Exams
- CRPO examCollege of Registered Psychotherapists of OntarioAvailable
- EPPPAssociation of State and Provincial Psychology BoardsAvailable
- IC3 GS6Certiport, a Pearson VUE businessAvailable
- ASWB examsAssociation of Social Work BoardsAvailable
- BCBA examBehavior Analyst Certification BoardAvailable
- NCE and NCMHCENational Board for Certified CounselorsAvailable
- Psychology oral examProvincial and state psychology boardsWaitlist
- BC psychotherapyThe regulator to be named under BC's Health Professions and Occupations ActWaitlist
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Counselor licensure
The NCE path, built to NBCC's 2027 exams
From July 1, 2027, NBCC's National Counselor Examination and National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination follow new specifications: six domains and 101 work tasks, shared by both exams. This path follows those specifications word for word, and its mocks follow each exam's length, format and timing.
Free and open to everyone while it is built. No card, no account; your results stay in this browser.
Independent preparation. ExamDragon is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), the Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE) or Pearson VUE. The exams' names are used only to describe the exams; every question, case and guide here is our own, written from NBCC's published 2027 examination specifications.
Sitting before July 1, 2027? The current NCE has 200 questions with four options, 160 of them scored; the current NCMHCE has 11 cases, one of them unscored. Their domains have other names and weights. Our questions are written to the 2027 tasks, which cover the same counselling practice.
Everything in the NCE path
- TodayA short session for the day: some practice, one domain to study, the mock when you are ready.
- Practice202 NCE questions and 12 NCMHCE practice cases, every option explained.
- Mock examOne full mock per exam: NCE 170 questions, NCMHCE 10 cases, 225 minutes, a report by domain.
- LibraryThe 2027 specifications, word for word, and a study guide for each of the 101 tasks.
- ProgressEach domain from learning to secure, your territories, your past mocks and your readiness.
- PlayShort rounds of the path's own questions, with your dragon beside you.
Each section has both exams: choose yours inside it. Your answers stay in this browser; no account is needed.
Two exams, one blueprint
Licensure and the NCC
National Counselor Examination (NCE)
A broad multiple-choice exam of counselling knowledge and practice, taken for state licensure and for NBCC's National Certified Counselor credential.
170 questions · 3 options · 225 minutes
Clinical mental health counselling
National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE)
A case-based exam: each case opens with an intake summary and follows two sessions, with questions on assessment, diagnosis, treatment and ethics as the case unfolds.
10 cases · 4 options · 225 minutes
The exams, as NBCC specifies them from July 1, 2027
- NCE questions
- 170 multiple-choice questions, each with three possible responses; 140 are scored and 30 are field-test items, mixed in and not identified.
- NCMHCE format
- 10 case studies, each in three sections (an intake summary and two counseling sessions), 9 to 15 questions per case with four possible responses; 130 to 150 questions in all, of which 30 to 50 are field-test items.
- Time
- 3 hours and 45 minutes (225 minutes) for each exam, with an optional 15-minute break halfway. Questions can be reviewed before each half is submitted; after that, they cannot be reopened.
- Content
- Six domains, the same for both exams: Professional Development & Counselor Self-Awareness (15%), Intake & Assessment (18%), Treatment Planning & Continuity of Care (15%), Provision of Counseling Interventions (20%), Indirect Client Care (12%), Legal & Ethical Compliance (20%). 101 work tasks in all.
- Score
- A scaled score from 100 to 500 on each form, with a pass at 360; NBCC sets the passing point with subject-matter experts and equates forms. The scale is not a percentage. Candidates receive a preliminary pass or fail and feedback by domain.
- Delivery
- At a Pearson VUE test centre or online through OnVUE, as NBCC's current handbooks describe. No calculators.
- Retakes
- 30 days between attempts; the National Certified Counselor route allows up to three attempts in two years; state routes are set by each board.
Sources, all NBCC: NCE Examination Specifications, effective July 1, 2027, NCMHCE Examination Specifications, effective July 1, 2027, About the NCE, About the NCMHCE, Special examination accommodations policy.
What NBCC does not publish, and what we do
- NBCC publishes domain percentages, not question counts. Our NCE mock scores 140 questions as 21, 25, 21, 28, 17 and 28 by domain; our NCMHCE mock scores 100 as 15, 18, 15, 20, 12 and 20.
- Which questions are field-test items is not published. Each mock marks 30 of its questions unscored at random, shown only in our report.
- NCMHCE forms vary in length. Ours has 10 cases of 13 questions (130), each in the three sections NBCC describes, with a break after case 5.
- The raw to scaled conversion and the cut score are not public, so our report never gives a scaled score, a pass or fail or a prediction: it gives your number and percentage correct overall and by domain, which is what NBCC's domain feedback is about.
- Our exam screen follows NBCC's description (one question at a time, the clock, flag for review, review within a half); it is not Pearson VUE's software.