Maine CC Requirements & Hours Tracker

In Maine, the Clinical Professional Counselor (CC) license is the independent clinical counseling credential regulated by the Maine Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure. It allows you to diagnose and treat mental health disorders and to practice independently. The CC is normally obtained after holding a Conditional Clinical Professional Counselor (XL) license and completing a defined package of supervised clinical experience. (maine.gov)

Below is a step‑by‑step outline of what the Board requires, with emphasis on the specific hour types and the Board’s own terminology.

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1. Overview of the CC pathway in Maine

Maine’s clinical counseling path has two main stages:

1. Conditional Clinical Professional Counselor (XL) – a supervised, graduate‑level clinical license.
2. Clinical Professional Counselor (CC) – a clinical, graduate‑level independent license obtained after meeting supervised experience and examination requirements. (maine.gov)

To “transition from conditional licensure to the CC,” the Board requires that you:

• Hold the XL (or an equivalent conditional clinical license) for at least 2 years, while
• Completing the required “licensed supervised work experience hours and supervision hours” under a qualifying supervisor and
• Meeting the examination and continuing‑education requirements described below. (maine.gov)

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2. Educational requirements for the CC

2.1 Degree level and credits

You must have a master’s or doctoral degree in counseling or an allied mental health field from a regionally accredited institution. The qualifying degree must consist of at least 60 graduate semester hours (or quarter‑hour equivalent). (mainelegislature.org)

The degree can be:

• A counseling degree from a CACREP‑accredited mental health counseling program (meeting the 60‑credit minimum), or
• A counseling degree of at least 60 credits that includes:
  • Core coursework in 10 specified areas (e.g., Helping Relationships, Diagnosis and Treatment, Practicum, Internship), plus
  • At least 9 semester hours drawn from at least two additional specified areas (e.g., Marriage and Family Counseling, Supervision, Crisis Intervention, Addictive Disorders), or
• A qualifying APA‑ or CPA‑accredited doctoral program in clinical or counseling psychology. (regulations.justia.com)

2.2 Internship / alternative experience

For the standard clinical counseling track, the Board’s Chapter 3 rules require:

• An internship described as “a full academic year of supervised clinical counseling experience consisting of at least 900 clock hours, including a minimum of 360 clock hours of direct client contact.” (regulations.justia.com)

The rule also recognizes alternatives:

• You may substitute 1,000 hours of lawfully obtained supervised clinical counseling, of which at least 400 hours must be direct clinical contact, in lieu of the standard practicum + internship, or
• If your internship included at least 600 clock hours of supervised clinical counseling but did not meet the 900‑hour standard, your degree can still qualify; however, you must then meet the higher post‑degree supervised‑experience requirements described in Section 4(2) of Chapter 3 (explained below). (regulations.justia.com)

The Board’s public licensing page also notes that the CC “requires completion of a graduate clinical counseling internship that consisted of at least 600 clock hours,” which aligns with the rule’s provision for those with 600‑hour internships combined with additional supervised experience. (maine.gov)

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3. Examination requirements

To ultimately hold the CC license, you must pass two counseling exams:

1. NCE – National Counselor Examination
   • Required for Conditional Clinical Professional Counselor (XL) licensure. (maine.gov)
2. NCMHCE – National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination
   • Required, in addition to the NCE, to be licensed as a Clinical Professional Counselor (CC). (maine.gov)

The statute also requires that a CC applicant “successfully complete the examination prescribed by the board,” which is implemented as the NCE + NCMHCE combination in current Board practice. (mainelegislature.org)

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4. Post‑degree supervised clinical experience for CC

This is the core of CC licensure. Maine law and Board rules define both the total number of hours and the types of hours you must accumulate after your degree, under conditional (XL) licensure.

4.1 Statutory minimum (Title 32 §13858)

For a licensed clinical professional counselor, the statute requires:

• “Two years of experience after obtainment of a master’s degree or a doctoral degree to include at least 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience with a minimum of 100 hours of personal supervision.” (mainelegislature.org)

This is the broad legal requirement. The Board’s Chapter 3 rules specify how those hours must be structured.

4.2 Board rules: standard route (internship met 900‑hour standard)

If your qualifying degree included the full 900‑hour internship described in Chapter 3, Section 2(1)(B)(10), the Board’s supervised‑experience rule (Section 3‑4(1)) requires:

• Total supervised clinical counseling experience:
  • You must complete 3,000 hours of supervised clinical counseling experience over not less than 2 years after your qualifying degree. (regulations.justia.com)
• Direct clinical contact hours:
  • Within those 3,000 hours, at least 1,500 hours must be “direct clinical contact hours with individuals and groups.” (regulations.justia.com)
• Clinical supervision hours:
  • Also within the 3,000 hours, you must have at least 100 hours of clinical supervision with your Board‑approved supervisor.
  • Of those 100 supervision hours, at least 50 hours must be “individual supervision.” (regulations.justia.com)
• Supervision rate and format:
  • Supervision must occur “with substantial regularity” at approximately 1 hour of supervision per 30 hours of experience.
  • Your supervisor may use live audio or videoconference for a portion of individual supervision (up to 25 of the individual‑supervision hours). (regulations.justia.com)
• Licensing status while accruing hours:
  • “Unless waived pursuant to Section 5(4), supervised experience must be earned during the applicant’s period of conditional licensure” (i.e., while you hold the XL). (regulations.justia.com)

In practical terms, under the standard route you need:

• 3,000 total hours of supervised clinical counseling,
  • including 1,500 hours of direct clinical contact (individual and group counseling) and
  • 100 hours of clinical supervision (with at least half of those being individual supervision).

