How to Start a Counseling Practice in Virginia: LPC License $175, Annual Renewal $130, 2,000-Hour Residency

Starting a private counseling practice in Virginia happens in a fixed order. First you earn the right to practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) through the Board of Counseling. Then you choose how the practice is owned, and finally you handle the operational and local items that let you open for business. This guide follows that order and lists the fees and hour requirements that the regulations set.

This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Licensing rules, entity choices and tax treatment depend on your own facts. Confirm current figures with the agency named in each section, and consult a Virginia attorney and a CPA before you form an entity, sign a lease or sign payer contracts.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you file anything. Most delays come from missing transcripts or an unsigned supervision arrangement, not from the fees.

• An official transcript showing a graduate degree with at least 60 semester hours (or 90 quarter hours) of graduate study
• A supervisor who agrees in writing to supervise your residency, with supervision at a rate of 1 to 4 hours for every 40 hours worked
• A written log of face-to-face client contact hours and supervision hours, started on your first day as a resident
• Funds for the Board fees in Step 4, plus the exam fee, which is paid to the exam vendor and not to the state
• Access to the SCC Clerk's Information System (CIS) at cis.scc.virginia.gov if you plan to form an entity
• An Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS if you will form an LLC or corporation, or hire staff

Step 1: Register as a Resident in Counseling

The Board of Counseling is part of the Virginia Department of Health Professions, which you can find at dhp.virginia.gov. The Board's regulations are in 18VAC115-20. The path runs from a graduate degree to registration as a resident in counseling, then to a supervised residency, then to the licensing exam, and finally to the LPC license.

Once you have the degree, file the resident in counseling application. It costs $65. Register before you start accruing hours so that your residency is documented from the beginning. Keep transcripts and supervisor information organized, because the Board will check them against your file.

Step 2: Complete the 2,000-Hour Residency

The residency requires at least 2,000 hours of face-to-face client contact, with at least 200 hours of in-person supervision. Supervision is calculated at 1 to 4 hours for every 40 hours worked, so a full-time resident needs supervision spread across the whole period, not packed into one block at the end.

Some hours earned before you apply can count. Under 18VAC115-20-51 and 18VAC115-20-52, you may count up to 1,000 face-to-face hours and 100 supervision hours earned within the two years before you apply. Read both sections in full, because the conditions attached to that credit matter. Do not assume every prior hour qualifies.

You remain a resident in counseling until you pass the licensing exam and the license is granted. Completing the hours alone does not make you an LPC.

Step 3: Pass the Exam and Apply for the LPC

When your hours are documented and your supervisor is ready to sign off, you sit for the licensing examination. The exam fee is paid to the exam vendor, not to the Commonwealth. Check the vendor's registration page and the Board for the current price before you budget for it.

The LPC application and initial license fee is $175 whether you qualify by examination or by endorsement. Ask the Board which forms and submission method apply to your situation, and file only after your residency records are complete.

Step 4: Know the Full Board Fee Schedule

The fees below come from 18VAC115-20-20. Budget for the recurring costs, not just the initial $175.

Item	Fee
LPC application and initial license, by examination or endorsement	$175
Resident in counseling application	$65
Active annual renewal, LPC	$130
Inactive annual renewal, LPC	$65
Annual renewal, resident in counseling	$30
Late renewal, LPC	$45
Reinstatement of a lapsed license	$200
Reinstatement after revocation or suspension	$600

Step 5: Renew Every Year and Complete 20 Hours of Continuing Education

Renewal is annual, not every two years. Each renewal is due by June 30. Each year an LPC must complete 20 hours of continuing education (CE), including 2 hours on ethics and law, under 18VAC115-20-100 and 18VAC115-20-105. Keep a certificate from every course.

Plan your CE at the start of each licensing year. Counselors who wait until spring often find that ethics courses are full or that the hours they need are not offered. If your renewal is late, the LPC late fee is $45. If your license lapses, reinstatement costs $200. If your license was revoked or suspended, reinstatement costs $600, and you should contact the Board before you assume the process is routine.

If you step away from practice, the inactive renewal of $65 is an option for an LPC. Confirm with the Board whether inactive status fits your plans before you switch.

Step 6: Choose the Practice Entity

Your entity choice controls who may own the practice, how income is reported and which filings you owe. Virginia has no general state business license. The State Corporation Commission (SCC) forms entities and issues no business license. The local license is a separate item covered in Step 8.

• Sole proprietorship. No formation filing is required. If you practice under a name other than your own, file an Assumed Name Certificate with the SCC for $10. It is not filed with the circuit court.
• Ordinary LLC. File Articles of Organization (Form LLC1011) for $100. Virginia LLCs file no annual report. They pay a $50 annual registration fee to the SCC, due the last day of the 12th month after the month the LLC was organized, and every year after that. The SCC assesses the fee about two months ahead. A late payment adds a $25 penalty, and the LLC is canceled at the end of the third month after the due date.
• Professional LLC or professional corporation. Under Va. Code 13.1-1102, 13.1-1103 and 13.1-544, a professional LLC or professional corporation may have only licensed members of the same profession. A general LLC with non-counselor members is not a professional LLC. Check with the State Corporation Commission for the fee for professional articles before you budget for it.
• Stock corporation. File Articles of Incorporation (Form SCC619) for $75. Corporations must file an annual report and pay an annual registration fee based on authorized shares: $100 for up to 5,000 authorized shares, plus $30 for each additional 5,000 shares. Check the SCC annual fee schedule for the current figures.

