Counseling Degrees & Licenses in Nevada

Mental health counselors in Nevada are licensed as either Certified Professional Counselors (CPC) or Certified Professional Counselor Interns (CPC Interns).

To obtain a CPC Intern license, candidates must:

• Graduate with a master’s degree in counseling from an accredited institution. The degree must be at 60 semester-credits or 72 quarter-hours. There must be three semesters (or four quarters) of courses of supervised clinical practice.
• Pay $150 application fee
• Submit a completed application
• Be 21 years old
• Secure a supervisor for supervised work experience and complete the Primary Supervisor Contract
• Secure a secondary supervisor and complete the Secondary Supervisor Contract
• Complete a background check
• Complete an interview with the Board

Interns are required to submit a report to the board every six months of their progress towards completing the required work experience.

To become a full CPC candidates must:

• Complete 3,000 hours of supervised clinical work experience. Of those hours, 1,500 must be direct client contact and 100 must be direct supervision. There must be at least one hour of supervision completed each week the intern worked
• Pass the NCMHCE

Mental health counselor licenses in Nevada expire January 1st, every other year. Renewals cost $450.

Counselors are required to complete 40 continuing education units each renewal cycle. Six of those units must be in ethics, and four must be in suicide prevention.

The State of Nevada Department of Education issues School Counselor licenses. There are four pathways to meet the education requirement for this license. Candidates must fulfill one of the following conditions:

• Have a master’s degree or higher in school counseling
• Hold National Certified School Counselor (NCSC) credential issued by National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
• Have a master’s degree in counseling with at least 36 graduate semester credits that meet coursework requirements, including a 600-hour practicum, internship, or field experience in school counseling at any grade level K-12
• Have a master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution, have two years of teaching or school counselor work experience, have at least 36 graduate semester credits that meet coursework requirements. and complete a 600-hour practicum, internship, or field experience in school counseling at any grade level K-12

Applicants must submit a complete online application, pay an application fee, provide official transcripts, pass the Praxis Professional School Counselor exam, and pass a background check.

Nevada school counselor licenses are valid for five years.

To renew, school counselors must complete an online application, pay a $150 application fee, and complete 15 renewal hours per year.

Nevada Board of Examiners for Alcohol, Drug, and Gambling Counselors

There are three certifications and two licenses issued by the Nevada Board of Examiners for Alcohol, Drug, and Gambling Counselors. They are Certified Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor Intern (CADC-Intern), Certified Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (CADC), Provisional Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (PADC), Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor (LADC), and Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (LCADC).

CADC-Intern certification candidates must:

• Be 21 years old
• Have the right to work in the US
• Complete 60 credits towards a degree in an approved social science field
• Complete six hours of continuing education in confidentiality and HIPAA and another six hours in ethics
• Submit an affidavit confirming enrollment in college
• Pay $210 application fee
• Complete a supervision agreement
• Submit a completed application

CADC certification candidates must:

• Be 21 years old
• Have the right to work in the US
• Complete a bachelor’s degree in an approved social science field from an accredited institution
• Complete two years and 4,000 hours of supervised work experience (18 semester credits in addiction studies at the bachelor’s level or 12 semester credits at the master’s level reduces this requirement to only 1,500 hours)
• Complete six hours of continuing education in confidentiality and HIPAA and another six hours in ethics
• Pay $495 in fees, including $150 for a request for application, $60 processing fee, $100 oral exam fee, and $185 written exam fee
• Pass the written ADC exam from the IC&RC as well as an oral exam
• Submit a completed application

PADC certificates are issued when an application for certificate or licensure has been submitted and the candidate has been approved to test.

To receive the provisional license, the applicant must submit a completed application and the test must be paid for and scheduled. These certificates are only valid for six months and may not be renewed.

LADC license candidates must:

• Complete a master’s degree in an approved social science field
• Complete two full years and 4,000 hours of supervised work experience as a drug and alcohol abuse counselor (12 semesters credits in addiction studies at the master’s level reduces this requirement to 1,500 hours)
• Pass the AADC exam from IC&RC and an oral exam
• Pay $495 in fees, including $150 for a request for application, $60 processing fee, $100 oral exam fee, and $185 written exam fee
• Submit a completed application

LCADC license candidates must:

• Be 21 years old
• Hold a master’s or doctorate in a board-approved social sciences field from an accredited institution
• Complete a board-approved program of 2,000 of supervised post-graduate work experience as a drug and alcohol abuse counselor
• Complete a board-approved program of 2,000 of supervised post-graduate work experience as a drug and alcohol abuse counselor of people who have both mental illness and suffer from substance abuse issues
• Pass the NCMHCE exam from The National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
• Submit a completed application
• Pay $495 in fees, including $150 for a request for application, $60 processing fee, $100 oral exam fee, and $185 written exam fee

In lieu of the work experience, those licensed as clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, and nurses with at least a master’s degree may complete just six months of supervised work in alcohol and drug counseling.

