Psychologist Licensure Requirements by State

State boards of psychology ask for the same core things, in the same order: a doctoral degree in psychology, an internship and supervised professional experience (SPE), a passing score on the national exam, and whatever state exam the board adds.

Only the details change at the state line: how many hours, whether any must come after the degree, and which extra exams apply.

The education behind the licence runs from a bachelor's degree into a doctoral program, with or without a master's first.

The full sequence, and how long each stage takes, is in how to become a clinical psychologist.

The licensing steps themselves look like this:

The licence that carries the title psychologist rests on a doctorate.

Boards accept both the PhD and the PsyD; how the research and practitioner routes differ is covered in PhD vs. PsyD.

Whether the program must be accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) is a state rule.

Oklahoma requires an APA-accredited doctorate for graduates on or after January 1, 1997, with narrow exceptions.

Ohio accepts programs accredited by the APA, the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), ASPPB/National Register designation or NASP.

Virginia makes APA, CPA or board-accepted accreditation mandatory for its clinical, counseling and school doctorates from June 23, 2028.

California does not require APA accreditation; it requires a doctorate in a listed field from a regionally accredited institution.

As of September 2026, the APA Commission on Accreditation lists 440 accredited doctoral programs.

The internship sits inside the doctorate, and boards commonly accept one accredited by the APA or CPA or run by a member of APPIC (the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers): Georgia, Ohio, Virginia and Washington all name them.

Lengths differ: at least 1,750 hours in Texas and Illinois, at least 1,500 hours over 12 to 24 months in Washington, and at least 2,000 hours in Georgia.

There is no national number.

Among the states below that set a total, supervised hours run from 3,000 in North Carolina to 4,000 in Utah, and the bigger difference is when you may earn them.

APA's model act has not required a postdoctoral year since 2010, and some states now accept all supervised hours before the degree.

Read as written in September 2026, the rules of 30 of the 51 jurisdictions still require a postdoctoral year, 18 do not or make it optional, and 3 could not be determined from the texts read.

Eleven states, each cell from that state's own page:

Boards also define what counts as a year or a week: Illinois counts a year as not less than 1,750 hours over not less than 50 weeks, and Utah caps a full-time training position at 40 hours a week.

Check your state's page for who may supervise and how often you must meet.

The national exam is the EPPP, the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology, run by ASPPB (the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards).

All 66 ASPPB member jurisdictions require Part 1 (Knowledge); Part 2 (Skills) is required only where a board adopts it, and ASPPB publishes no list.

Georgia clearly requires both parts, and New York's board states Part 2 has not been adopted.

ASPPB recommends a passing score of 500 on each part.

The exam is changing.

ASPPB's integrated EPPP replaces both parts for first-time takers from fall 2027, and from April 1, 2028 it is the only version.

Many boards add a state jurisprudence exam on their own law and rules: Texas, Colorado, Georgia and Pennsylvania among them, Utah as a law and ethics exam, and Ohio as a board exam on its statute, rules and ethics.

Washington has you pass its jurisprudence exam after initial licensure.

Oral exams are still required in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia.

How the EPPP compares with the counselor, social work and MFT exams is covered in the therapist licensing exams guide.

It varies by state, and so does the renewal cycle that the hours attach to.

Some boards renew every year, some every two years and some every three, so compare hours over the same period.

Examples from each state's own page:

• Virginia: 14 hours a year, with annual renewal.
• Alabama: 20 hours a year, with annual renewal.
• Illinois: 24 hours every two years.
• Pennsylvania: 30 contact hours every two years.
• Delaware: 40 hours every two years, at least 10 face-to-face or live webinar.
• Utah: at least 48 hours every two years.
• Vermont: 60 hours every two years.
• New York: 36 hours every three years.
• Kentucky: at least 39 hours every three years.

Not every board calls it continuing education (CE): Colorado counts Professional Development Hours under its continuing professional development (CPD) program, and New Mexico requires 40 continuing professional education (CPE) hours every two years.

Most of the states above require ethics hours.

Many states add their own mandated subjects: child abuse recognition and reporting in Pennsylvania, diversity in Illinois from September 30, 2026, cultural inclusion, equity and diversity in Delaware, pain and symptom management plus implicit-bias training in Michigan, and suicide prevention in Nevada and Washington.

Some mandated training comes before the licence.

New York requires coursework in identifying and reporting child abuse, and Pennsylvania puts 3 hours of approved child-abuse training in the application file.

Application and renewal fees are set by each board's fee schedule, as are late-renewal rules, so check your state's page for its board link before a renewal deadline.

Some states license master's-trained practitioners through the psychology board under titles such as psychological associate or licensed psychological practitioner.

As of September 2026, 19 jurisdictions have one in law (Delaware's is enacted but not yet issuing), and none of them is the doctoral psychologist licence.

What those licences allow is covered in the master's-level psychology practitioner.

A school psychologist credential is a separate credential with its own rules, not the board licence this page covers.

The licence authorizes the practice of psychology as each state's psychology act defines it.

In Texas, for example, the licence requirement covers both doing the work and holding yourself out as doing it.

Where diagnosis and psychological testing sit across the professions is explained in diagnosis vs. psychological testing.

Prescribing is separate: nine states have enacted prescriptive authority for specially trained psychologists, covered in prescriptive authority for psychologists.

A psychologist license does not transfer on its own.

PSYPACT, the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact, lets a doctoral psychologist licensed in one member state practise telepsychology into other member states, or work in person there for up to 30 days a year.

As of September 2026 it is in effect in 42 states and DC.

How the authorizations work is in PSYPACT explained.

To move and practise full time, you apply to the new state's board for a licence, often through an endorsement route.

Pennsylvania's, added in 2022, asks for a licence in good standing, competency shown by 2 of the last 5 years in practice or 30 qualifying CE hours in 24 months, and updated criminal-history and child abuse clearances.

Each state page lists its own route.

Pay for licensed psychologists is on the clinical psychologist salary page, and open roles are listed on the clinical psychologist jobs board.