Board of Professional Counselors Frequently Asked Questions Accepted Degrees Application Processing Time Attending a Board Meeting or Teleconference Background Check Requirement Clients in Alaska Contacting the Board Continuing Education (CE) Requirements Lapsed Licenses Maintaining Records and/or CE Certificates NCE Exam Scores Practicing Without a License Reference Letter Renewal Requirements Starting the Application Process Supervision Accepted by the Board Telemedicine Business Registry Accepted Degrees In order to transfer a license from another jurisdiction to Alaska, that license would need to have equivalent requirements to the state of Alaska to include: 60 graduate level credit hours of education in counseling and 3,000 hours of supervised experience. If the license from the other jurisdiction has lesser requirements, additional courses may be taken from an accredited institution to close the gap between the current education hours and the required 60. In the Statutes and Regulations Professional Counselors under 12 AAC 62.120 Approved Degrees, it states that the applicant’s degree must be from an institution of higher education in the United States that is accredited by a regional or national agency and the degree must have included course work in at least of the eight of the following subject areas: (1) the helping relationship, including counseling theory and practice; (2) human growth and development; (3) lifestyle and career development; (4) group dynamics, processes, counseling, and consulting; (5) assessment, appraisal, and testing of individuals; (6) social and cultural foundation, including multicultural issues; (7) principles of etiology, diagnosis, treatment planning, and prevention of mental and emotional disorders and dysfunctional behavior; (8) marriage and family counseling and therapy; (9) research and evaluation; (10) professional counseling orientation; and ethics. Please use the Educational Course Worksheet (form #08-4403e) within the application to determine if your degree meets the Alaska State requirements. Attending a Board Meeting or Teleconference Draft agendas are posted on the Board of Professional Counselors website in advance of the meetings and the link to attend the meeting or call in to the meeting is posted on both the agenda and the public notice for the meeting. Application Processing Time Once your completed application, all applicable fees and supporting documents have been received by the division, it can take 10-14 business days for your application to be processed and submitted to the board. Please allow an additional four to six weeks for the Board to review your application and make a decision. We will contact you through the My License portal and through email to notify you about their decision. Background Check Requirement Every applicant needs to submit an Alaska background check, even if the applicant was never a resident of Alaska. This report may be obtained by contacting the Alaska State Troopers. Please be sure to have the report sent directly to this division. If the applicant is applying by credentials and is a resident of a different state, then we require a second background check from that state. Contact the state’s law enforcement agency to obtain the report and have it sent directly to this division. The background reports cannot be issued earlier than 90 days prior to application. Please review 12 AAC 62.130(7) for further clarification. Please also be advised that only background reports from state law enforcement agencies will be accepted. Reports obtained through online services do not meet the requirement. Government clearances and background checks through a workplace may not be substituted for the state issued background checks. Clients in Alaska To see a client who resides in Alaska, the Professional Counselor must be licensed in Alaska. Please see Regulation 12 AAC 62.400 for further clarification. Contacting the Board Board members contacted individually cannot respond on behalf of the Board, as the entire Board must have all discussions on the record in scheduled meetings. If you were to contact all Board members, this could be seen as a violation of the Open Meetings Act by the Board members. The best option for submitting inquiries to the Board is to email the Division at: ProfessionalCounselors@Alaska.Gov Continuing Education (CE) Requirements If you have a current Professional Counselor license in another State and you are applying by credentials, you need to show 40 Continuing Education credits total (20 hours through synchronous means, 3 hours in Ethics). The courses must be completed within the two years immediately preceding the application. Per 12 AAC 62.310. (a) A licensee applying for renewal of a professional counselor license must complete the number of continuing education contact hours set out in this section. For a biennial licensing period ending on or before October 31, 2023, at least three contact hours must be in professional ethics. For a biennial licensing period beginning on or after November 1, 2023, at least three contact hours must be in professional ethics, at least three contact hours must be in suicidality, and at least three contact hours must be in cultural competency. The number of contact hours for a biennial licensing period is as follows: (1) first biennial renewal, if the licensee held the license for less than 12 months during the concluding biennial licensing period, 20 contact hours; (2) first biennial