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NCE

The NCE is used for two purposes: national counselor certification and state counselor licensure.

Many states also use the NCE for state credentialing (LPC, LAPC, LPGC, etc). Click here for a list of state board contact information.

The purpose of the NCE is to assess knowledge, skills, and abilities viewed as important for providing effective counseling services. The NCE is designed to be general in nature. It is intended to assess cognitive knowledge which should be known by all counselors regardless of their individual professional specialties.

• Human Growth and Development
• Social and Cultural Foundations
• Helping Relationships
• Group Work
• Career and Lifestyle Development
• Appraisal
• Research and Program Evaluation
• Professional Orientation & Ethics

In addition, the NCE is based on the following five work behaviors:

• Fundamentals of Counseling
• Assessment and Career Counseling
• Group Counseling
• Programmatic and Clinical Intervention
• Professional Practice Issues
   

• The NCE is comprised of 200 multiple choice questions and is scheduled for a four-hour period beginning at 9:00 a.m. Responses are recorded on a separate machine-scorable answer sheet.
• A different edition of the NCE is compiled for each administration of the exam. Each form's questions are drawn from the NCE item pool which has undergone extensive review and field testing. The entire item pool, each form of the NCE and the answer sheet are copyrighted. Consequently, any distribution of the examination content or materials through any form of reproduction or oral or written communication is strictly prohibited. Disclosure of examination content is a violation of the NBCC Code of Ethics.

• Examination administration sites are selected with access for candidates with physical disabilities. If you require special assistance from other individuals, such as readers or recorders, you must request permission from NBCC for the admittance of an assisting individual at the examination site. This request must be made in writing at the time of application.
• If you cannot participate in the examination on Saturday for religious reasons, send a written request with your application to arrange for a special administration of the NCE on the Friday immediately preceding or the Monday immediately following the scheduled administration date.
• Four hours are scheduled for the NCE. If additional time is necessary because of special needs or because English is a candidate's second language, you may request a time extension. This request must be submitted in writing with your application.
   

Click here to email NBCC's Examinations Department concerning Special Accommodations. All requests for special accommodations are reviewed individually and are subject to NBCC approval.

• Of the 200 items on the examination, only 160 items are scored to determine whether you meet or surpass the minimum criterion (passing) score for that form of the NCE.
• The MAXIMUM possible score on the NCE is 160.
• The remaining 40 items on the exam are being field tested to determine their appropriateness for future use.
• Since the 160 items to be scored are not identified in the exam booklet, you should respond with equal effort to all items.
• The minimum criterion (passing) score is derived from a modified Angoff procedure.

• The NCE is not scored on a "curve," therefore the candidate pool does not determine the passing score.

• NBCC will mail examination results to examinees within eight weeks of the date of the examination. No scores are released by telephone.
• NBCC's score report contains: (1) your number of correct responses for 13 domains on the NCE and your TOTAL SCORE, which is the sum of the correct responses; (2) the group mean and standard deviation for each domain and the total exam; (3) the minimum criterion (passing) score for that form of the NCE.
• If your TOTAL SCORE meets or exceeds the minimum criterion score, you have passed the NCE. Score reports are mailed only to the examinee at the address provided on the NCC application or Exam Registration Form.
• It is your responsibility to send written notification to NBCC if there is a change of address. Click here to email a change of address.

• Your specific examination scores will not be released to a third party without your written permission. Scores cannot be released until all requirements, including fees, are fulfilled. There is a fee charged for sending score verifications to third parties. Click here for more information on requesting score verifications.