ABSTRACT
This chapter covers an overview of obtaining a license to practice professional counseling within all US jurisdictions. Aspects include a history of the development of counselor professional identity, the legal and ethical importance of practicing under an active counseling license, the status of licensure portability, national board certifications, and the process for state counseling licensure. A license to practice counseling is unique to each US jurisdiction and the process is complicated by a wide variety of requirements and differences in state legal and ethical codes. A counseling license is a legal method for protecting the public as well as one aspect of professional identity used to differentiate the counseling professional from other disciplines. The process of obtaining a license in one state and then obtaining a license in another state with ease is called portability. Although the counseling profession is working toward a unified license, consensus on all characteristics of the counseling profession need to be achieved in order to obtain portability. Due to the variations between states and the evolving status of portability, it is the professional responsibility of counselors to know the legal requirements of the states in which they are practicing or wish to practice.