renewal, if the licensee held the license for at least 12 months but less than 18 months during the concluding biennial licensing period, 30 contact hours; (3) first biennial renewal, if the licensee held the license for 18 months or more during the concluding biennial licensing period, 40 contact hours; (4) second or subsequent biennial renewal, 40 contact hours Please read Regulation 12 AAC 62.320(A) - (Q) to find approved continuing Education organizations. Lapsed Licenses If it has been less than 5 years since your license lapsed, please submit a completed License Renewal Application, applicable fees and proof of required continuing education certificates. If your license has been lapsed for more than five years, your license cannot be reinstated since it will be expired, and you will have to apply for a new Professional Counselor license. Please provide a completed Professional Counselor application with all applicable fees and supporting documentation. Maintaining Records and/or CE Certificates Under A 12 AAC 62.330 Audit of continuing education (a) After each biennial renewal period the board will, in its discretion, audit renewal applications to monitor compliance with the continuing education requirements of this chapter. (b) A licensee selected for audit must, within 30 days from the date of receipt of notification, submit verification of completion of the continuing education contact hours required under 12 AAC 62.310. (c) A licensee must maintain adequate detailed records of all continuing education contact hours claimed and must submit the records to the board upon request. The licensee must retain the records for at least three years after the date the continuing education contact hours were earned and included on the statement. NCE Exam Scores Your NCE exam scores will automatically be sent to this division after you complete the exam. We will add a copy of your scores to your record once we receive your application. If you are transferring your scores from a different state, please reach out to the NBCC to request the score transfer. Practicing Without a License If you suspect that someone is practicing without a license or acting against the code of AHMCA Code of Ethics, please visit https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/ComplaintFAQs.aspx to access a request for contact form to file your complaint. Reference Letter Any professional Counselor who is familiar with the applicant’s practice of professional counseling can submit a reference. Please review Statue Sec. 08.29.110(a) to further determine eligibility. Renewing a License A licensee applying for renewal of a professional counselor license must: (1) submit a complete renewal application, on a form provided by the department, including a statement of the continuing education contact hours under 12 AAC 62.310 completed by the applicant during the concluding licensing period; and (2) pay the license renewal fee established in 12 AAC 02.325. Starting the Application Process First take time to read over the latest Statutes and Regulations Professional Counselors. Make sure to read Article 2 Licensing Requirements Section 08.29.110. Make sure to read Chapter 62, Section 12 AAC 62.100 License by examination and Section 12 AAC 62.130 License by credentials. You may submit your application, Continuing Education Certificates and References to the division. The Background reports, Transcripts and Verification of license (if applicable) need to be sent to us directly from the specific organizations. You may want to collect the completed reference and supervision forms from the appropriate individuals and mail them via certified mail with your initial application rather than having the references and supervisors send them to our office directly. This will also help eliminate any confusion regarding whether the forms have been received or not. Once your application and fees have been received by our division, you will be notified by email. Supporting documentation without an application will be held for 1 year. Supervision Accepted by the Board It is your responsibility to make sure your supervisor is registered with the Board and read the updated information on the Supervision page of the Board of Professional Counselors website. Please review Regulation 12 AAC 62.220(b) for further clarification. If the supervision took place with a supervisor who had a valid supervisor certification in the state of Alaska at the time the supervision took place, then the hours would be counted toward the total requirement for licensure. Supervision hours can overlap. However, the supervision hours cannot be completed in less than 24 months. You do not need prior approval for distance supervision. However, please follow the guidelines outlined in Regulation 12 AAC 62.400. Please ensure you do your due diligence when selecting a supervisor and ask questions to identify if the selected supervisor will be able to assist you with meeting your specific supervision goals. Visit our Supervision page to locate a Board Approved Supervisor. Important Notice Regarding Telemedicine Businesses engaged in the practice of telemedicine are required to register for placement on the Telemedicine Business Registry (TBR). Please see the Telemedicine Business Registry FAQs for more information regarding telemedicine registrations through www.BusinessLicense.Alaska.Gov. Do you have another question? Please fill out our Customer Contact Form for the fastest response. Return to Top