Wyoming LPC Requirements & Hours Tracker

Licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Wyoming is governed by the Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board under the Mental Health Professions Practice Act and its accompanying rules. The process is structured around two licenses:

• Provisional Professional Counselor (PPC) – for post‑degree supervised practice.
• Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) – for independent practice.

Below is a concise, step‑by‑step description focusing on the exact hour types and terminology the Board uses.

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1. Basic eligibility and role of the LPC

A Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) is defined in Board rules as a person licensed under the Act to practice professional counseling independent of administrative or clinical supervision. (law.cornell.edu)

To be licensed, you must (among other things):

• Have reached the age of majority. (law.justia.com)
• Have no felony convictions and no misdemeanors that adversely relate to the ability to practice, unless the Board grants an exception in the public interest. (law.justia.com)
• Meet the education, supervised experience, and examination requirements described below.

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2. Education requirements for LPC licensure

Degree level and accreditation

Board rules require that an LPC applicant:

• Hold a master’s or doctorate degree in counseling from a CACREP (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs) or CORE (Council on Rehabilitation Education)–accredited counseling program. (regulations.justia.com)

If the program is not CACREP/CORE‑accredited, it can still qualify if it is from a regionally or nationally accredited institution recognized by CHEA and is “substantially similar in content as required by CACREP,” including instructor qualifications, clinical supervision, and coursework. (regulations.justia.com)

Credit‑hour requirement

For non‑CACREP/CORE programs, the rules specify minimum graduate coursework:

• At least 48 semester hours (or 72 quarter hours) of graduate counseling coursework for earlier graduates.
• For degrees awarded after July 1, 2013, at least 60 semester hours (or 90 quarter hours) of graduate counseling coursework are required. (regulations.justia.com)

Required practicum and internship (pre‑degree)

Within the qualifying graduate program, the Board rules describe minimum field training:

• Practicum

  • Supervised practicum experiences totaling a minimum of 100 clock hours over at least a 10‑week academic term. (regulations.justia.com)

• Internship

  • A supervised internship of 600 clock hours begun after successful completion of the practicum.
  • The internship must include at least 240 clock hours of direct service, including experience leading groups.
  • It must provide weekly individual or triadic supervision (about one hour per week) and an average of 1.5 hours per week of group supervision by program faculty. (regulations.justia.com)

These practicum and internship hours are educational and do not count toward the post‑degree supervised hours required for LPC licensure.

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3. Provisional Professional Counselor (PPC): the supervised practice license

Wyoming uses a provisional license as the mechanism for accruing post‑degree supervised hours.

What a PPC is

Board rules and definitions describe a Provisional Professional Counselor (PPC) as a person provisionally licensed under the Act to practice professional counseling for which they are qualified by training and experience, under the supervision of a designated qualified clinical supervisor (DQCS). (law.cornell.edu)

Statute further clarifies that a provisional licensed professional counselor…shall be allowed to practice only under the supervision of a qualified clinical supervisor and in accordance with any other restrictions specified by the board. (law.justia.com)

Chapter 7 rules on provisional licenses require, among other things:

• The titles “Provisional Professional Counselor” or “PPC” may be used only after the Board has granted the provisional license and only for services that are part of the supervised clinical experience.
• The provisional licensee’s professional disclosure must clearly state the supervised nature of their work and list the DQCS’s name, address, and phone number. (regulations.justia.com)

Applying for the PPC

The Board’s “Application & Forms” page describes several relevant applications, including Provisional Professional Counselor and Provisional to Full Licensure. The PPC is “intended for those with a master’s degree in counseling who need to pass their examination and earn supervised experience.” (mentalhealth.wyo.gov)

Typical PPC application components outlined by the Board and university licensure disclosures include: (mentalhealth.wyo.gov)

• Completed PPC application and fee.
• Official transcripts showing the counseling degree and required coursework.
• A Supervision Agreement that must be approved by the Board before you begin collecting supervised hours.
• A Professional Disclosure Statement meeting Board requirements.
• Proof of lawful presence.
• Two FBI fingerprint cards (FD‑258) for state and federal background checks, completed within six months of submission.

Duration of the provisional license

By statute, provisional licenses expire 36 months after issuance, unless extended for good cause by the Board, or earlier if a full license is granted. (law.justia.com)

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4. Post‑degree supervised clinical training/work experience

This is where the exact hour breakdown and Board wording matter most. The requirements are set out in Chapter 11, Section 11‑4 – Supervised Training/Work Experience Requirement for Licensure and in the licensing statute.

Total number of supervised hours

The Board rule states that an LPC applicant must complete:

• “A minimum of three thousand (3,000) hours of supervised clinical training/work experience in professional counseling under the direct supervision of a DQCS.” (regulations.justia.com)

Wyoming statute on licensure is consistent and describes this as 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience including at least 100 hours of face‑to‑face individual clinical supervision by a qualified clinical supervisor. (codes.findlaw.com)

Timeframe for accumulating hours

Board rules specify that these 3,000 supervised hours:

• Must be completed over no less than 18 months and no more than 36 months, unless the Board grants an extension. (regulations.justia.com)

Post‑degree requirement

All supervised hours must be after completion of the qualifying graduate degree:

• “All three thousand (3,000) hours…shall be completed after the award of the graduate degree.” (regulations.justia.com)

Practicum and internship hours done as part of the degree do not count toward these 3,000 hours.

