New York Mental Health Counselors Association
The Mental Health Counselor Licensure Process: Step-by-Step
1. The licensure process begins with your education. It is a relatively simple process if
you graduate from a Master's program approved by the State Education Department
(SED) of New York, as leading to licensure.
2. Save all of your syllabi and other related course materials. Sometimes applicants find
that SED challenges the titles or content of certain courses. If you have the course
syllabus and other materials you will be ready to respond to any questions an examiner
might have. This could save you a lot of time.
3. Request or download an application packet about 3 months before you graduate. Read
each form very carefully so you know what is expected of you. Send in the basic
application minus your transcripts. This allows the SED to start a file on you to save time
later in the process. ALWAYS make several copies of everything you send to the
SED! Papers get lost and that could cost you weeks if not months in the processing of
your application.
If needed, there are counselors in your local NYMHCA chapter who can help you with
the licensure application. Contact your local chapter for more information.
4. Upon graduation have your transcripts immediately sent to the SED from your school
or university. Your education must be approved before a limited permit can be
issued. Applicants from an approved program will find that their education will be
approved quickly. Applicants from programs that are not approved by the SED will find
that their applications will go to the Comparative Education Unit of the SED where it
could take weeks to be processed.
Those applicants who have returned to school to take the additional courses that will
allow them to be eligible for licensure, or those who have studied for the Master’s with a
distance learning program, will find that their applications will also go to the
Comparative Education Unit where it could be weeks before they receive an approval.
5. Once your education has been approved you can look for a job. You cannot send in
the application for your limited permit until you have a job and a supervisor who can sign
the limited permit application. If you find a job before your education has been approved
you can ask your supervisor to write a letter asking the SED to expedite your application
approval as you could lose the job if you don't have a limited permit ASAP. If you have
more than one job, you will need a limited permit and appropriately licensed supervisor
for each site.
*Note: If you begin to work as a mental health counselor without either a limited permit
or a license, you will be breaking the law! In addition your supervisor will be breaking
the law. The exception to this is if you are working in a state agency that is exempt from
the licensure law, such as NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH), and NYS Office of
Addictions and Substance Abuse Services OASAS for examples. The agency directors
will be able to tell you if the agency is exempt. You can always ask to see a copy of the
agency’s operating certificate to determine if they are authorized to provide clinical
services.
6. The limited permit is a temporary license given to you for 2 years. If you have not
completed your 3,000 hours in those two years and have a good reason why you should
receive an extension of 1 year, the extension will be granted. The clock starts on your
3,000 hours only when your limited permit has been issued! In addition to client contact
hours, mental health counselors can count time (about 1500 hours of the 3,000) used for
phone calls to and from clients, record keeping, supervision and any other time related to
your work with clients. Your internship hours do NOT count toward the 3,000
hours. Contact the NYMHCA office to request forms that can be used to log your
hours. You will not be asked to submit the logs with your application. They are just to
make the record keeping easier for you.
7. If you think you cannot finish your 3,000 hours within 3 years because of a loss of job
or hours at a job, you and your supervisor must send a letter to the SED asking that your
permit be suspended. The date that letter is signed is when SED considers the hold
begins on your permit(s). Once you know that you can complete the hours, another letter
to SED will start the clock again. If you are unable to complete your 3,000 hours in 3
years you will never be able to be licensed in New York as a mental health counselor.
There are no exceptions to this regulation that applies to all professions with limited
permits.
8. In some cases, mental health counselors are offered jobs to work in school settings to
accrue their 3,000 hours. The hours will only be acceptable to the SED if on outside
agency such as BOCES pays the salary of the mental health counselor. The school or
school district is not authorized to provide clinical services and so cannot pay the salary
of the licensure applicant. No limited permits are necessary for those working in schools,
so the licensure applicant can take as long as they need to accrue their hours.
An applicant must also remember that the services provided in the school setting must
include the assessment/diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders for at
least half of the 3,000 hours. School or career counseling duties cannot be counted.
9. The supervisor at your job needs to be licensed as a mental health professional in the
State of New York. This does not include LMSW’s. In the event that your job does not
have an on-site supervisor that can work with you, an off-site supervisor is also
acceptable by the SED but would have to be paid by the agency and not you. The off-site
supervisor would also need access to clients and client records as part of their supervisory
responsibility and to comply with HIPAA regulations.
10. Unpaid employment is also acceptable for licensure. For those who want to accrue
extra hours or have trouble finding paid employment, volunteer work can count toward
licensure. Supervision by a licensed mental health professional is still required and in
some cases off-site supervisors would be needed.
11. The approval of your education also comes with clearance to take the licensure
exam. Since the exam is experiential in nature, we suggest that applicants not take the
exam until they have accrued at least 2,000 hours of clinical experience. That should
give you enough experience to competently pass the exam. If you fail the exam you will
have plenty of time to take the exam again before your limited permit runs out.
NYMHCA offers licensure examination preparation workshops that can help you take
and pass the exam the first time. Information on the workshops can be found on our
website, NYMHCA.org.
12. Contact the State Education Department (SED) if you have a specific set of
circumstances that might not fit into the general outline of the licensure application
process. Make sure you record the name of the person you speak to, their department,
and what they tell you about your application. Keeping good records can help you to
resolve difficulties more quickly and efficiently.
13. To find answers to most questions about applying for licensure as a mental health
counselor visit: OP.NYSED.gov. Click on the tab: Find Answers. These FAQ’s are
user-friendly.