# Title 97 — Board of Counselor Examiners

## Article 97-02 — Licensing Requirements

## Chapter 97-02-01.1 — Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor

### § 97-02-01.1-01. Requirements to become a licensed professional clinical counselor.

For an applicant to become a licensed professional clinical counselor, the individual must be a
licensed professional counselor under North Dakota Century Code chapter 43-47 and:
1. Have at least a master's degree from an accredited school or college in counseling that meets
the academic and training standards adopted by the board;
2. Have sixty semester graduate hours. A minimum of one semester credit-hour in each of the
following two coursework categories must be included within the sixty semester credits
required for the licensed professional clinical counselor. The two categories are:
a. Current classification methods in the diagnostic evaluation of psychopathology; and
b. Clinical counseling skills;
3. Have two years of post-master's clinical experience, including:
a. Seven hundred hours of supervised practica and internships in settings relevant to the
practice of counseling. These hours may be within the required sixty graduate semester
hours.
b. Two years (three thousand hours) of post-master's clinical experience in a clinical setting.
This must include one hundred hours of face-to-face supervision (a minimum of sixty
hours of individual supervision) by a supervisor certified under section 97-02-01-08, or a
supervisor authorized under subdivision c of subsection 2 of North Dakota Century Code
section 43-47-06. The certified supervisor must be a licensed professional clinical
counselor or a supervisor authorized under subdivision c of subsection 2 of North Dakota
Century Code section 43-47-06. Face to face includes electronic video communications
that are secure and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliant on a
secure server.
4. Provide three professional letters of reference. One must be from the post-master's clinical
supervisor. The other two must be from professionals familiar with the applicant's clinical
experience;
5. Have passed the clinical mental health counseling examination as offered by the national
board for certified counseling; and
6. Provide a copy of a form completed by the applicant's clinical experience supervisor attesting
to the applicant's successful demonstration of clinical counseling skills consistent with the
scope of practice of a licensed professional clinical counselor. The form and areas for
evaluation shall be approved by the board and made available to the applicant.

History: Effective August 1, 1996; amended effective July 1, 2014; July 1, 2018.
General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-47-03, 43-47-06.1
### § 97-02-01.1-02. Renewal of a licensed professional clinical counselor license.

1. Licensed professional clinical counselor licenses expire on the date the licensed professional
clinical counselor's licensed professional counselor license expires.
2. At least two months before expiration, the board will notify the licensed professional clinical
counselor of the requirement for renewal. The notice will be made to the address last provided
to the board by the licensed professional clinical counselor.
3. A license shall be renewed if the licensed professional clinical counselor meets all of the
following requirements
a. The licensed professional clinical counselor shall file the complete application for renewal
form prescribed by the board.
b. The licensed professional clinical counselor shall pay the renewal fee of seventy-five
dollars.
c. The licensed professional clinical counselor shall provide proof of completion of the
continued professional education required by section 97-02-01.1-08.
d. Grounds for denial of the application under North Dakota Century Code section 43-47-07
do not exist.
4. If the completed application for renewal, renewal fee, and proof of completion of continued
professional education is not filed at least thirty days before the expiration of the license, the
licensed professional clinical counselor shall pay a late fee of one hundred dollars.
5. If the completed application for renewal, renewal fee, proof of completion of continued
professional education, and late fee is not filed before the expiration of the license, the license
expires and the individual may not practice clinical counseling.
6. If the completed application for renewal, renewal fee, proof of completion of continued
professional education, and late fee is not filed within one year of the expiration, the license
shall not be renewed. The individual must apply and meet the license requirements to be
granted a license.
7. The board may extend the expiration date and the deadlines for filing the application for
renewal, renewal fee, proof of completion of continued professional education, and late fee
upon proof of medical or other hardship preventing the individual from meeting the deadlines.
History: Effective August 1, 1996; amended effective July 1, 2014.
General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-47-03, 43-47-06.1, 43-47-06.2
### § 97-02-01.1-03. Reciprocity.

An applicant may be granted reciprocity upon satisfactory proof to the board that the applicant is
currently licensed as a licensed professional clinical counselor under the laws of a state or territory of
the United States that imposes requirements equal to or more stringent than this chapter.
History: Effective August 1, 1996.
General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-47-06.1

### § 97-02-01.1-04. Fees.

The following fees have been established by the board for the licensed professional clinical
counselor license:
1. Application fee, one hundred fifty dollars.
2. Renewal fee, seventy-five dollars.
History: Effective August 1, 1996; amended effective December 1,2001; July 1, 2014.
General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02(1), 43-47-03(3)
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-47-03(3)
### § 97-02-01.1-05. Grandparenting provisions.

Repealed effective July 1, 2014.
### § 97-02-01.1-06. Definitions.

As used in this title, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Clinical counseling" means providing clinical mental health counseling services involving the
application of principles of human development, learning theory, psychotherapy, group
dynamics, and the etiology of mental illness and dysfunctional behavior to individuals,
couples, families, and groups for the purpose of promoting optimal mental health, dealing with
normal problems of living, and treating psychopathic disorders. Clinical counseling includes
diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders; psycho-educational techniques
aimed at the prevention of emotional and mental disorders; consultations to individuals,
couples, families, groups, organizations, and communities; and clinical research into more
effective psycho-therapeutic modalities.
2. "Licensed professional clinical counselor" means a person who is licensed under this chapter
to practice the specialty of clinical counseling.
History: Effective December 1, 2001
General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02(1), 43-47-06.1
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-47-06.1
### § 97-02-01.1-07. Representation to the public.

Only persons licensed under this chapter may use the title "licensed professional clinical counselor"
or the abbreviation "LPCC".
History: Effective December 1, 2001
General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02(1), 43-47-06.1
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-47-06.1
### § 97-02-01.1-08. Continued professional education for licensed professional clinical

counselors.
In addition to the thirty hours required for renewal of the licensed professional counselor license, a
licensed professional clinical counselor shall complete at least ten hours of continued professional
education primarily focused on clinical counseling in the two years preceding the date of expiration of
the license. The continued professional education shall relate to the licensed professional clinical
counselor's intent to practice, and be preapproved by the board. A continued professional education
hour is fifty minutes. Examples of items meeting continuing professional educational requirements

include attending professional meetings, conferences, and workshops or taking graduate courses in
clinical counseling.
History: Effective July 1, 2014.
General Authority: NDCC 28-32-02
Law Implemented: NDCC 43-47-03, 43-47-06.1
