How to start an LPC private practice in Texas

1. What the LPC license lets you do on your own

The Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, under the Behavioral Health Executive Council (BHEC), licenses LPCs under Texas Occupations Code chapter 503 and the rules in 22 TAC chapter 681. Which license you hold decides whether you can open your own practice today:

License	Own private practice?	Insurance in your own name?
LPC	Yes	Yes: commercial plans, Medicare (since 2024) and Texas Medicaid, each with its own enrollment
LPC-S (LPC with the supervisor designation)	Yes, and you may supervise LPC Associates	Yes, the same as an LPC
LPC Associate	Only under the supervision of an LPC-S (see below)	Generally no; Medicare doesn't enroll associates, and many commercial plans credential only independently licensed clinicians
LPC plus LCDC	Yes	Credentialed under the LPC; the LCDC adds substance use credibility. See the LCDC private practice guide

Look yourself up on BHEC's license search the way a plan's credentialing team will, and keep the license number, issue date and expiration date where you can paste them: every application asks.

2. If you're still an LPC Associate

Most counselors start planning a practice while they're finishing hours. The LPC Associate rules, as of October 2026 (detail in our guide to supervising associates):

• Hours: 3,000 clock-hours of supervised experience, at least 1,500 of them direct counseling, over no less than 18 months, with at least 4 hours of supervision a month (22 TAC 681.92).
• Supervision goes wherever you work. An associate practices under an LPC-S in any setting. A proposed amendment to 22 TAC 681.91, published in the Texas Register on August 7, 2026, addresses associates and supervision through to licensure, including private practice under supervision. It isn't final; read the adopted text before you set anything up.
• Conflicts: your supervisor can't be your employee or a close relative (22 TAC 681.93). An associate can't hire their own supervisor into their own company.
• The clock: BHEC's renewal guidance says the associate license runs 60 months from issue and isn't renewable, so an associate who doesn't finish in that window reapplies (BHEC, renewing an LPC license).
• Billing: associates generally can't be credentialed by Medicare or by plans that require an independent license. Never bill an associate's session under the supervisor's NPI unless that plan's written policy allows it.

3. The associate-to-practice checklist

Plans credential the full license, not the associate license, so the gap between "license issued" and "first insurance check" is mostly paperwork you can do early. This is the order we run it in on the solo roadmap:

When	Do this	Why now
3–4 months before your hours are done	Pick an attorney and CPA, decide on the entity, choose the office or telehealth setup, draft the startup budget	Plans need a service address, and the entity's legal name has to match everywhere
2 months before	Get your individual NPI (Type 1) if you don't have one; gather the credentialing packet: degree, transcripts, work history with no unexplained gaps, malpractice quote	Most credentialing delays are a missing page or a name that doesn't match
When the SED form is filed	Your supervisor files the Supervised Experience Documentation form; you apply to upgrade. Form the PLLC, get the EIN and the organization NPI	Plans will ask for the IRS letter and the Type 2 NPI
The day the LPC is issued	Update CAQH with the new license, attest, and file the plan applications and the Medicare enrollment the same week	Most plans take 60 to 120 days from a complete application
While you wait	Open to self-pay clients with a good faith estimate	See the cash-pay practice guide

4. Which payers enroll LPCs

Payer	LPCs?	What to know
Medicare	Yes, since January 1, 2024, as a "mental health counselor"	Enroll in PECOS on the CMS-855I (no application fee). Medicare pays the lesser of 80% of your charge or 75% of the clinical psychologist rate, and you must accept assignment (CMS). Step by step: Medicare enrollment for LPCs and LMFTs.
Medicare Advantage	Plan by plan	Each Advantage plan credentials you separately, and most expect Medicare enrollment first.
Texas Medicaid	Yes, through TMHP, then each managed care plan	Since March 1, 2024, LPCs must enroll in Medicare first unless they get the pediatric practice exemption (BCBSTX Medicaid notice). Medicaid managed care plans must expedite an LPC joining an established contracted group if the LPC is Medicaid-enrolled (1 TAC 353.423). See Texas Medicaid credentialing.
Commercial plans	Yes, where the panel is open	Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is usually the largest; Aetna, Cigna's Evernorth and UnitedHealthcare's Optum are common next steps. Guides: BCBSTX, Aetna.
TRICARE	Check the current rules	TRICARE sets its own provider rules; check them before you apply. See TRICARE credentialing in Texas.
EAPs and self-pay	Yes	EAP networks set their own license lists. Self-pay clients get a good faith estimate before services (CMS).

A panel that's closed in your county isn't always closed to you: a specialty, a language, evening hours or an underserved area can earn an exception. Our closed-network guide covers the request.

