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How to Become an LPC or LPCC in Ohio

Ohio changed its counseling exams on January 1, 2026. Applicants for the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) licence may now qualify by passing the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) instead of the NCE, and LPCs moving up to the clinical LPCC licence no longer sit a second exam. The LPCC instead requires 3,000 hours of supervised experience over at least 24 months after the LPC.

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Written and reviewed by the LexPort exam-prep team, led by our Founder & Exam-Prep Lead. LexPort builds certification practice questions — this is exam-preparation material, not medical advice. Last reviewed October 2026.

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Is the NCMHCE required in Ohio?
Not any more. Since January 1, 2026, initial LPC applicants may pass either the NCE or the NCMHCE, and the board states you are not required to take the NCMHCE to qualify for the LPCC — your existing NCE or NCMHCE result is used. You can still take the NCMHCE, for example for out-of-state licensure, by emailing your assigned license examiner after applying.
What changed in 2026?
The Counselor Professional Standards Committee voted in September 2025 to revise both licences, effective January 1, 2026. Before then, LPCs had to pass a second exam, the NCMHCE, to reach the LPCC. Now they qualify by completing the required supervision hours, holding a valid LPC, passing a background check and having previously passed the NCE or NCMHCE.
How many hours does the LPCC require?
At least 24 months and 3,000 hours of post-LPC supervised experience, including 150 hours of training supervision with an LPCC-S. At least half of that experience must be clinical counseling — diagnosing and treating mental and emotional disorders under an LPCC-S.
What degree does Ohio require?
A master’s degree from a CACREP-accredited program in clinical mental health counseling, clinical rehabilitation counseling or addiction counseling. Graduates of non-CACREP programs can still apply with a graduate counseling degree from an accredited institution, attaching a completed course worksheet with their transcript.
What do Ohio’s licences cost, and how do I apply?
The LPC application fee is $80 and the LPCC fee is $100, each plus a $3.50 processing fee. Both are applied for through eLicense Ohio: create or log in to an account, choose Apply for a New License, select the counselor board and pick the licence.

Test yourself: 3 NCMHCE practice questions

Tap an answer for instant feedback and the full rationale. The app has 4,000+, timed and scored.

Question 1

A colleague asks how you know this is panic disorder and not simply someone who has had a few panic attacks. Which feature most establishes the diagnosis of panic disorder specifically?

▸ Why D is the answer

Panic disorder requires recurrent unexpected attacks plus at least a month of persistent worry about more attacks or their consequences, or a meaningful maladaptive change in behavior to avoid them. It is that month or more of anticipatory 'fear of fear' and its behavioral footprint, her avoidance and safety moves, that turns having panic attacks into panic disorder.

Question 2

To decide whether generalized anxiety disorder better accounts for Daniela's picture, which line of assessment most directly tests that possibility?

▸ Why A is the answer

Generalized anxiety disorder is defined by excessive, difficult-to-control worry, more days than not, for at least six months, across multiple domains, with at least three of six associated symptoms. Asking directly about that duration, breadth, controllability, and symptom cluster is what tells you whether her picture is genuinely generalized worry or worry that is really anticipatory of panic.

Question 3

Daniela keeps returning to 'it feels like my heart.' You decide to start with psychoeducation. Which explanation best helps her understand what is happening during a panic attack?

▸ Why B is the answer

The panic cycle, sensation, catastrophic interpretation, fear, adrenaline, stronger sensation, speaks directly to her 'it's my heart' misreading and reframes the attack as a self-perpetuating false alarm. It is the core cognitive-behavioral psychoeducation for panic, and it hands her a model she can actually work with rather than just a fact to accept.

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