requirements for licensure. (Repealed effective July 1, 2028.) The board shall issue a license as a professional clinical mental health counselor to a person who files a completed application and, except as provided in Section 61-1-34 N.M. Stat. Ann., pays any required fees and who submits satisfactory evidence that the applicant:

A. has reached the age of twenty-one;

B. holds a master’s or doctoral degree in a counseling or counseling-related field, as defined by rule, from an accredited institution. The applicant shall have a master’s degree and a total of no less than forty-eight graduate semester hours or seventy-two quarter hours in the mental health clinical core curriculum;

C. demonstrates professional competency by passing the required examination as prescribed by the board;

D. has a minimum of two years of professional clinical counseling experience, including at least three thousand clinical contact hours and at least one hundred hours of appropriate supervision. One thousand client clinical contact hours may be submitted from the applicant’s internship or practicum; and

E. observes the code of ethics.