Maryland LGPC Requirements: Hours, Exams & Step-by-Step Guide

In Maryland, the Licensed Graduate Professional Counselor (LGPC) is the entry‑level counseling license issued by the State Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists. It allows you to practice counseling only under supervision while you accumulate the experience required to become a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC). The requirements for LGPC, and for the supervised hours you complete while holding it, are set out primarily in the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) and the Health Occupations Article.

Below is a step‑by‑step outline grounded in that regulatory language.

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1. Understand what the LGPC license is

Maryland regulations define a “licensed graduate professional counselor” as an individual who is approved by the Board to practice graduate professional counseling under the supervision of an approved supervisor while completing the supervised clinical experience needed for full clinical licensure. (mdrules.elaws.us)

Key points:

• You may not practice independently; all clinical work must be under an approved supervisor.
• The LGPC is a temporary, supervised license used while you accumulate the clinical hours needed for LCPC. (towson.edu)

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2. Meet the educational credit‑hour requirements

To qualify for licensure as a graduate professional counselor (LGPC), you must have one of the following from an accredited college or university approved by the Board: (mdrules.elaws.us)

• Master’s degree in a professional field with at least 60 graduate semester credit hours (or 90 quarter hours), or
• Doctoral degree in counseling or a closely related field.

In addition, you must complete a minimum of 3 graduate semester credits in each of a set of required content areas described in COMAR 10.58.01.05. (mdrules.elaws.us)

For the professional counselor track, COMAR lists the following content areas (each requiring at least 3 graduate credits): (mdrules.elaws.us)

1. Human growth and personality development
2. Social and cultural foundations of counseling
3. Counseling theory
4. Counseling techniques
5. Group dynamics, processing, and counseling
6. Lifestyle and career development
7. Appraisal (testing and assessment)
8. Research and evaluation
9. Professional, legal, and ethical responsibilities
10. Marriage and family therapy
11. Supervised field experience (see Section 3)
12. Alcohol and drug counseling

For LCPC‑level clinical licensure later on, additional 3‑credit coursework is required in: (mdrules.elaws.us)

• Diagnosis and psychopathology
• Psychotherapy and treatment of mental and emotional disorders

You need these content areas already in place when you apply for the LGPC (the regulation on LGPC explicitly cross‑references this coursework). (mdrules.elaws.us)

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3. Complete the required supervised field experience hours in your graduate program

Within the coursework requirements, Maryland specifies a supervised field experience course that must include a minimum amount of direct client contact. COMAR describes this as: (mdrules.elaws.us)

• A supervised clinical internship/externship/field experience/practicum, and
• At least 125 hours of face‑to‑face client counseling.

Maryland defines a “face‑to‑face client contact hour” as at least 45 minutes of direct session time with the client present. (mdrules.elaws.us)

In practice, this means:

• Your graduate practicum/internship must give you at least 125 hours of direct, in‑person (or synchronous) counseling with clients.
• Those 125+ direct client hours are part of the education requirement for both professional counselor certification and later LCPC licensure; they are also the first portion of your supervised clinical experience counted toward the total 3,000 hours for LCPC (see Section 7 for that breakdown). (mdrules.elaws.us)

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4. Pass the National Counselor Examination (NCE)

To qualify for the LGPC license, you must pass the National Counselor Examination (NCE) administered by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). COMAR 10.58.01.09 lists passing the NCE as a requirement for LGPC licensure. (mdrules.elaws.us)

Later, when you apply for LCPC, you will also have to pass a separate Maryland exam on state law and regulations, but for LGPC itself the explicit exam requirement is the NCE. (mdrules.elaws.us)

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5. Satisfy character and ethics requirements

For the LGPC, Maryland regulations require that you: (mdrules.elaws.us)

• Be of good moral character, and
• Comply with the Board’s Code of Ethics (COMAR 10.58.03).

In practice, this is assessed through:

• Application attestations about ethics and criminal history.
• A required criminal background check, referenced in the Board’s general licensure information and in parallel regulations for other graduate‑level licenses. (health.maryland.gov)

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6. Submit your LGPC application to the Board

Once you have:

• Completed the required degree and coursework (including the supervised field experience with at least 125 face‑to‑face client hours), and
• Passed the NCE,

you apply to the Maryland Board for the LGPC license.

COMAR 10.58.01.09 specifies three main components to “obtain a license as a graduate professional counselor”: (mdrules.elaws.us)

1. Submit a completed Board application.
2. Provide an official transcript from the institution that awarded your master’s or doctoral degree in a professional counseling field.
3. Pay all required fees as set forth in COMAR 10.58.02 (application and initial licensure fees).

The Board then reviews your materials and issues the LGPC if all requirements are met.

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7. Know how long the LGPC lasts and how it relates to your clinical hours

The LGPC license is time‑limited. Under COMAR 10.58.01.09: (mdrules.elaws.us)

• The initial LGPC license expires 2 years after the date issued.
• If you cannot complete the required clinical hours for LCPC in that 2‑year period, you may apply for one or more 2‑year extensions, up to a maximum of 6 years total as an LGPC.
• In certain circumstances, the Board may consider an extension beyond the 6‑year cap if you notify them in writing.

These time limits matter because most of the clinical hours for LCPC must be completed after your master’s degree and while you are licensed as an LGPC (or in an equivalent supervised role approved by the Board). (regs.maryland.gov)

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8. Understand the supervised hours you must complete while you are an LGPC (toward LCPC)

The question of “how many hours, and of what type” is primarily about what you must complete as an LGPC to qualify later for the LCPC license.

