Georgia LPC and APC Application: Checklist and Forms (2026)

Two Applications, One Track

Getting from a graduate counseling degree to a Georgia Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) license runs through two separate applications. The first is for the Associate Professional Counselor (APC) license, the credential a candidate holds while completing post-degree directed experience under supervision. The second is the LPC application itself, filed once that experience is done. Both are filed the same way: "We are no longer accepting paper applications. All paper applications received will be returned to sender. Please log into the GOALS portal to submit applications." (board main page).

The experience that separates the two applications is two years of post-degree experience under direction and supervision in a work setting acceptable to the Board (O.C.G.A. § 43-10A-11(a)(2)(B)), the standard the Georgia Composite Board of Professional Counselors, Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists applies to applications received on or after July 1, 2022 (Board Policy VIII, approved November 17, 2022). Chapter 135-5 of the Board's rules still prints an older schedule tied to degree level, but the statute controls. For the hour totals and how supervision breaks down within them, see Georgia LPC hour requirements and Georgia LPC supervision requirements. This guide covers what goes into the paperwork itself.

What the APC Application Asks For

The APC application checklist, as the Board's How-To Guide sets it out, includes the application itself in GOALS, the Contract Affidavit, official transcripts, the Practicum-Internship Verification, a national background check, disciplinary-action documentation if applicable, verification of licensure held in another state, and identity and citizenship documents (LPC How-To Guide).

The Contract Affidavit: A Separate Form for Every Site and Supervisor

Directed experience is gained under a contract registered with the Board: "The applicant shall register with the Board an acceptable contract, the Directed Experience Under Supervision Contract" (Rule 135-5-.01(b)2). That registration is not a single filing covering an entire career. "You must complete a SEPARATE CONTRACT AFFIDAVIT for EACH directed experience site and supervisor" (APC Contract Affidavit, 2/17/2026), so a candidate who changes jobs, or who works under more than one supervisor at a time, files more than one.

Three people sign each Contract Affidavit: the applicant, the Director and the Supervisor (APC Contract Affidavit, 2/17/2026). The current form has no notary section. The Director and the Supervisor are not the same role. Direction is "the ongoing administrative overseeing by an employer or superior" (Rule 135-5-.02(a)2), while supervision is "the direct clinical review, for the purpose of training or teaching, by a supervisor of a Professional Counselor's interaction with their client(s)" (Rule 135-5-.02(a)4).

Changes to the contract, a new site, a new supervisor, or a new director, carry their own deadline: "The applicant is responsible for notifying the Board of any changes in the contract, by submitting a new contract within fourteen (14) days of the change." (Rule 135-5-.01(b)2).

The Exam, and the Order Everything Happens In

Before the Board issues an APC license, the candidate has to pass the required exam: "To qualify for licensure as an associate professional counselor, applicant must pass the required competency examination for licensure prescribed by the Board" (Rule 135-5-.01(b)3). The rules do not name which exam that is.

Passing the exam does not by itself finish the APC application. The Contract Affidavit still has to be received and approved by the Board before the license issues.

The LPC Application: Forms A, C, E and N

The LPC checklist again includes official transcripts, a national background check and citizenship documents, and adds the verification forms for the experience the candidate just completed: Form A (Practicum-Internship Verification), Form C (the Post-Master's Directed Work Experience Verification Form), Form E (the Post-Master's Clinical Supervision Verification Form), and Form N, the Verification of licensure held in another state, which the LPC How-To Guide lists on every LPC checklist.

Current APCs do not retake the competency exam to become an LPC (Rule 135-3-.03(2)(b)2). Form E carries no individual or group split, so the tracking burden for that distinction sits with the contemporaneous record every Board rule requires. The verification forms for every Georgia track are collected in Georgia supervised experience verification forms.

References, Background Check and Citizenship

Two more pieces sit underneath the forms. The Board requires "at least two personal references from supervisors, teachers, or any combination thereof on forms furnished by the Board" (Rule 135-3-.03(1)(a)2), a requirement of the rule on licensure by examination. And the background check named on that checklist is a fingerprint record check run through the Georgia Crime Information Center and the FBI (O.C.G.A. § 43-10A-8(5)).

Processing Time, Deficiencies and the One-Year Clock

Once a file lands at the Board, "Applications are generally processed within 20 business days of receipt, excluding weekends and holidays." (LPC How-To Guide). "If you receive a deficiency letter, your 20 day count restarts when the Board receives your correct and complete documentation." (LPC How-To Guide).

An incomplete file does not sit indefinitely. "Incomplete applications may be withdrawn if noted deficiencies are not satisfied within 60 days of said notification." (60-day Deficiency Policy, eff. August 1, 2021). A file also has to clear a separate calendar cutoff to reach a given Board meeting: "Applications must be complete and received at least 15 days prior to a Board Meeting to be added to that meeting's agenda." (LPC How-To Guide).

The application itself has a shelf life too. "An application is active for one year after which a new application and fee are required." (Rule 135-3-.03(1)(a)). A candidate who starts an APC application, sets it aside, and returns well over a year later is not picking up where they left off; they are starting over with a new fee.

What the Applications Cost

Both applications carry the same headline cost: $100, per the Board's fee schedule, for each license, the APC application and the LPC application alike. Exam fees are a separate matter, paid directly to the examination vendor rather than to the Board (Board Fee Schedule).

Common Mistakes on the Georgia Application

Related Georgia LPC Guides

FAQ: Georgia LPC and APC Application