4.3 Board rules: extended route (internship at least 600 hours, but under 900 hours)

If your qualifying degree did not include the full 900‑hour internship, but did include an internship of at least 600 clock hours of supervised clinical counseling experience, you are still eligible—but you must complete more post‑degree supervised experience under Section 3‑4(2):

• Total supervised clinical counseling experience:
  • You must complete 4,000 hours of supervised clinical counseling experience over not less than 2 years after your qualifying degree. (regulations.justia.com)
• Direct clinical contact hours:
  • Those 4,000 hours must include at least 2,000 direct clinical contact hours with individuals and groups. (regulations.justia.com)
• Clinical supervision hours:
  • You must complete at least 150 hours of clinical supervision with your Board‑approved supervisor.
  • Of these, at least 75 hours must be individual supervision. (regulations.justia.com)
• Supervision rate and format:
  • Supervision must occur with substantial regularity at approximately 1 hour of supervision per 27 hours of experience.
  • Live audio or videoconference may be used for part of the individual supervision (up to 38 of the individual‑supervision hours). (regulations.justia.com)
• Licensing status while accruing hours:
  • As with the standard route, these hours must typically be “earned during the applicant’s period of conditional licensure,” unless specifically waived. (regulations.justia.com)

In practical terms, under the extended route you need:

• 4,000 total hours of supervised clinical counseling,
  • including 2,000 hours of direct clinical contact and
  • 150 hours of clinical supervision (with at least 75 hours of that being individual supervision).

4.4 Who can be your supervisor?

All required supervision must be provided by a Board‑approved supervisor who: (regulations.justia.com)

• Is not related to you, living with you, or in a personal relationship with you, and
• Holds one of the following active licenses (and is not under suspension or probation):
  • Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
  • Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
  • Licensed Pastoral Counselor
  • Licensed Clinical Social Worker or Certified Social Worker – Independent Practice
  • Licensed Psychologist or Licensed Psychiatrist
• And also meets at least one of these criteria:
  • At least 5 years of licensed practice (with no more than 2 years as a conditional licensee), or
  • National certification related to training or supervision (e.g., approved clinical supervisor), or
  • 30 contact hours of training in supervision plus at least 1 year of practice at a level higher than entry‑level conditional.

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5. Timeframe and conditional licensure (XL)

While accumulating your supervised hours, you are practicing under the Conditional Clinical Professional Counselor (XL) license. Key points from the Board’s description: (maine.gov)

• The XL is a clinical, graduate‑level conditional license requiring:
  • A qualifying 60‑credit graduate counseling degree,
  • A qualifying internship (600 or 900 hours, depending on track), and
  • A passing score on the NCE.
• “A ‘conditional license’ indicates the XL may not practice unless under the supervision of a Board‑approved Maine licensee.”
• XL holders may diagnose and treat mental health disorders and may engage in private practice only while receiving the required supervision under an approved supervision plan.
• You must submit and have approved a Proposed Supervision Plan before practicing, and your supervisor must later submit a Supervisor Affidavit documenting your work and supervision hours.

The CC license is granted after you have:

1. Held the XL (or equivalent) for at least 2 years,
2. Completed the 3,000/1,500/100 or 4,000/2,000/150 hours package (depending on your internship),
3. Passed the NCMHCE, and
4. Met the Board’s continuing‑education and documentation requirements. (maine.gov)

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6. Additional statutory training requirement: family or intimate partner violence

Under Title 32 §13858, starting January 1, 2020, a CC applicant must also demonstrate completion of at least 12 hours of coursework in family or intimate partner violence, including content on screening, referral, intervention strategies, community resources, cultural factors, evidence‑based risk assessment, and same‑gender abuse dynamics. (mainelegislature.org)

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7. Summary of hour requirements for CC licensure in Maine

Putting the pieces together:

Standard route (with 900‑hour internship):

• Internship (during degree):
  • ≥ 900 clock hours supervised clinical counseling, including ≥ 360 hours of direct client contact.
• Post‑degree supervised experience (under XL):
  • 3,000 hours of supervised clinical counseling experience, over ≥ 2 years, including:
    • ≥ 1,500 hours of direct clinical contact (individuals and groups), and
    • ≥ 100 hours of clinical supervision, at least 50 of which are individual supervision,
    • Supervision at ~1 hour per 30 hours of experience. (regulations.justia.com)

Extended route (with ≥600‑hour but <900‑hour internship):

• Internship (during degree):
  • ≥ 600 clock hours supervised clinical counseling (does not meet the 900‑hour standard).
• Post‑degree supervised experience (under XL):
  • 4,000 hours of supervised clinical counseling experience, over ≥ 2 years, including:
    • ≥ 2,000 hours of direct clinical contact, and
    • ≥ 150 hours of clinical supervision, at least 75 of which are individual supervision,
    • Supervision at ~1 hour per 27 hours of experience. (regulations.justia.com)

All of these supervised hours must be completed after the qualifying degree, generally while you hold an active XL license, and under a Board‑approved supervisor meeting the qualifications in Chapter 3, Section 4. (regulations.justia.com)

These are the controlling requirements—both numerical and definitional—for obtaining the Clinical Professional Counselor (CC) license from the Maine Board of Counseling Professionals Licensure as of the rules current through June 25, 2025.