How Do I Apply for a Mental Health Counselor Temporary License?

Create an account, apply, and pay online using the online portal.

Documentation may be submitted electronically to the board office as follows:

Email: plpublic@idph.iowa.gov

Official transcripts conferring a master’s or doctoral degree

• Graduates of CACREP accredited institutions in mental health counseling. Degree must be in mental health counseling and transcripts must include the school seal, degree earned, and date of graduation. Transcripts must be sent to the Board office directly from the college or university.
• The official transcripts may be sent electronically to:plpublic@idph.iowa.gov
  The official transcripts may be mailed to:
  Iowa Department of Public Health
  Iowa Board of Behavioral Science
  321 E. 12th St.
  Des Moines, IA 50319-0075
• Graduates of Non-CACREP accredited programs. Degree must have an emphasis in mental health counseling. The applicant is required to contact the Center for Credentialing and Education, Inc. (CCE) to obtain a content equivalency evaluation and report. Applicants are responsible for the cost of the CCE curriculum evaluation. Expect up to six weeks for the CCE review to be  completed after submission of CCE required materials. https://cce-global.org
• Applicants that started their educational program prior to July 1, 2012 must have 45 semester hours or equivalent quarter hours.
• Applicants that started their educational program after July 1, 2012 must have 60 semester hours or equivalent quarter hours.

Proof of passing the National Counselor Examination (NCE) or the National Clinical Mental HealthCounselor Examination (NCMHCE) of the NBCC.

Exam scores must be sent directly to the Board office by the testing service. Register for the exam directly with NBCC.

Please Note: Effective January 1, 2022 the NCMHCE will be required when applying for the full license.

One of the following:

1. Proof of Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor status with the National Board for Certified Counselors; or
2. Completed Supervised Clinical Experience: Approval and Attestation form, which can be found on the Board’s website.
   • Applicants that started their educational program prior to July 1, 2010 must have 200 hours of clinical supervision concurrent with 1,000 hours of experience. 100 of the 200 hours of clinical supervision must be individual supervision
   • Applicants that started their educational program after July 1, 2010 must have 200 hours of clinical supervision concurrent with 3,000 hours of experience, 1,500 of which must be direct client contact. 100 of the 200 hours of clinical supervision must be individual supervision.

A list of approved behavioral health supervisors is available here.

If the applicant has never been licensed in another state, you can skip this step. Applicants who have been previously licensed, registered, or certified in any other state must provide official verification of licensure in the other state(s). The verification must include license issue date, expiration date, and any pending or past disciplinary action. The verification may be printed from another state licensing board’s website if it contains all of the required information. If online verification is not available, the verification must be sent directly to DIAL by the state(s) where the applicant has been licensed, registered, or certified.