5. What you'll bill

Most of an LPC practice runs on a handful of CPT codes. Psychotherapy codes go by the minutes you actually spent, which is why the start and stop times belong in the note:

Code	Service	Note
90791	Diagnostic evaluation (intake)	Usually once per episode of care; plans set their own limits
90832 / 90834 / 90837	Psychotherapy, 16–37 / 38–52 / 53+ minutes	Under 16 minutes isn't billable psychotherapy
90846 / 90847	Family psychotherapy without / with the client	Covered when it treats the client's diagnosed condition
90853	Group psychotherapy	A structured schedule of groups starts to look like a program; see the line between a practice and a program if it's substance use treatment
90839 / 90840	Crisis psychotherapy, first 30–74 minutes / each added 30	Document the crisis and the safety plan

Video visits add modifier 95 and place of service 10 (client at home) or 02 (elsewhere); details in the telehealth practice guide. In Cima EHR for therapists, the minutes in the note pick the code and the visit type adds the telehealth modifier, so the claim matches the note.

6. Telehealth and the Counseling Compact

• Your Texas LPC covers clients located in Texas at the time of the session. A client on vacation in Colorado is a Colorado question.
• Texas isn't in the Counseling Compact. Senate Bill 498 in the 2025 session would have joined it and didn't pass (LegiScan, SB 498); the Legislature's next regular session is in 2027. The compact itself began issuing privileges in 2025 and lists Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota and Ohio as live (counselingcompact.gov, checked October 2026). Until Texas joins, seeing a client in another state means that state's license or whatever temporary-practice rule it offers.
• Use a video platform that signs a business associate agreement, get a telehealth consent, and record the client's location and a local emergency contact at each session.

7. LPC rules that shape the practice

• Records: BHEC's guidance is to keep records at least 7 years after services end, or until a minor client turns 23, whichever is later (BHEC ethics and practice FAQs). More in how long to keep records in Texas.
• Taxonomy: pick 101YP2500X (Counselor, Professional) on your NPI so plans and Medicare read you as an LPC.
• Hiring later: to supervise associates in your practice you need the LPC-S designation, which BHEC grants after at least five years of unrestricted LPC licensure and a 40-hour supervision course (BHEC, LPC Supervisor). Growing is covered in how to start a group practice in Texas.
• Referrals: never give or take anything of value for client referrals; the Texas Patient Solicitation Act applies whoever pays (Occupations Code chapter 102).

8. Opening steps and fees

The business steps are the same for every license and are laid out in order in how to start a private practice in Texas: attorney and CPA, entity, EIN, bank, franchise tax calendar, NPIs, malpractice (many plans ask for $1 million per claim and $3 million a year), office, HIPAA policies and risk analysis, client forms, EHR, CAQH, plans, fee schedule and clearinghouse. The government and third-party fees on that roadmap:

Step	Fee and who charges it
File the certificate of formation with the Texas Secretary of State	$300 filing fee (Texas Secretary of State)
File an assumed name certificate if you'll use another name	$25 filing fee (Texas Secretary of State) (changes; we check the current fee)
Get an EIN from the IRS	Free
Enroll in Medicare (PECOS)	No application fee for individual clinicians or clinician groups

Malpractice, rent, your EHR and the time credentialing takes are the real costs. Our free credentialing cost calculator prices the insurance side, and the practice readiness review tells you what's left before you can open.

Already open and just need plans? Credentialing is $175 per plan. Or book a free 30-minute call.

Questions

Can an LPC open a private practice in Texas?

Yes. A fully licensed LPC can own and run a private practice in Texas, see clients in person or by telehealth when they're located in Texas, and credential with commercial plans, Medicare and Texas Medicaid.

Can an LPC Associate have a private practice in Texas?

An LPC Associate practices under the supervision of an LPC-S wherever they work, and the supervisor can't be the associate's employee or close relative. A proposed 2026 amendment to 22 TAC 681.91 addresses associates in private practice under supervision; check the adopted rule with BHEC before setting one up. Associates generally can't bill Medicare or many commercial plans on their own.

Can LPCs bill Medicare in Texas?

Yes, since January 1, 2024. Medicare calls the provider type a mental health counselor. You enroll in PECOS with no application fee, accept assignment, and are paid the lesser of 80% of your charge or 75% of the psychologist rate.

Is Texas part of the Counseling Compact?

No, as of October 2026. A 2025 bill to join didn't pass, and the next regular legislative session is in 2027. A Texas LPC needs a license, or that state's temporary-practice permission, to see a client located in another state.

Do I need a PLLC to start an LPC practice?

No law requires one, but many licensed clinicians use a professional LLC so the practice has its own legal identity, tax ID and organization NPI. The PLLC certificate of formation is Texas SOS Form 206, with a $300 fee. Make the choice with your attorney and CPA.

Sources

• Texas Legislature, Occupations Code chapter 503 (licensed professional counselors)
• 22 TAC §681.91, §681.92, §681.93 (Cornell LII); Texas Register, proposed rules, August 7, 2026
• BHEC, renewing an LPC license; applying to be an LPC Supervisor; ethics and practice FAQs
• CMS, marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Medicaid, Medicare enrollment required for LPCs and LMFTs; 1 TAC §353.423
• LegiScan, Texas SB 498 (2025), Licensed Professional Counselors Compact; Counseling Compact Commission
• CMS, No Surprises Act; Texas Legislature, Occupations Code chapter 102