Examinations

The State of South Dakota requires a specific professional examination per license type:

• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) requires the National Counselor Exam (NCE) provided by NBCC.
• Licensed Professional Counselor-Mental Health (LPC-MH) requires the National Clinical Mental Health Counselor Exam (NCMHCE) provided by NBCC.
• Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT) requires the Examination in Marital & Family Therapy (NMFTE) provided by AAMFTRB.

LPC Candidates: A South Dakota license-trainee for the LPC must pass the NCE before submitting the Plan of Supervision for their supervised training requirements.  Application for the exam must be done directly with NBCC.

LPC-MH Candidates: A South Dakota license-trainee for the LPC-MH is eligible to take the NCMHCE at any time during their training process by applying directly with NBCC.

The one test center in South Dakota is located in Sioux Falls.
Examination dates are available Monday - Saturday the first two full weeks each month.

The Board will not be involved in the examination process. The Board will only receive score reports under certain conditions, such as, if you took your exam at an computerized exam center and indicated you wanted your scores sent to the SD office.  You can call or email the office to determine whether your scores are already on file.

LMFT Candidates: A South Dakota license-trainee for the LMFT must pass the NMFTE before submitting the Plan of Supervision for their supervised training requirements. This requires completion of an Application for National Examination among other requirements.