How to become a Christian counselor: licenses, certifications, and costs

A certificate earned through a handful of online courses and a state license earned after graduate school and years of supervised practice can both lead to work helping people through hard seasons. Only one of them lets you diagnose depression, bill a client's insurance, or open a private practice. The credential you choose first decides the school you apply to, what you spend, and which employers will call you back.

To become a Christian counselor, choose one of three paths: a state license (LPC or LMFT) through a master's degree, supervised hours, and an exam; pastoral counseling as a minister on church staff; or biblical counseling certification through ACBC, IABC, or ABC. Only the license lets you diagnose, treat mental illness, and bill insurance.

Key takeaways

Your goal	The credential that gets you there
Diagnose and treat mental health conditions, take insurance, or open a practice	A state license (LPC, LMHC, or LMFT): master's degree, supervised clinical hours, and a state-recognized exam
Counsel members as part of your role in church leadership	Seminary training and ordination, with the counseling done under the church's authority
Counsel from Scripture in a church or biblical counseling center	Biblical counseling certification; ACBC lists about $1,400 and a two-year average completion
Add Christian training to a license or ministry role	Certificates from groups such as AACC's credentialing board or NACC, which are not licenses
Know the pay before you pick	A median about $62k across 61 counseling listings with complete salary ranges, according to ChristianJobsList.com listing data (as of October 2026)

Last updated October 2026

Which counseling credential matches the work you want to do?

Christian counselors work under three different kinds of authority, and each one sets limits on what you may legally do. Sort out which authority you need before you compare schools or certificates.

State licensure. A licensed professional counselor (LPC) or licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) holds a credential from a state board. The American Counseling Association explains that states generally require a master's degree in counseling, supervised experience, and passing exams, and that each state sets the scope of practice and diagnostic authority its license allows. Faith shows up in how the counselor works with clients who ask for it and in the employers the counselor chooses.
Pastoral counseling. Clergy counsel people as part of their ministerial duties. Many state counseling laws exempt that work from licensure when it happens under a church's authority, but the exemption has conditions, covered below.
Biblical counseling certification. Private associations such as the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC), the International Association of Biblical Counselors (IABC), and the Association of Biblical Counselors (ABC) train and certify counselors who rely on Scripture as their framework. Certification carries weight in churches and ministries. It gives you no clinical or legal authority.

The table below compares the paths, using each organization's own published figures where they exist.

Path	Time and cost	What you can legally do
Licensed counselor (LPC, LMHC)	2-3 year master's, then 2,000-4,000 supervised hours depending on the state; graduate tuition, plus exam and license fees	Diagnose and treat within your state's scope, bill insurance, practice independently once fully licensed
Licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT)	Master's degree, then state-set postdegree supervised hours; graduate tuition, plus exam and license fees	Treat individuals, couples, and families within your state's scope
Pastoral counselor	Set by your seminary and denomination; seminary tuition	Counsel within your ministerial duties under church authority, where your state exempts clergy
ACBC certified biblical counselor	Two-year average, with a four-year deadline for Phases 1 and 2; about $1,400	Counsel from Scripture in ministry settings; no diagnosis or insurance billing
ABC Level 1 (ABC1)	One-year completion window; $705 plus $99 first-year dues	Same as other biblical counseling certifications
IABC certified biblical counselor	Time and tuition set by your training center	Same as other biblical counseling certifications
Christian counseling certificate (NACC, AACC's board)	NACC's program is five courses; NACC lists $650	Nothing beyond what you could already do; it documents training

Time and supervised-hour ranges for the licensed path come from BestColleges. Requirements change, so confirm them with your state board.

How do you become a licensed Christian counselor?

The licensed route is the one to choose if you want to treat anxiety, depression, trauma, or addiction as a clinician, whether at a Christian practice or a secular one. Learning how to become a Christian counselor with a license comes down to the same steps every licensed counselor follows, with faith integration layered on through your program and your employer.

Finish a bachelor's degree. Psychology, social work, and human services are common majors, though some counseling master's programs accept other fields.
Earn a counseling master's degree. The ACA's education page says licensure requires a master's in counseling or a related field with a practicum and internship, typically 48 to 60 credits. It lists Florida (beginning July 1, 2025), Kentucky, North Carolina, and Ohio as states that require a degree accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), and notes that many other states require a CACREP-style curriculum.
Log supervised hours after graduation. Some states issue an associate license while you work under a licensed supervisor, with titles such as licensed associate counselor (LAC) or licensed professional counselor associate (LPCA).
Pass the exam your state requires. Counselors take the National Counselor Examination (NCE), the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE), or both, depending on the state. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says marriage and family therapists must pass a state-recognized exam and complete annual continuing education.
Apply for the full license and keep it current with continuing education each renewal cycle.

Choose between the LPC and the LMFT by the clients you want to see. The LPC or LMHC fits general individual counseling, while the LMFT is built around couples and families.

Which Christian universities offer CACREP-accredited master's programs?

