that, it is declared to be the public policy of this State that the activities of persons who render counseling services to the public be regulated to insure the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare.
...is urging NC businesses not to fall for a mailing prompting them to pay a $78 fee to get a “Certificate of Status” (now it is called a Certificate of Existence) from the NC Secretary of State’s Office.
The Secretary of State’s Office has received reports that a NC company, NC Certificate Service, is mailing out a “2020 Certificate of Existence Request Form” to recently formed companies. The misleading mailing implies that business entities are required to obtain a "Certificate of Existence". The Secretary of State does have a Certificate of Existence that companies registered with their Business Registration Division can request it you choose, for a much smaller fee.
There is no State requirement that companies registered with the Secretary of State's Business Registration Division obtain an annual Certificate of Existence. However, after the Secretary of State's office has approved the Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Organization, a copy, showing the Secretary of State’s ID #, must be sent to the NCBLPC Board Office. Upon receipt of the approved Articles of Incorporation or approved Articles of Organization, a Certificate of Registration will be issued to the applicant. A corporation or company organized for the rendering of counseling services is not validly operating if it has not first received this Certificate of Registration from the North Carolina Board of Licensed Professional Counselors. This certificate is renewable on an annual basis for a fee of $25. A notification of renewal is sent a minimum of 60 days prior to the expiration date, which in all cases is December 31st. Certificates expire on December 31st of each subsequent year following initial issuance of certification. Failure to renew by the due date on the renewal notice will result in notification to the Secretary of State to request suspension of Articles.
This scam appears to be a new twist on an old scheme that has been used in the past to target businesses through deceptive language that implies they owe the government some mysterious filing for a hefty fee. You may check the status of your PC, PLLC, or PA with the NC Secretary of State’s Office online at www.sosnc.gov or call (919) 814-5400.
Disclaimer: All information provided by the North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors (hereafter “the Board”) on this web site is made available to provide immediate access for the convenience of interested persons. While the Board believes the information to be reliable, human or mechanical error remains a possibility, as does delay in the posting or updating of information. Therefore, the Board makes no guarantee as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, currency, or for any errors or omissions, or for the use or results obtained from the use of this information. All access to and use of this web site is governed by the Disclaimers as set forth by the Board.
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