Direct client contact hours vs. indirect hours

Within the 3,000 supervised hours, the Board distinguishes between direct and indirect activities:

• Direct client contact hours

  • At least 1,200 hours of the 3,000 must be direct client contact hours. (regulations.justia.com)
  • While the rule does not exhaustively define this phrase, in practice it refers to providing counseling services directly to clients (individual, group, couple, or family sessions, including telehealth when permitted).

• Indirect hours

  • The remaining hours (up to 1,800, depending on how many direct hours you accrue above the minimum) are classified by the Board as indirect hours.
  • The rule states that these indirect hours must consist of “work experience that supports the direct client contact hours,” with examples including charting, preparation, meetings, trainings, or other duties of counseling. (regulations.justia.com)

Put numerically, the core breakdown is:

• 3,000 total supervised clinical training/work experience hours, comprised of:
  • At least 1,200 hours of direct client contact, and
  • Up to 1,800 hours of indirect, supportive counseling work (documentation, case prep, meetings, trainings, etc.).

Required clinical supervision hours

In addition to being “supervised” in a general sense, the rules also require a documented minimum of formal clinical supervision:

• “A minimum of one hundred (100) post graduate degree hours of clinical supervision with a DQCS” is required. (regulations.justia.com)

The licensing statute frames the same requirement as 3,000 hours of supervised clinical experience including a minimum of 100 hours of face‑to‑face individual clinical supervision from a qualified clinical supervisor. (codes.findlaw.com)

In practice, this means:

• Across your 3,000 supervised hours, you must log at least 100 hours of formal clinical supervision (individual or triadic, typically face‑to‑face or its approved equivalent) provided by a designated qualified clinical supervisor (DQCS) approved under Board rules.

Many schools and licensure summaries describe this practically as about one hour of supervision for every 30 hours of clinical work, completed within the same 18–36‑month window. (waldenu.edu)

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5. Examination requirement

Both provisional and full LPC licensure in Wyoming require passage of a national counseling examination approved by the Board.

Approved exams

Per the Board’s Examination Information page and Chapter 11 rules, applicants for Provisional Professional Counselor and Licensed Professional Counselor must pass one of the following: (mentalhealth.wyo.gov)

• NBCC National Counselor Examination (NCE)
• NBCC National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE)
• The Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) examination administered by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC), or
• Another examination approved by the Board.

You must be:

• Either a current PPC working toward independent licensure, or
• An applicant with a valid Wyoming license application that lists the exam as a requirement,

in order for the Board to approve you to sit for the exam under its auspices. (mentalhealth.wyo.gov)

Attempt limits

The Board limits examination attempts:

• Applicants are allowed three attempts to meet the exam requirement.
• A fourth attempt may be permitted if the Board approves a remediation plan submitted by the applicant. (mentalhealth.wyo.gov)

If you have already passed the exam in another jurisdiction or as part of your program, you must have your official score transferred to the Wyoming Board by the testing agency. (mentalhealth.wyo.gov)

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6. Converting from PPC to full LPC (“Provisional to Full Licensure”)

Once you have:

1. Completed the qualifying master’s/doctoral degree in counseling with the required coursework and field experience, (regulations.justia.com)
2. Held a PPC and finished 3,000 hours of supervised clinical training/work experience in professional counseling, including:
   • At least 1,200 direct client contact hours, and
   • Sufficient indirect hours to total 3,000, and
   • At least 100 hours of clinical supervision with a DQCS, (regulations.justia.com)
3. Passed one of the Board‑approved national counseling exams, (mentalhealth.wyo.gov)

you apply to the Board using its “Provisional to Full Licensure” application for LPC. (mentalhealth.wyo.gov)

Although the Board’s forms contain the specific format, this stage generally involves:

• Submitting the Provisional‑to‑Full application and fee.
• Providing documentation from your DQCS verifying:
  • Total supervised hours completed,
  • Number of direct client contact hours,
  • Number of indirect hours, and
  • 100 hours of clinical supervision. (waldenu.edu)
• Ensuring the Board has your official exam score and any updated background or data bank checks required by its current procedures. (mentalhealth.wyo.gov)

After Board review and approval, the PPC is converted to a full Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), at which point you may practice professional counseling independently, without required clinical supervision. (law.cornell.edu)

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7. Hour requirements in plain numbers

Summarizing the key quantitative requirements that come directly from Wyoming’s statutes and Board rules:

Pre‑degree (within your graduate program) (regulations.justia.com)

• 100 clock hours: supervised practicum (minimum, over at least 10 weeks).
• 600 clock hours: supervised internship, including:
  • At least 240 hours of direct service,
  • Ongoing individual/triadic and group supervision as specified in Chapter 11.

Post‑degree (under PPC license, toward LPC) (regulations.justia.com)

• 3,000 hours total of supervised clinical training/work experience in professional counseling, all after the graduate degree.
  • Minimum 1,200 hours of direct client contact.
  • Remaining up to 1,800 hours may be indirect hours (documentation, preparation, meetings, trainings, other counseling duties) that support direct client work.
  • Minimum 100 hours of post‑graduate clinical supervision with a designated qualified clinical supervisor (DQCS), provided as face‑to‑face individual or triadic supervision under Board rules and statute.
  • All 3,000 hours must be completed in no less than 18 months and no more than 36 months, unless the Board grants an extension.

These are the controlling figures and terminology used by the Wyoming Mental Health Professions Licensing Board for licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor as of mid‑2025.