Mississippi LPC-S Requirements: Hours, Exams & Step-by-Step Guide

Mississippi recognizes a separate credential for Licensed Professional Counselor – Supervisor (LPC‑S). This designation authorizes an experienced LPC to supervise Provisional Licensed Professional Counselors (P‑LPCs) and others pursuing licensure, under standards set by the Mississippi State Board of Examiners for Licensed Professional Counselors.

The Board has fairly specific expectations about experience, training hours, and ongoing responsibilities. The requirements below are taken from the Board’s LPC‑S page and related sections of its site as of late 2025. (msblpc.org)

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1. How Mississippi Defines an LPC‑S

The Board defines a Licensed Professional Counselor – Supervisor as a Mississippi LPC who:

• Has the required experience
• Has completed training in supervision
• Maintains membership in a professional association
• Has been approved by the Board to provide supervision (msblpc.org)

In practice, this means LPC‑S is not a separate license level of practice, but an add‑on credential that allows you to supervise post‑graduate counseling experience.

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2. Baseline requirement: Active LPC in Mississippi

Before you can apply to become an LPC‑S, you must already hold and maintain an ACTIVE Status LPC license in Mississippi. (msblpc.org)

The Board’s LPC pages describe LPCs as counselors who have met the educational, supervised‑experience, and exam requirements and are approved to practice counseling without supervision. (msblpc.org)

For the LPC‑S application, the key baseline requirement is:

• You must be an Active Status LPC in Mississippi (not lapsed, retired, or inactive).

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3. Experience requirements (time in practice)

Mississippi does not set additional hour‑count requirements (such as 1,500 direct hours) to become an LPC‑S beyond what was already required for your LPC. Instead, the Board uses years of practice as its experience standard.

The LPC‑S pre‑application requirements specify that you must have:

• Provided mental health counseling for at least five (5) years, and
• At least two (2) of those years must have been as a Mississippi LPC. (msblpc.org)

So, the Board’s experience requirement is time‑based, not additional supervised‑hour–based, for LPC‑S.

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4. Supervision‑training hours required

This is where a specific hour requirement does appear.

The LPC‑S pre‑application section requires that an applicant must have:

Completed 45 hours of Supervision training … or hold an Approved Supervisor credential from NBCC. (msblpc.org)

The Board then spells out what counts as those 45 hours of supervision training:

You must have successfully completed one of the following:

1. Graduate‑Level Academic Training

   • At least one graduate‑level academic course in counseling supervision, and
   • That course must include at least 45 clock hours of supervision training (equivalent to a 3‑credit‑hour semester course). (msblpc.org)

2. Professional Training in Supervision

   • A Board‑approved professional training program in supervision, and
   • The training program must be a minimum of 45 clock hours and meet Board presentation standards (referenced in Rule 6.2). (msblpc.org)

3. NBCC Approved Supervisor Credential

   • Holding an Approved Supervisor (e.g., ACS) credential from NBCC also satisfies the supervision‑training requirement. (msblpc.org)

Key point on hours:
For LPC‑S, Mississippi’s explicit numeric training requirement is “45 hours of Supervision training”, either as a graduate supervision course or a 45‑clock‑hour Board‑approved supervision training, or by holding an NBCC Approved Supervisor credential.

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5. Professional conduct requirement

You must have:

• No disciplinary sanctions against your LPC license.

The Board lists as a pre‑application requirement that the applicant must have “received no disciplinary sanctions” on their LPC license. (msblpc.org)

Additionally, in the ongoing guidelines, the Board states that an LPC‑S may not provide supervision if they incur disciplinary action from the Board. (msblpc.org)

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6. Distance‑supervision–specific training hours

If you intend to provide distance supervision (e.g., by secure video), the Board adds a separate training/credential requirement related to TeleMental Health:

For LPCs and LPC‑S who offer distance professional counseling services or supervision, the Board requires that you either: (msblpc.org)

1. Hold the Board Certified TeleMental Health (BC‑TMH) credential (or an equivalent credential recognized by CCE or NBCC), or
2. Show proof of completion of professional training in tele‑mental health totaling a minimum of nine (9) clock hours that covers specific content areas listed in Rule 7.5.

