TAIT

Educational Requirements

 

Georgia law requires you meet the following requirements:

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• Earn your Bachelor’s degree in Counseling or a related behavioral science such as Social Work, Human Services, Marriage and Family Therapy or Psychology.

• Get accepted to a Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) accredited Master of Counseling program or one that is accredited by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation.

• You must meet six of the required course areas as described on the Georgia Board of Professional Counselors website.

 

Internship

• You must complete an internship during your Master’s program.

• Complete a 100 hour supervised work experience internship during your Graduate program.

• Apply for the Associate Licensed Counselor Title

• In order to begin accumulating supervised work experience, you will need to apply for your title.

• Apply with the Georgia Board of Professional Counselors to become an Associate Licensed Counselor.

• Pass a criminal background check. You can find the form here: http://sos.georgia.gov/cgi-bin/plbforms.asp?board=41

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Supervised Experience

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You must complete a number of years of supervised professional experience depending on your education.

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• If you have a Master’s degree you must complete a four year internship as an Associate Licensed Counselor under the direction of a Licensed Professional Counselor.

• If you have completed an Internship this is reduced to three years.

• If you have a specialist in Counseling degree with an internship this is reduced to two years.

• If you have a Doctorate in Counseling you will only need to complete a one year internship as an Associate Licensed Counselor.

 

Apply for and Take Your Exam

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• After completing your supervised professional experience portion, you must now complete the exam portion of the requirements.

• You must apply with the Georgia Board of Professional Counselors (GBPC) to take your exam.

• You must take the National Counselor Examination (NCE) or the National Mental Health Counselors Exam (NMHCE) as administered by the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) and pass with a score acceptable to the GBPC.

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Apply for Your License

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After completing all of the above steps you are now ready to apply for your full license.

If you have never been licensed before and have already taken and passed the required LPC national licensure examination and meet all the requirements for licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor... choose licensure by Exam Waiver on the application form. 

 

The following is a checklist of required documents for this application:  

 

• Completed, signed, and notarized application with fee. Download application>>

• Official College Transcripts 

• Practicum-Internship Verification

• Post-Master's Directed Experience Verification Form

• Post-Master's Supervision Verification Form

• Professional references (2 Required) 

• Background Consent Form (If applicable)

• Disciplinary Action/Sanctions (if applicable) 

• Court Documents 

• Letter of Explanation 

• Verification of licensure held in another state

• Secure & Verifiable Document

• Affidavit of Citizenship

• Immigration Documents (If applicable)

• You can find the form here: https://sos.ga.gov/how-to-guide/how-guide-professional-counselor

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Continuing Education

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• Once you have your LPC title, you will need to complete continuing education credits in order to maintain licensure.

• You must complete 35 hours of continuing education every two years.

• 5 hours must be in professional ethics.

• 15 hours in core classes for professional counseling.

• The remaining 15 can be for other job titles but must be relevant to mental health counseling.

• You will always want to stay abreast of any significant changes to code or law by routinely visiting the Georgia Board of Professional Counselors website which you can find here: http://sos.georgia.gov/plb/counselors/

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Renewal

LPC and APC licenses expire every two years on September 30th of even numbered years.

 

To file online:

Once your checklist is completed, please create an account and upload all documents through the online portal.

 

To file by mail: 

Call 404-424-9966 and request a paper renewal coupon be mailed to you. When completed, please mail the renewal coupon, the required fee, and any supporting documents to: 

 

Georgia Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers, and Marriage & Family Therapists 

237 Coliseum Drive 

Macon, Georgia 31217 

 

After renewing online or by mail, CHECK your license expiration date online to assure the renewal was completed.