National Counselor Examination

The National Board for Certified Counselors has developed a comprehensive assessment program to accredit individuals as National Certified Counselors. The cornerstone exam of the assessment program is the National Counselor Examination. This examination measures the knowledge and skills the NBCC believes are essential for successful practice as a counselor. More specifically, the content of the NCE can be separated into the following eight categories: human growth and development; social and cultural foundations; helping relationships; group work; career and lifestyle development; appraisal; research and program evaluation; and professional orientation and ethics. It is also possible to divide the content of the NCE into five essential work behaviors: fundamentals of counseling; assessment and career counseling; group counseling; programmatic and clinical intervention; and professional practice issues.

The NBCC aims for the content of the NCE to be general; in other words, the exam should not contain any information that is only pertinent to specialized workers. The exam is composed of 200 multiple-choice questions, and usually takes about four hours to complete. Forty of the questions on the exam are designated as pretest questions; these questions are being tested to prepare future versions of the exam and do not contribute to the final score. It will be impossible to distinguish between regular questions and pretest questions. The National Counselor Examination is administered at testing centers around the United States. Interested individuals should refer to the NBCC website to find the nearest testing location.

For additional information, we recommend you check out these free NCE test resources:

NCE

NCE Scoring

This site has no affiliation with the NCE and is not endorsed by the NCE.

As your test day approaches, make sure that you have had plenty of time to study. Review a NCE test study guide or study using NCE test flashcards so that you strengthen any areas that might be more difficult for you on the test. You'll have the rest of your life to enjoy being successful on the exam, but you can only spend time between now and your test day to get prepared. Study hard and maximize your chances of success.