Several Christian schools hold CACREP accreditation for clinical mental health counseling. A few examples from the CACREP directory, listed in no particular order:

Wheaton College (Wheaton, Illinois): a 60-credit residential M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling that, in its directory entry, describes training counselors "shaped by their Christian faith."
Denver Seminary (Littleton, Colorado): an M.A. whose directory entry pairs clinical instruction with biblical training and faith integration.
Colorado Christian University (Lakewood, Colorado Springs, and online): an M.A. in Counseling built on a Christian framework. Its directory entry showed "Reaffirmation in Process" when we checked in October 2026.
MidAmerica Nazarene University (Olathe, Kansas, and online): an M.A. in Counseling whose directory entry describes a Christian worldview that integrates psychology and faith.

Accreditation status changes, so search the directory by state and specialty before you apply, and read each school's licensure disclosure for the state where you plan to practice.

What does pastoral counseling inside a church allow?

Pastoral counseling is care a minister gives as part of church leadership: premarital sessions, grief care, marriage conversations, and crisis calls. Ohio and Florida, for example, exempt clergy from counseling licensure for that work, with conditions attached.

Ohio's exemption section covers clergy doing pastoral counseling "within the scope of the performance of their regular or specialized ministerial duties," under the sponsorship of an established church, while they remain accountable to that church's authority. Step outside those conditions and the exemption may not apply.

Courts rarely rule on these exemptions, but one Florida case shows where the line sits. Church Law & Tax reviews a Florida case in which the state argued that a man with Christian counseling degrees and fellowship credentials, but no pastorate or denomination, fell outside the clergy exemption. The article concludes that pastoral counseling within a church to members "does not constitute the unauthorized practice" of psychology or counseling, but clergy who set up counseling ministries outside that limited context may be liable.

Training for this path runs through a seminary degree such as the Master of Divinity and ordination in your denomination. Clinical pastoral education (CPE) adds supervised practice. Psychology.org describes CPE as supervised training in hospitals, correctional facilities, and nursing homes, with programs accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education. Pastors who also want to see clients outside the congregation or take insurance need a state license on top of ordination.

How do you get a biblical counseling certification?

Biblical counseling certification is how a lay leader, elder, or church staff member gets trained and vetted to counsel from Scripture. Paul's words to the church in Rome describe ordinary believers doing this kind of work:

"I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another." (Romans 15:14, NIV)

ACBC, which calls itself the largest biblical counseling association in the world, ABC, and IABC each run their own certification. Each one requires you to affirm its doctrinal statements, so read those before you pay anything.

What does ACBC certification require?

The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors runs certification in three phases and lists a cost of approximately $1,400 and a two-year average completion time.

Phase 1, learning: an approved Fundamentals Training Course, 10 observed counseling sessions totaling 10 hours, and 1,000 pages from the approved reading list, at least 300 of them from the biblical counseling and theology category (Phase 1 details).
Phase 2, exams: written theology and counseling exams, graded against ACBC's standards of doctrine and conduct.
Phase 3, supervision: 50 sessions of counseling (a minimum of 50 hours) supervised by an ACBC Fellow within one year, with at least 10 sessions with the same counselee and at least 5 sessions audio recorded (Phase 3 details).

ACBC's FAQ breaks the cost down: books from $85, observation DVDs at $168, a $100 grader fee, supervision up to $800, and $115 in annual membership dues, plus a training course whose price varies by provider. You have four years after the Fundamentals course to submit your Phase 2 exams.

Two eligibility rules are easy to miss. Current LPCs and holders of similar licenses must go through an appeal before moving forward, and ACBC reserves the right not to approve them. ACBC also cannot certify anyone whose church gives a woman the role or title of elder or pastor.

Some schools build the whole process into a degree. The Master's University says its online Master of Biblical Counseling takes students through all three ACBC phases, ending in certification when the program is complete.

How does ABC certification work?

The Association of Biblical Counselors offers a three-level pathway. Level 1 (ABC1) requires the Equipped to Counsel course, two exams, four writing assignments, and a mini-practicum of 10 sessions with counseling journals. ABC estimates 7 or more hours a week and gives you one year to finish. It lists the cost as $705 plus $99 in first-year membership dues. Level 2 (ABC2) adds a theology and counseling exam and 100 hours of direct counseling ministry under an approved training leader, and Level 3 covers specialties such as marriage and family, abuse, and addictions. Every level requires 12 hours of biblical counseling continuing education each year.

How does IABC certification work?

The International Association of Biblical Counselors certifies through relationships. You choose a mentor from its list of approved training centers, pass coursework and exams, and complete counseling supervision. IABC's certification overview says there is no do-it-yourself track: training happens through a training center or a church-based seminar. The certification page adds that training is tuition-based and run through individual training centers.

Is a Christian counseling certificate the same as a license?

A Christian counseling certificate is not a license. The ACA puts it plainly: "Certification does not grant legal authority to practice as a professional counselor." A certificate shows you finished a course of study, and only a state board can give you permission to practice.

