Kentucky School Counselor Certification

In Kentucky, school counselors are certified mental health professionals who support all students in kindergarten through grade 12 with social/emotional, academic, and career development.

They provide access to enriching experiences that will positively impact student progress. They work to ensure each student can become a contributing and productive citizen.

With counselors located at 1,233 school campuses in 173 districts, Kentucky’s Department of Education is committed to providing excellent resources for these professionals, whose commitment to student success is vital for the wellbeing of families and communities across the entire state. If you would like to read more about school counselor opportunities in Kentucky, visit the Kentucky School Counseling Association website.

Initial Kentucky School Counselor Certification

The initial license for school counselor in Kentucky is the Provisional license. It is valid for five (5) years and advanced to the Standard certificate before September 1 of the expiration year.

Is Certification Necessary in Kentucky?

It’s important to know that requirements for credentials for school counselors can vary based on which state you’re in. These requirements can include things like licenses and certifications, which are explored more in depth in this article.

In Kentucky, it’s essential to obtain certification from the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board (or EPSB) in order to practice. Without this credential, it will not be possible to be gainfully employed as a school counselor.

First Things First: Education Requirements

If you’re hoping to become a certified school counselor in Kentucky – or anywhere in the United States, for that matter – you will almost certainly need to complete a master’s program in school counseling.

These programs typically require applicants to have an undergraduate (bachelor’s or associate’s) degree, though it’s not always necessary to have studied school counseling in order to apply. In fact, it’s not necessarily imperative to have an undergraduate degree in a related field (i.e., social work, sociology, or psychology).

Whichever master’s program you choose should be recognized by the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB). The Kentucky EPSB is made up of officials responsible for overseeing all education-related certifications in the state, which includes determining which universities offer trustworthy graduate degree programs in school counseling. If your university is not included in this list, it’s possible that your credentials will not be eligible for certification – meaning that you will not be able to get certified as a school counselor.

Internship and Practicum

Another key step along the way to becoming a school counselor in Kentucky is You must also have completing a supervised school counseling internship (minimum 6 credits) and school counseling practicum (3 credits), typically performed as part of master’s degree program.

In Kentucky, the EPSB mandates that counseling students complete at least 40 hours of practicum – that means working directly with real clients. Students then need to complete a certain number of internship hours, which can have a minimum of anything between 180 and 400 hours. Different graduate programs will have different mandated fieldwork hours expected of their students. As such, it’s important to verify:

• What the minimum number of required field hours in your state is in order to pursue certification
• Whether the school(s) you’re applying to meet that minimum requirement

Criminal Background Check

According to the Division of Educator Licensure and Quality, Kentucky Department of Education does not require a background check to process an initial application unless the check is requested by the legal department.

Background checks are typically handled at the school district level.

Examination Requirements

In Kentucky, school counselors are required to pass the Praxis 5422 exam in order to become certified. This exam is made to align directly with the American School Counselor Association National Model.

This is a 120-question, multiple-choice test that must be completed within two hours. Most states, including Kentucky, require a minimum passing score of 159 points out of 200.

Questions on the exam cover topics across four core areas:

• Foundations
  • History and role of the school counselor
  • Ethical and legal issues (i.e., FERPA)
• Delivery of Services
  • Individual and group counseling techniques
  • Crisis prevention and intervention
  • Classroom guidance and instruction
• Management
  • Use of data for program decisions
  • Time management and scheduling
• Accountability
  • Demonstrating program effectiveness
  • Data collection and analysis
  • Assessing student outcomes

Across these sections, “Delivery of Services” makes up the largest area of focus. Around 45% of the questions on this exam will pertain topics related to effective service delivery.

Test results are typically delivered around five weeks after the test date.

Organize Your Application Materials

At this phase, you’ll be just about ready to begin applying to become certified as a school counselor – a step that essentially means compiling proof of all of the experience you’ve just spent the last few years accumulating.

In addition to having completed a master’s program – and as demonstration of proof of successful performance in said program – you’ll need to submit official transcripts from your program.

These should be accompanied with proof of having passed the Praxis 5422 exam and documentation of completed supervised experience. Before submitting your application, it’s important to verify whether any additional forms are required or requested by the EPSB. Finally, applicants must pay an application fee.

Submit Your Application

Your application for Kentucky School Counselor certification must be submitted online, using the Kentucky Department of Education website.

Kentucky School Counselor Certification Renewal

In Kentucky, school counselors must renew their certifications every five years. No matter whether you have a standard or provisional school counseling certification, the deadline for renewal is September 1^st on the year of your certification’s expiration: that means that if your certification expires in 2026, your application should be submitted no later than September 1^st of that year.

For either certification, renewals require:

• A CA-2 application using the Kentucky Educator Credentialing System (KECS), available online
• The payment of application fees

For more information about the distinctions between these certifications, including what is different in the renewal process, please see the final section of this article (“Frequently Asked Questions”).

Certificates are renewable through the Department of Education website, located here.

Kentucky School Counselor Certification Through Reciprocity

The Kentucky Department of Education will consider your current, valid out-of-state school counseling credential for the initial Provisional school counselor license. However, as of 2025, Kentucky is not a member of the Counseling Compact agreement, which makes it possible for counselors to transport their certification across states and begin practicing immediately, without the need for further qualifications.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between certification and licensure?

In the field of counseling, it’s possible that you’ll hear the words certification and licensure used interchangeably – and in some cases, that’s true! However, in the field of school counseling – including in Kentucky – getting a license is not required in order to practice. Instead, the certification from the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board will serve the same purpose, demonstrating that you have a sufficient level of educational and professional experience and expertise to begin working within the public school system.

By contrast, it’s clinical counselors – people similarly skilled in providing one-on-one or group therapy, advocacy, and emotional support, but who work in clinics or private practice as counselors or therapists – who need licenses.

What’s a provisional certificate?

A provisional certificate for a school counselor is an entry-level certification for school counselors who still have outstanding requirements to complete. Generally speaking, applicants at this stage in the process of becoming a school counselor have already completed master’s programs and have successfully passed the Praxis 5422 exam, but haven’t yet finished all of the fieldwork experience necessary to become a standard certificate holder as a school counselor.

In order to get a standard certification as a school counselor, it is necessary to first have spent one to two years as a provisionally certified counselor.

Though this is an entry-level qualification, it is valid for five years. If an applicant hasn’t yet finished their work experience by the time their provisional certificate expires – five years after initial issuance – the provisional certificate can be extended by submitting an official transcript that demonstrates the successful completion of nine semester hours of graduate credit in counseling or school counseling. There is an application fee of $85.

What’s a standard certificate?

A standard certificate in school counseling is a full professional certification for school counselors in Kentucky. In addition to having master’s degrees and passing grades on the Praxis 5422 exam, school counselors are eligible for standard certificates if they have the requisite professional experience, meaning either:

• Option I
  • One year of employment as a provisionally certified school counselor
  • A valid teaching certificate
  • One year of full-time teaching experience
• Option II
  • Two years of full-time employment as a provisionally-certified counselor

In addition to submitting a renewal application form, applicants for a standard certificate must submit proof of having completed Effective Instructional Leadership Act (EILA) hours. These applications also require a letter of recommendation from a superintendent and the payment of an application fee.

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