National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) — exam facts
United States (used for state counselor licensure and NBCC certification)
Every source below was read on 2026-09-25
| Administering body | National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc. (NBCC) — exam delivered by Pearson VUE NBCC administers the exam through the Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE). Candidates test in person at a Pearson VUE test center or online through Pearson VUE's OnVUE. Content outline revised October 8, 2025 (share of scored items): Professional Practice and Ethics 15%, Intake, Assessment, and Diagnosis 25%, Treatment Planning 15%, Counseling Skills and Interventions 30%, Core Counseling Attributes 15%; Areas of Clinical Focus is assessed through the cases' diagnoses and scenarios rather than as scored items. NBCC has published new NCMHCE specifications effective July 1, 2027: 10 case studies, a 100–500 score scale with a passing point of 360, and new domains. Source: NBCC — Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) (Revised Nov. 20, 2025, PDF) (2026-09-25) |
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| Questions | 130–150 questions The questions are multiple choice, spread across 11 case studies of 9–15 questions each. One case study is unscored and used to gather statistics for future forms. Source: NBCC — Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) (Revised Nov. 20, 2025, PDF) (2026-09-25) |
| Time limit | 225 minutes 225 minutes to complete the examination, within a 255-minute session that also includes a 5-minute nondisclosure agreement, a 10-minute tutorial and one scheduled 15-minute break after the fifth case study. Source: NBCC — Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) (Revised Nov. 20, 2025, PDF) (2026-09-25) |
| Passing score | Not published by NBCC NBCC sets the cut score through standard setting by subject matter experts and carries it to other forms by statistical equating, so it varies slightly from form to form. The score is the number of the 100 scored questions answered correctly; NBCC publishes no fixed cut score. What we read and found nothing in: NBCC — Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) (Revised Nov. 20, 2025, PDF) (2026-09-25) · NBCC — Content Outline, The National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) (Revised October 8, 2025, PDF) (2026-09-25) · NBCC — About the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) (2026-09-25) |
| Fees |
These are NBCC's prices for taking the NCMHCE as part of an NCC or CCMHC certification application. The fee for registering for the NCMHCE for state licensure is not printed in NBCC's state licensure handbook; the handbook says the examination fee is due at every reregistration and charges $50 to reschedule an appointment. Source: NBCC — National Certified Counselor (Application Fees for Certification) (2026-09-25) |
| Languages offered | Not published by NBCC Neither the state licensure handbook, the content outline, NBCC's NCMHCE page nor the specifications effective July 1, 2027 state which languages the NCMHCE is offered in. What we read and found nothing in: NBCC — Candidate Handbook for State Licensure, National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) (Revised Nov. 20, 2025, PDF) (2026-09-25) · NBCC — Content Outline, The National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) (Revised October 8, 2025, PDF) (2026-09-25) · NBCC — About the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) (2026-09-25) · NBCC — State Licensure (2026-09-25) · NBCC — National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) Examination Specifications, Effective July 1, 2027 (PDF) (2026-09-25) |
Change log
- 2026-09-25Fact sheet created from NBCC's NCMHCE state licensure handbook (revised November 20, 2025), the NCMHCE content outline (revised October 8, 2025), NBCC's certification fee table and NBCC's NCMHCE specifications effective July 1, 2027.