Maryland’s clinical counseling regulations (for LCPC) state that a master’s‑level applicant must complete a minimum of 3 years and 3,000 hours of experience in clinical professional counseling. Within those 3,000 hours: (regs.maryland.gov)

8.1 Direct vs. indirect clinical hours

For LCPC (master’s‑level):

• At least 1,500 hours must be “direct clinical counseling services.”
  • These are face‑to‑face clinical services with clients, such as individual, family, or group counseling and psychotherapy sessions.
• Up to 1,500 hours may be “indirect clinical counseling services.”
  • These are clinically related duties that support treatment but are not direct client sessions—for example: documentation, case notes, treatment planning, consultation, case conferences, and certain administrative or collateral contact activities tied to clients’ care.

The regulation contrasts these two categories explicitly by saying that a minimum of 1,500 hours must be direct clinical counseling services and a maximum of 1,500 hours may consist of indirect services. (regs.maryland.gov)

8.2 Hours that must be completed as an LGPC vs. during your degree

Within the required 3,000 hours of clinical professional counseling experience, the regulations further specify: (regs.maryland.gov)

• At least 2,000 hours must be “supervised clinical experience” completed after the master’s degree is awarded, and
• These 2,000+ post‑degree hours must be completed as a licensed graduate professional counselor (LGPC) under a Board‑approved supervisor.
• Up to 1,000 of the 3,000 hours may be counted from “supervised field experience” (your graduate practicum/internship), as long as that field experience meets the Board’s definition.

Put differently:

• Total required experience for LCPC (master’s): 3,000 hours
  • 2,000 hours minimum must be post‑master’s, supervised clinical experience as an LGPC under a Board‑approved supervisor.
  • Up to 1,000 hours may come from your pre‑degree supervised field experience (practicum/internship), which already had to include at least 125 hours of face‑to‑face client counseling.

8.3 Required clinical supervision hours

In addition to the 3,000 clinical hours, the Board requires a specified amount of face‑to‑face clinical supervision:

• You must complete 100 hours of face‑to‑face clinical supervision within two years after your master’s degree.
• Of those 100 hours:
  • At least 50 hours must be individual, face‑to‑face supervision, and
  • Up to 50 hours may be face‑to‑face group supervision. (regs.maryland.gov)

Maryland defines a “face‑to‑face clinical supervision hour” as at least 45 minutes of direct supervision time with the supervisee present. (mdrules.elaws.us)

These supervision hours are distinct from your clinical hours:

• The 3,000 clinical hours are client‑service hours (direct and indirect).
• The 100 supervision hours are meetings with your supervisor to review clinical work, treatment planning, ethics, documentation, and professional development.

8.4 Who can supervise you and how those hours must be distributed

The regulations require that: (regs.maryland.gov)

• At least half of your direct + indirect hours counted as supervised clinical experience must be completed under a Board‑approved supervisor who is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC).
• No more than half of the supervised clinical experience hours may be under other Board‑approved supervisors (for example, certain licensed psychologists, psychiatrists, LCSW‑Cs, etc., as allowed by the Board).

An “approved supervisor” is defined as an LCPC or another licensed health care provider approved by the Board to provide this level of supervision. (mdrules.elaws.us)

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9. Summary of what is required to become an LGPC in Maryland

Putting the pieces together, Maryland Board requirements to become licensed as an LGPC are:

1. Degree:

   • Master’s degree (minimum 60 graduate semester hours) in a professional counseling or related field, or a qualifying doctoral degree in counseling or a closely related field, from an accredited institution approved by the Board. (mdrules.elaws.us)

2. Coursework:

   • At least 3 graduate semester credits in each required content area, including human development, counseling theory and techniques, group counseling, career development, appraisal, research, ethics, marriage and family, supervised field experience (with the 125‑hour direct client contact minimum), alcohol and drug counseling, plus specific courses in diagnosis/psychopathology and psychotherapy/treatment for the clinical license path. (mdrules.elaws.us)

3. Pre‑degree clinical hours (as part of coursework):

   • Supervised field experience with at least 125 hours of face‑to‑face client counseling, where each client contact hour is at least 45 minutes with the client present. (mdrules.elaws.us)

4. Examination:

   • Passing score on the National Counselor Examination (NCE). (mdrules.elaws.us)

5. Character and ethics:

   • Demonstrated good moral character and compliance with the Board’s Code of Ethics, along with a criminal background check as part of the Board’s general licensure procedures. (mdrules.elaws.us)

6. Application package:

   • Completed LGPC application form,
   • Official transcripts sent directly from the degree‑granting institution,
   • Payment of all Board‑specified fees. (mdrules.elaws.us)

7. License term and next stage:

   • LGPC license valid for 2 years, with possible 2‑year extensions up to 6 years total (or more in exceptional circumstances).
   • During those years as an LGPC, you accumulate 3,000 total clinical hours (1,500 direct + up to 1,500 indirect), including at least 2,000 hours of supervised clinical experience after the master’s degree and 100 hours of face‑to‑face clinical supervision, in order to qualify for LCPC. (regs.maryland.gov)

This structure—education and 125 supervised field hours during your graduate program, followed by 3,000 clinical hours and 100 supervision hours while licensed as an LGPC—is the Board’s defined pathway from LGPC to full LCPC licensure in Maryland.