PSYPACT and Counseling Compact states, and what they mean for telehealth marketing

A clinician's license stops at the state line, and so should their advertising. Three licensure compacts now let psychologists, counselors and, soon, social workers practice in other member states without a separate license in each. Which states are in which compact decides where a telehealth practice can take new clients, and so where its ads should run.

This guide lists the member states as of 30 September 2026, explains what each compact actually allows, and ends with what it means for your marketing. Compact membership changes every legislative session, so check the official maps linked under Sources before you rely on it. Your own state's page under healthcare marketing by state has the same facts alongside patient search data for its cities.

Which states are in PSYPACT?

The Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) is in effect in 42 states and the District of Columbia: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Alaska is the newest; its membership took effect on 20 September 2026.

• Passed, not in effect yet: Iowa, and Louisiana, where it takes effect on 1 January 2028.
• Not members: California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York and Oregon.

What PSYPACT lets a psychologist do

PSYPACT has two routes. For telehealth, a psychologist whose home license is in a PSYPACT state gets the ASPPB E.Passport, then applies to the PSYPACT Commission for an Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT). With it, they can see clients by telehealth in the other PSYPACT states. For short in-person work, the Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate and a Temporary Authorization to Practice (TAP) allow up to 30 days a year in another PSYPACT state.

A psychologist licensed in California, New York or another non-member state can't use PSYPACT from there, and a client located in a non-member state can't be seen under it.

Which states are in the Counseling Compact?

The Counseling Compact has 40 members: 39 states and the District of Columbia. Pennsylvania became the 40th in July 2026. The members are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and DC.

Not members: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Texas.

Is the Counseling Compact live?

Partly. The compact began issuing privileges to practice on 30 September 2025, starting with Arizona and Minnesota. As of September 2026 it is live in nine states: Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Tennessee and Wyoming. The other members have passed the law and are still completing the technical and regulatory steps. A licensed professional counselor who is licensed in, and lives in, a live home state can apply for a privilege to practice in the other live states instead of a separate license in each.

Which states are in the Social Work Licensure Compact?

The Social Work Licensure Compact is enacted in 35 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

It isn't issuing multistate licenses yet. The compact's commission is building its licensing system and expects it in 2027, with applications opening after that. Until then, a clinical social worker still needs a license in each state where their clients are.

Psychiatrists and other physicians: the IMLC

Physicians work differently. The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact doesn't create a privilege to practice; it speeds up getting a full license in another member state. The compact reports 44 member states plus DC and Guam, a few of them still implementing. A psychiatrist offering telepsychiatry still holds a license in every state where their patients are. The IMLC's own map, linked below, has each state's status.

What the compacts mean for telehealth marketing

For telehealth, the practice is generally treated as happening where the client is at the time of the session. That turns licensure into an advertising rule:

1. Target ads by state, not by radius. Set Google and Meta location targeting to the states where each clinician can legally see clients. In Google Ads, use the "presence" setting, so the ads reach people who are in those states rather than people who are merely interested in them.
2. Say where you practice, in plain text. "Online therapy for adults anywhere in Colorado, Utah and Arizona" on the booking page and in your directory profiles saves an intake call with someone you can't see.
3. Update the map when your authorizations change. An APIT or a new counseling privilege adds states; add them to the targeting and the page the same week, and not before it's granted.
4. Check the client's state at booking. Asking where the client will be during sessions is a location question, not a health question, and it catches the out-of-state traveler before the first session.
5. Group practices: map each clinician. One clinician may be licensed in three states and another in one. Booking should only offer each clinician's openings to clients in the states they can serve.

This is the setup we run for telehealth practices. The state pages add each state's patient searches and click costs, so you can see where the demand is before you choose where to be licensed or authorized next.

Sources

• PSYPACT, compact map and practicing telepsychology under PSYPACT, checked 30 September 2026
• Alaska Psychological Association, Alaska joins PSYPACT through HB 110, checked 30 September 2026
• Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, PSYPACT, checked 30 September 2026
• Counseling Compact, member map, Counseling Compact begins issuing privileges and Pennsylvania becomes the 40th member, checked 30 September 2026
• Social Work Licensure Compact, enacted in 35 states, checked 30 September 2026
• Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, participating states, checked 30 September 2026