Pennsylvania Licensure Requirements
Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree
No Examination
Submission of Supervision Plan & Supervisor’s Credentials
3 Hours of Continuing Education
$75.00 Initial Fee
$95.00 Renewal Fee
A Licensed Associate Professional Counselor (LAPC) is an individual who is gaining supervised clinical experience to become a licensed professional counselor.
Under the supervision of an approved licensed supervisor, they:
- Apply counseling and mental health principles to help people grow, adjust, and manage stress throughout their lives, and to treat mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders.
- Evaluate, assess, diagnose, and treat a wide range of mental, emotional, social, and behavioral issues through individual, group, and family counseling, crisis intervention, career counseling, and more.
- Use verbal and nonverbal methods, including arts-based therapies like art, dance, music, and drama, to achieve treatment goals.
Degree Requirement:
Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree
Applicants must hold a Master's or Doctoral degree in Counseling, or a field closely related to the practice of professional counseling from an accredited educational institution.
For Doctoral Degree holders:
- The degree must be in Counseling, or a field closely related to professional counseling, including social work, psychiatry, psychology, art therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, human services, counseling education, or child development and family studies.
- Alternatively, the doctoral degree may be in any applied behavioral science, awarded after completing a master’s degree in a field closely related to the practice of professional counseling, and must include advanced clinical instruction and coursework in any five of the educational requirements outlined in § 49.2(1)—(8) (relating to educational requirements).
For Master’s degree holders:
- The degree must be in Counseling, or a field closely related to professional counseling, including social work, psychology, art therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy, music therapy, human services, counseling education, or child development and family studies.
- Alternatively, the master’s degree may be in any applied behavioral science that includes a practicum or internship and meets any five of the educational requirements outlined in § 49.2(1)—(8) (relating to educational requirements).
Examination Requirement:
There is no examination requirement for licensure as a LAPC.
Supervision Requirement:
Applicants for the LAPC license must submit a supervision plan, including the credentials of their supervisor(s).
Supervision Plan Checklist
You must submit a supervision plan that includes:
- The name of each employer and location where client contact and supervision will occur.
- A detailed job description for your duties at each location.
Find the full listing of conditions for acceptable supervised clinical experience.
Qualifications for Supervisors
To qualify for and obtain licensure as a LAPC, you must submit for board review, the curriculum vitae/resume for each qualified supervisor, detailing their employment or unemployment history from graduation to the present, in chronological order, including the name, city, and state of each employer; dates of employment or education; and a description of their practice activity.
At least half of the required supervision hours must be provided by a supervisor who is a licensed professional counselor with 5 years of experience within the last 10 years as a professional counselor.
The remaining hours may be supervised by an individual who either holds a professional counselor license with 5 years of experience in the last 10 years or holds a license with a Master’s degree in a related field and 5 years of experience in that field within the last 10 years.
Supervisors must meet the qualifications and standards outlined in the Board regulations:
- 49 Pa. Code § 49.1 (Definitions);
- 49 Pa. Code § 49.3 (Qualifications for supervisors);
- 49 Pa. Code § 49.13 (Licensed Professional Counselor);
- 49 Pa. Code § 49.14 (Standards for supervisors).
For more detailed information, please refer to the specific sections of the regulations.
Note: The Board will not review an individual's LAPC application until all required materials are received, including the supervision plan and the supervisor’s credentials.
Continuing Education:
3 Hours
Applicants must complete 3 hours of Board-approved continuing education in child abuse recognition and reporting for initial licensure.
After completing the required course, the provider will send notice of completion to the Board. Find a list of approved child abuse education providers.
Initial Licensing Fee:
$75.00 - Application fee
Licensure Renewal Fee:
$95.00 - Biennial renewal of license
Age Requirement:
Applicants for licensure must be at least 21 years of age.