Two examples show the range:

NACC Board Certified Christian Counselor. The National Association of Christian Counselors' program is five distance-learning courses worth 15 credit hours, with a $50 registration fee and $600 tuition. NACC's own page says its certification "is NOT to be confused with state licensing" and that it does not endorse counselors who complete its certificate programs.
AACC's International Board of Christian Care (IBCC). The American Association of Christian Counselors' credentialing board offers several credentials. The Board Certified Biblical Counselor (BCBC) is for lay counselors and asks for at least a year of supervised caregiving and 90 contact hours of biblical counseling education. The Board Certified Pastoral Counselor (BCPC) asks for a bachelor's degree plus ordination. The Board Certified Christian Counselor (BCCC) is for people with a counseling master's or doctorate, or a bachelor's plus a state license. Each requires 20 continuing education hours every two years.

Certificates like these make the most sense for someone who already holds a license or a ministry role and wants structured Christian training on top of it. Bought on their own, they don't open clinical jobs.

Where can't you use the title "counselor" without a license?

Some states protect the word itself. Ohio's counseling law, section 4757.02, bars anyone from using "any other title or description incorporating the word 'counselor'" unless the state has licensed them for that role. The same section prohibits practicing professional counseling "for a fee, salary, or other consideration" without a license. Ohio's clergy exemption, described above, carves out pastoral counseling done under a church's authority. A certified biblical counselor who opens a fee-based office outside any church's oversight, though, could fall outside it. Before you print "Biblical Counselor" or "Christian Counselor" on a website or sign, read your own state's counseling statute and ask your state board how it applies to you.

How much do Christian counselors earn on each path?

Counseling jobs posted on our board with a full salary range (61 of them) pay a median of about $62k, and the middle half fall between $41k and $78k. We count the midpoint of each posted range and convert hourly pay to a full-time year, so a part-time counseling role can look lower on paper than its hourly rate suggests. Our figures describe what employers on the board advertise, which isn't the same as what every employer pays. The counselor salary page has a fuller breakdown.

National figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025) for the two licensed occupations closest to this career:

Occupation (BLS, May 2025)	Median annual wage
Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors (21-1018)	$59,350
Marriage and family therapists (21-1013)	$66,940

Biblical and pastoral counselors don't have a BLS category of their own. Their pay depends on whether a church or counseling center funds the position. The ACA notes that a licensed counselor's services are more likely to be covered by clients' health insurance, so a certified biblical counselor can't rely on insurance billing.

What mistakes should you avoid when choosing a counseling credential?

Enrolling in a degree titled "Christian counseling" or "biblical counseling" and assuming it leads to a license. Check the CACREP directory and the school's licensure disclosure for your state first.
Paying for a certificate and expecting it to work like a license. A certificate adds training, and only your state board grants the right to practice.
Starting ACBC certification while holding an LPC without reading its licensure appeal rules.
Charging fees for counseling outside a church's oversight because you're ordained or certified, without checking the conditions on your state's clergy exemption.
Skipping the doctrinal statements. ACBC, IABC, and ABC each ask you to affirm theirs, and some of them reach into your church's leadership structure.
Waiting until after graduation to work near the field. Case management and residential roles at faith-based agencies often hire people with a bachelor's degree. Browse Christian social work jobs to see how agencies word them.

Frequently asked questions

How much do biblical counselors get paid?

Biblical counselors have no national wage survey of their own, because the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't track them as a separate occupation. Certified biblical counselors without a state license generally can't bill health insurance, so their pay comes from whatever a church or counseling center budgets for the position.

What is an ACBC certification?

ACBC certification is a biblical counseling credential from the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. Candidates complete a Fundamentals Training Course, 10 hours of observation, and 1,000 pages of reading, pass theology and counseling exams, then counsel 50 supervised sessions within one year. ACBC lists the cost at about $1,400 and the average completion time at two years.

What is a biblical counseling degree?

A biblical counseling degree is a college or seminary program, often a Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling, that trains students to counsel from Scripture in church and ministry settings. Some programs, such as The Master's University's online MABC, include all three phases of ACBC certification. Check the CACREP directory if you also want a state license.

How long do you have to go to school to become a Christian counselor?

A licensed Christian counselor typically spends four years on a bachelor's degree and two to three years on a master's, then one to two years completing supervised hours before full licensure. Biblical counseling certification takes less time: ACBC reports a two-year average, and ABC's Level 1 has a one-year completion window.

Send your state counseling board two questions first

Before you enroll anywhere, email or call the counseling licensure board in the state where you plan to work. Ask whether the specific master's program you're considering meets its education rules, and whether the counseling you hope to do at your church falls under its clergy exemption. The answers settle the biggest unknowns in how to become a Christian counselor. Once you know which credential you're after, the Christian counseling jobs on our board show which titles and licenses faith-based employers ask for right now.

Discover Christian job opportunities across every industry at ChristianJobsList.com. You can find work in education, healthcare, counseling, finance, marketing, and more at Christian schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and companies that share your faith and values.