A solo counselor may be able to practice as a sole proprietor or in an ordinary LLC. Whether a plain LLC may render counseling services is a licensing and professional conduct question, so ask an attorney before you sign a lease or payer contract under that entity. Name reservation costs $10 and holds the name for 120 days. The name must contain 'limited company', 'limited liability company', 'LC', 'L.C.', 'LLC' or 'L.L.C.' and must be distinguishable from names already on file. Search existing names at cis.scc.virginia.gov before you choose one.

Step 7: Set Up the Practice

Decide whether you will meet clients in an office, by telehealth or both. An office lease carries fixed monthly costs and terms that vary widely, so get the lease reviewed by an attorney. Telehealth lowers overhead but still requires a private, secure space for sessions.

If you practice from home, your locality's home-occupation zoning rules apply. Check with the county or city zoning office before you see your first client at home.

Obtain malpractice and general liability insurance before you accept any client. Get written quotes from several carriers. Premiums depend on your specialty, location and claims history, so get quotes before you budget.

Build a HIPAA privacy program and a records system. Adopt written privacy practices, store records securely and set a retention schedule. Confirm record-keeping requirements with the Board of Counseling and your attorney.

If you join insurance panels, start credentialing early. Each payer has its own application and enrollment timeline, and you cannot bill those payers until enrollment is complete. Set up billing and practice management software, and use it to track claims from the first session.

If you hire staff, Virginia's minimum wage is $12.77 in 2026, $13.75 in 2027 and $15.00 in 2028. Confirm payroll and employment obligations with a CPA.

Step 8: Handle the Local License and Tax Items

Virginia's local business license is the Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) tax, under Va. Code 58.1-3700 et seq. Each city or county administers its own BPOL, usually through the Commissioner of the Revenue. The state does not set a single rate, and localities set their own rates and filing deadlines.

Not every locality levies a general license. Va. Code 58.1-3704 allows a locality to levy none. Stafford, Rockingham, Bedford County, Washington County, Montgomery County, Louisa and Fluvanna are examples of localities without a general county license. In some places a town can displace the county tax, so check both the town and the county.

State law also sets a population-based floor. A locality with more than 50,000 people cannot require a license for gross receipts under $100,000. A locality with 25,000 to 50,000 people cannot require one for gross receipts under $50,000. No floor applies to a locality under 25,000 people. Localities over 50,000 people may waive the license for gross receipts up to $200,000, but verify that ceiling with your locality before you rely on it.

Call the Commissioner of the Revenue in the city or county where you will practice. Ask whether a general license applies to your gross receipts, what the rate is, and when it is due. Do not assume the rate from a neighboring jurisdiction.

Practice income is taxed in Virginia. A sole proprietor reports it on the personal income tax, which runs from 2% to 5.75%. A corporation pays the 6% flat corporate income tax. Check the Virginia Department of Taxation at tax.virginia.gov for current filing details.

Finally, do not assume your Virginia license carries across state lines. Check with the Board of Counseling whether Virginia participates in any licensure compact before you offer services to clients located outside Virginia.

Tips and Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Starting the hour log late. Hours without contemporaneous records are hard to verify. Log every session and supervision meeting the day it happens.
• Assuming renewal is every two years. Renewal is annual and due by June 30.
• Forming a general LLC with a non-counselor partner. That structure is not a professional LLC. Fix the ownership question before you file.
• Filing the assumed name with the circuit court. The Assumed Name Certificate is filed with the SCC for $10.
• Skipping the local check because you have heard the county has no license. Confirm with your own locality, because the town may have its own tax.
• Missing the ethics CE. Two of the 20 required hours are ethics and law. Schedule them early.
• Letting insurance lapse during the transition. Keep coverage continuous from your first client to the day you close.
• Signing a home-office arrangement without checking zoning. Confirm home-occupation rules before you advertise your address.

What Results to Expect

Following these steps may help you move from graduate school to an operating practice in an orderly way. Timing depends on how quickly your supervisor completes documentation, how the Board processes your file and how your locality handles its license. For many counselors the residency is the longest phase. Nothing in this guide guarantees licensure, insurance approval, payer enrollment or a particular client volume.

Next Steps

Work through the steps in order, and confirm each figure on the official agency page before you file. The main resources are the Virginia State Corporation Commission at scc.virginia.gov/businesses, the SCC Clerk's Information System at cis.scc.virginia.gov, the Virginia Department of Taxation at tax.virginia.gov, and the Virginia Small Business Development Center network at virginiasbdc.org for free advising on the business side of your plan. For the licensing rules, go to the Board of Counseling through the Department of Health Professions at dhp.virginia.gov.

When your entity, insurance and local license are in place, you are ready to take clients. Revisit the Board's renewal date and your CE plan at the start of each year so that the next June 30 deadline does not catch you unprepared.