If a group practice or telehealth company wants you licensed in more states, negotiate in writing who pays the application costs, renewals, state-specific continuing education, malpractice changes, and your time. Clarify any repayment clause if you leave. The license belongs to you regardless of who paid, but renewal costs become yours once the employer stops covering them.
Group practices and telehealth companies increasingly ask clinicians to hold licenses in several states so they can match clients to available therapists. Since there is no MFT interstate compact, each of those states means a separate application, a separate renewal cycle, and a separate set of continuing education requirements. Someone has to pay for all of that. The time to settle who is before you start the first application.
Listing every cost before you negotiate
The application fee is the obvious item and often the only one an employer offers to cover. The full list is longer: the application itself, license verifications from your current states, background checks and fingerprinting, jurisprudence or law exams, any mandated trainings such as suicide prevention courses, renewal fees for each cycle, continuing education that meets that state's rules, and any malpractice endorsement needed because policies may not cover additional states without notifying the carrier.
Add your time. Multistate applications can take many hours, and renewals and continuing education recur. If the employer pays you per session, unpaid administrative hours reduce your effective rate.
Asking for terms in writing
Verbal assurances that the company takes care of licensing are not enough. Ask for the terms in your offer letter, employment agreement, or a written licensing policy. Useful points to cover include which costs are reimbursed and which are paid directly, whether renewals are covered for as long as you are employed, whether state-specific continuing education is included or only a general allowance, whether you get paid time for applications, who tracks renewal dates and continuing education deadlines, and whether the company's malpractice policy covers you in each state or you must arrange it.
Independent contractors should look even more closely. Contractor agreements often shift licensing costs to the clinician entirely, and reimbursement may have different tax treatment. Ask a tax professional how reimbursements affect you.
Repayment clauses
Some employers ask clinicians to repay licensing costs if they leave within a set time. These clauses vary. Some prorate the amount, some require full repayment, and some apply whether you resign or are let go. Read what triggers repayment, how the amount is calculated, whether it includes only fees or also time and training, and how it would be collected. If a clause seems one-sided, it is reasonable to ask for proration or an exception for termination without cause. An employment attorney can tell you whether the terms are enforceable where you live.
Staying in control of your own licenses
A license is issued to you, not to your employer. Keep your own copies of applications, license certificates, continuing education certificates, and correspondence with each board, and keep your own login credentials for board portals rather than letting the company manage them under a shared account. If the company files renewals on your behalf, confirm each one is complete.
Watch for pressure to see clients in states where your license is still pending. The client's location at the session determines which license you need, and practicing without it puts your license at risk, not the company's.
Leaving with more licenses than you arrived with
When you move on, those licenses remain yours. Renewal costs, however, are now your responsibility. Before the next renewal date for each state, decide whether it supports your future work: existing clients who might follow you, referral sources, a new employer that needs it, or plans for your own practice. Keep the ones that do. For the rest, look at each board's options for inactive status or allowing the license to expire cleanly, and note that some states make reinstatement harder than a fresh application.
Common questions
- Who owns a license my employer paid for?
- You do. State licenses are issued to individuals, not to employers. An employer can pay the fees and may ask for repayment under your agreement if you leave early, but it cannot keep or transfer the license. Once you leave, renewing it is your decision and usually your cost.
- Are repayment clauses for licensing costs common?
- Some employers include them, often prorated over a set period after the license is issued. Read the terms closely: what triggers repayment, whether it applies if you are let go, and how the amount is calculated. Ask an employment attorney to review any clause you do not fully understand.
- What should I ask for besides the application fee?
- Ask about renewal fees for as long as you are employed, state-specific continuing education and mandated courses, jurisprudence exams, background checks, malpractice coverage in each state, and paid time to complete applications. Also ask who handles the administrative work and tracking.
- Should I renew a license after leaving the employer that requested it?
- Only if it serves your own practice. Look at whether you have clients, referral sources, or future plans in that state. If not, let it expire according to the board's rules rather than renewing out of habit, and consider an inactive status if the state offers one.
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