Certificates and licenses for substance abuse counselors in Nevada must be renewed every two years, with the exception of intern-level certificates, which must be renewed every six months.

Intern certificates renewals cost $75 and all other certificates and licenses cost $250.

Counselors must complete 40 hours of continuing education per renewal cycle. Three of those hours must be in ethics and three must be in confidentiality.

Interns must complete 12 hours of continuing education during the first six-month renewal cycle, of which six must be in confidentiality and six in ethics. The following six-month renewals must have 10 hours of continuing education each.

Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists and Clinical Professional Counselors

Rehabilitation counselors in Nevada are licensed as either Certified Professional Counselors (CPC) or Certified Professional Counselor Interns (CPC Interns).

To obtain a CPC Intern license, candidates must:

• Graduate with a master’s degree in counseling from an accredited institution. The degree must be at 60 semester credits or 72 quarter hours. There must be three semesters (or four quarters) of courses of supervised clinical practice.
• Pay $150 application fee
• Submit a completed application
• Be 21 years old
• Secure a supervisor for supervised work experience and complete the Primary Supervisor Contract
• Secure a secondary supervisor and complete the Secondary Supervisor Contract
• Complete a background check
• Complete an interview with the Board

Interns are required to submit a report to the board every six months of their progress towards completing the required work experience.

To become a full CPC candidates must:

• Complete 3,000 hours of supervised clinical work experience. Of those hours, 1,500 must be direct client contact and 100 must be direct supervision. There must be at least one hour of supervision completed each week the intern worked
• Pass the NCMHCE

Mental health counselor licenses in Nevada expire January 1st, every other year. Renewals cost $450.

Counselors are required to complete 40 continuing education units each renewal cycle. Six of those units must be in ethics, and four must be in suicide prevention.

The Nevada Board of Applied Behavior Analysis licenses Behavior Analysts and Assistant Behavior Analysts.

Requirements for licensure are:

• Submit a completed application
• Pay $100 application fee, $25 license fee, a $425 biennial fee (prorated for the remainder of the biennium) and a $151.33 fee for the state examination
• Hold a BCBA (behavior analyst candidates) or BCaBA (assistant candidates)
• Submit a supervision form (assistants only)
• Provide proof of right to work in the US
• Provide three character references
• Complete a criminal background check, including fingerprinting
• Submit official transcripts
• Pass state jurisprudence exam

Behavior analyst licenses issued in Nevada expire on January 1st of odd-numbered years.

To renew, applicants must:

• Submit a completed renewal application
• Pay renewal fee
• Provide proof of current BACB certification
• Every third renewal, applicants must complete a criminal background check, including fingerprinting

The Nevada Board of Examiners for Marriage and Family Therapists and Clinical Professional Counselors credentials Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) and Marriage and Family Therapist Interns (MFT Intern).

To obtain an MFT Intern license, candidates must:

• Graduate with a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from an accredited institution
• Pay $150 application fee
• Submit a completed application
• Be 21 years old
• Secure a supervisor for supervised work experience and complete the Primary Supervisor Contract
• Secure a secondary supervisor and complete the Secondary Supervisor Contract
• Complete a background check

Interns are required to submit a report to the board of their progress towards completing the required work experience every six months.

To become a full MFT, candidates must:

• Complete two years and 3,000 hours of supervised clinical work experience as a marriage and family therapist (of those hours, 1,500 must be direct client contact and 100 must be under direct supervision)
• Pass the AMFTRB exam

Marriage and family therapist licenses in Nevada expire January 1st, every other year. Renewals cost $450.

MFTs are required to complete 40 continuing education units each renewal cycle. Six of those units must be in ethics and four must be in suicide prevention.

Child therapists in Nevada are licensed as either Certified Professional Counselors (CPC) or Certified Professional Counselor Interns (CPC Interns).

To obtain a CPC Intern license, candidates must:

• Graduate with a master’s degree in counseling from an accredited institution. The degree must be at 60 semester-credits or 72 quarter-hours. There must be three semesters (or four quarters) of courses of supervised clinical practice.
• Pay $150 application fee
• Submit a completed application
• Be 21 years old
• Secure a supervisor for supervised work experience and complete the Primary Supervisor Contract
• Secure a secondary supervisor and complete the Secondary Supervisor Contract
• Complete a background check
• Complete an interview with the Board

Interns are required to submit a report to the board every six months of their progress towards completing the required work experience.

To become a full CPC candidates must:

• Complete 3,000 hours of supervised clinical work experience. Of those hours, 1,500 must be direct client contact and 100 must be direct supervision. There must be at least one hour of supervision completed each week the intern worked
• Pass the NCMHCE

Mental health counselor licenses in Nevada expire January 1st, every other year. Renewals cost $450.

Counselors are required to complete 40 continuing education units each renewal cycle. Six of those units must be in ethics, and four must be in suicide prevention.