{"data":{"id":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-90-349.3","jurisdiction":"us-nc","citation":"N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-349.3","heading":"State participation in the Compact.","body":"(a)\tTo participate in the Compact, a member state must currently do all of the following:\n(1)\tLicense and regulate licensed professional counselors.\n(2)\tRequire licensees to pass a nationally recognized exam approved by the Commission.\n(3)\tRequire licensees to have a 60-semester-hour or 90-quarter-hour master's degree in counseling or 60-semester hours or 90-quarter hours of graduate course work, including the following topic areas:\na.\tProfessional counseling orientation and ethical practice.\nb.\tSocial and cultural diversity.\nc.\tHuman growth and development.\nd.\tCareer development.\ne.\tCounseling and helping relationships.\nf.\tGroup counseling and group work.\ng.\tDiagnosis and treatment; assessment and testing.\nh.\tResearch and program evaluation.\ni.\tOther areas as determined by the Commission.\n(4)\tRequire licensees to complete a supervised postgraduate professional experience as defined by the Commission.\n(5)\tHave a mechanism in place for receiving and investigating complaints about licensees.\n(b)\tA member state shall do all of the following:\n(1)\tParticipate fully in the Commission's data system, including, but not limited to, using the Commission's unique identifier as defined in rules.\n(2)\tNotify the Commission, in compliance with the terms of the Compact and rules, of any adverse action or the availability of investigative information regarding a licensee.\n(3)\tImplement or utilize procedures for considering the criminal history records of applicants for an initial privilege to practice. These procedures shall include the submission of fingerprints or other biometric-based information by applicants for the purpose of obtaining an applicant's criminal history record information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the agency responsible for retaining that state's criminal records. The procedures must comply with the following:\na.\tThe member state must fully implement a criminal background check requirement, within a time frame established by rule, by receiving the results of the Federal Bureau of Investigation record search and shall use the results in making licensure decisions.\nb.\tCommunication between a member state, the Commission, and among member states regarding the verification of eligibility for licensure through the Compact shall not include any information received from the Federal Bureau of Investigation relating to a federal criminal records check performed by a member state under P.L. 92-544.\n(4)\tComply with the rules of the Commission.\n(5)\tRequire an applicant to obtain or retain a license in the home state and meet the home state's qualifications for licensure or renewal of licensure, as well as all other applicable state laws.\n(6)\tGrant the privilege to practice to a licensee holding a valid unencumbered license in another member state in accordance with the terms of the Compact and rules.\n(7)\tProvide for the attendance of the state's commissioner to the Counseling Compact Commission meetings.\n(c)\tMember states may charge a fee for granting a privilege to practice.\n(d)\tIndividuals not residing in a member state shall continue to be able to apply for a member state's single-state license as provided under the laws of each member state. However, the single-state license granted to these individuals shall not be recognized as granting the privilege to practice professional counseling in any other member state.\n(e)\tNothing in this Compact shall affect the requirements established by a member state for the issuance of a single-state license.\n(f)\tA license issued to a licensed professional counselor by a home state to a resident in that state shall be recognized by each member state as authorizing a licensed professional counselor to practice professional counseling, under a privilege to practice, in each member state. (2022-52, s. 1.)","path":["Chapter 90. Medicine and Allied Occupations.","Article 24A. Professional Counseling Licensure Compact."],"source_url":"https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_90/GS_90-349.3.html","current_through":"S.L. 2026-30","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T18:12:48Z","sha256":"82a4cfb9bca45e47b398c53235fa49bad5431d3b388581c8e0b5fadfb0302a17","source_id":"us-nc","stale":false,"prev":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-90-349.2","next":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-90-349.4"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}