Those 9 hours can be obtained through:

• Graduate‑level academic training (with the content documented on the syllabus), or
• A continuing‑education training course (documented by a certificate). (msblpc.org)

The LPC‑S page also specifies that, when distance supervision is used:

• Supervision must occur via secure, synchronous video conferencing;
• Telephone, email, chat, and other non‑video means are restricted to emergencies; and
• The Supervision Contract must explain the use and limits of distance supervision, the LPC‑S’s qualifications to provide it, and what happens if the video connection fails. (msblpc.org)

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7. Application steps to become LPC‑S in Mississippi

Once you meet the pre‑application requirements (active LPC, 5 years counseling with 2 as an LPC, 45 hours of supervision training, no discipline), the Board’s instructions outline these application steps: (msblpc.org)

1. Confirm eligibility

   • Active Status LPC in Mississippi
   • At least 5 years of mental health counseling, including at least 2 years as a Mississippi LPC
   • Completion of supervision training per Rule 4.4:
     • A 3‑credit graduate supervision course (≥45 clock hours), or
     • A Board‑approved supervision training (≥45 clock hours), or
     • NBCC Approved Supervisor credential
   • No disciplinary sanctions on your LPC license

2. Log into your LPC Profile (online)

   • Go to the Board’s online system and sign into your existing LPC profile.

3. Start the LPC‑S application

   • On the General Registration tab, scroll to the bottom right.
   • Click “New LPC‑S Application” to begin.

4. Prepare documents to upload

   The LPC‑S page lists the following required uploads: (msblpc.org)

   • Documentation of supervision training
     • Official transcript showing a 3‑semester‑hour graduate supervision course, or
     • Certificate of completion for a 45‑clock‑hour professional supervision training, or
     • Copy of ACS/Approved Supervisor credential.
   • Current résumé or curriculum vitae.
   • Supervision Contract (Board form), which must include:
     • Philosophy of supervision
     • Expectations and responsibilities of both supervisee and supervisor
     • Terms of supervision, fees, and termination process
     • If using distance supervision: details on technology, limitations, qualification of the supervisor, and handling video failures. (msblpc.org)

   You must also identify an LPC‑S as your back‑up supervisor in the contract. (msblpc.org)

5. Pay the application fee

   • Pay the $50 “Application for Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor” fee through your online profile. (msblpc.org)

6. Board review

   • After your fee is paid, the Board office first reviews your application for completeness.
   • If complete, your LPC‑S application may be considered at the next scheduled Board meeting. (msblpc.org)

Approval at that meeting is what confers LPC‑S status and allows you to officially supervise P‑LPCs and report their hours.

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8. Ongoing obligations and limits once you are LPC‑S

Mississippi sets specific expectations for how an LPC‑S conducts supervision.

8.1 Supervisor guidelines

The LPC‑S guidelines include the following obligations: (msblpc.org)

• Monthly reporting

  • Maintain monthly reporting of supervisees’ logged hours through the Board’s online system.

• Supervisee load limit

  • Limit the number of supervisees to no more than ten (10) individuals at a time.

• Supervisory agreements

  • Complete an online Supervisory Agreement for each supervisee that specifies the time and place of anticipated supervision.

• No relatives

  • LPC‑S may not supervise a relative.

• Annual evaluations

  • Complete a yearly online evaluation for each supervisee.

• Discipline restriction

  • LPC‑S cannot supervise if they incur any disciplinary action by the Board.

• Professional association membership

  • Maintain ongoing membership in a professional organization, consistent with the Board’s definition of a Qualified/LPC‑S supervisor. (lpc.ms.gov)

8.2 Continuing‑education hour requirements for supervisors

On the continuing education page, the Board states that a Qualified Supervisor must complete: (lpc.ms.gov)

• A minimum of one (1) hour of supervision continuing education per year,
• For a minimum of two (2) hours per renewal period (LPC renewals are on a two‑year cycle).

These supervision‑specific hours are in addition to the 24 total CE hours required for LPC renewal, of which 6 hours must be in ethics or legal issues. (lpc.ms.gov)

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9. How this compares to your “direct vs. supervised hours” example

To address your example directly (e.g., “1,500 hours of direct experience and 1,500 hours of supervised experience”):

• Mississippi does not specify additional numeric clinical‑hour requirements for the LPC‑S credential itself in the way some states do (e.g., “X hours as a supervisor‑in‑training”).
• Instead, Mississippi’s LPC‑S standards rely on:
  • 5 years of mental health counseling experience, including 2 years as a Mississippi LPC, and
  • 45 clock hours of supervision training, via graduate coursework, Board‑approved training, or NBCC Approved Supervisor credential. (msblpc.org)

The detailed hour breakdown (direct vs. indirect, individual vs. group supervision) exists mainly in Rule 4.3 for the supervised experience required to become an LPC, not for LPC‑S. The LPC‑S requirements themselves are experience‑time‑based plus training‑hours‑based, not framed as a new set of clinical hours like 1,500 direct / 1,500 supervised.

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10. Notes on evolving rules

The Board has published proposed revisions to its Rules and Regulations (including Rule 4.3 on LPC requirements) and opened them for public comment in late 2025. (msblpc.org)

Because of this, anyone planning to apply for LPC‑S should:

• Verify the current LPC‑S page and Rules and Regulations on the Board’s site just before applying, to ensure that no recent changes have altered the experience, training, or documentation requirements described above.