If my state is live, where can I actually practice?

Only in the other live states — not in all 39 members. A privilege issued by one of the 9 live states reaches the other 8, and nowhere else. A counselor licensed in a live state still needs an ordinary license to practice in any member state that has not gone live.

Why do two pages on the commission’s own site disagree?

They do, and it matters. The commission’s compact map still says the compact is live in Arizona, Minnesota and Ohio only, while its homepage names nine live states and dates the two most recent — Wyoming on 31 August 2026 and Tennessee on 1 September 2026. The map is simply behind: every state it names appears in the homepage’s nine. This page follows the homepage.

Is the Counseling Compact the same as the nursing compact?

No. They are separate agreements with separate commissions and separate member lists, and they are at very different stages. The Nurse Licensure Compact has been operating for years and issues multistate licenses that work across every member state; the Counseling Compact is still switching states on one at a time.

CompactStates.com — https://www.compactstates.com · Always confirm license status with the issuing board of nursing.

Counseling compact states

39 states have joined the Counseling Compact. 9 can issue you a privilege — and it only reaches the other 8.

How many states are in the Counseling Compact?

39 jurisdictions have enacted the Counseling Compact. Only 9 are live and able to issue a privilege to practice, and that privilege reaches only the other live states — not all 39. The remaining 30 members can neither issue nor accept one yet.

Counseling Compact Commission — home ↗Last reviewed 2026-09-22

Live — can issue a privilege (9)

These states have completed the technical and regulatory steps, including secure data sharing. A counselor licensed and resident in one of them can apply for a privilege to practice in the other 8 — and only those.

Arizona
Arkansas
Georgia
Indiana
Louisiana
Minnesota
Ohio
Tennessee
Wyoming

Enacted, not yet live (30)

Members on paper. Until a state completes implementation it can neither issue a privilege to its own counselors nor accept one from anywhere else, so practicing there still needs that state's ordinary license.

Alabama
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Not a member (12)

Alaska
California
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Massachusetts
Michigan
New Mexico
New York
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Texas

The commission’s own pages disagree — here’s the resolution

The Counseling Compact’s compact map still says the compact is live in Arizona, Minnesota and Ohio only. Its homepage names nine, and dates the two most recent: Wyoming on 31 August 2026 and Tennessee on 1 September 2026. Those are not in conflict — every state the map names appears among the homepage’s nine, so the map is behind rather than contradicting. This page follows the homepage.

Other professions’ compacts

Counseling is one of several. See how every compact compares by state, or go straight to nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy or EMS.

Frequently asked questions

39 jurisdictions have enacted the Counseling Compact, but only 9 are live and able to issue a privilege to practice: Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee, Wyoming. The other 30 have passed the law and completed neither the technical nor the regulatory steps, so they can neither issue nor accept a privilege yet.