Psychologist Licensure in Alabama: Degree, Supervised Hours and the EPPP
Alabama licenses psychologists through the Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology.
The psychologist licence takes a doctorate in psychology, an internship the rule accepts, the EPPP and a state Professional Standards Examination.
No postdoctoral year appears in the rules read.
Alabama also licenses master's-level psychological technicians, who practise only under a licensed psychologist's supervision.
This page is built from administrative code chapters 750-X-1 through -6 and the board's brochures; the statute itself was not read.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
Licensed psychologist and licensed psychological technician, both licensed under Ala.
Code §34-26-1 et seq.
Practising without a licence is unlawful (r.
750-X-2-.01(2)).
A doctorate from a department or school of psychology.
Programs APA-accredited when the applicant graduated meet the board's educational requirements (r.
750-X-2-.04); others must meet listed organisational and curriculum criteria.
An APA- or CPA-accredited internship meets the rule; otherwise criteria (a)–(n), including 1 year full-time completed in no less than 11 months and no more than 24 consecutive months, 25% direct client contact and 2 hours of weekly individual supervision (r.
750-X-2-.07(1)).
No postdoctoral supervised-experience requirement appears in ch. 750-X-2 as published (rev. 1/14/23); the only experience rule is the internship.
The statute §34-26-41 was not read, so this rests on the rules alone.
The EPPP at the ASPPB recommended passing score — 500 for psychologists, 400 scaled for technicians — plus the Professional Standards Examination at 80%.
No EPPP Part 2 requirement found in the sources read; the integrated EPPP replaces both parts for first-time takers from fall 2027.
Yes: the licensed psychological technician, on a master's degree in psychology, practising only under a licensed psychologist's supervision with a board-accepted contract.
Supervised, not independent.
Member, in effect: Alabama SB 102, enacted March 18, 2021, effective June 1, 2021, per the PSYPACT Commission map as of September 2026.
None found.
Nothing in the administrative chapters read (750-X-1 through -6) provides prescriptive authority, and the statute was not read.
Renewal is annual, due October 15, the official renewal date (r.
750-X-4-.01).
Psychologists complete 20 hours of continuing education per year; technicians 10 hours (board brochures, rev. Aug 2022).
The Alabama credential ladder
- Licensed psychological technicianOther
The master's-level licence: it practises only under a licensed psychologist's supervision, on a written supervision contract filed with and accepted by the board prior to practice (r.
750-X-2A-.07).
- Licensed psychologistIndependent
The doctoral licence; the rule calls practising psychology without a licence unlawful and a violation of the psychologists' licensing statute (r.
750-X-2-.01(2)).
Two licences, and practice is the licensed act
Alabama licenses two levels under the same statute: the psychologist and the psychological technician.
The licence requirement covers practice itself — rule 750-X-2-.01(2) calls practising without a licence unlawful.
The technician is the master's rung, and it is supervised only; the psychologist is the independent doctoral licence.
The psychologist licence is generic: an accurate specialty title such as Clinical Psychologist may be used, but not alongside Licensed Psychologist (r.
750-X-4-.03(2)).
One seat on the board is reserved for a technician (r.
750-X-1-.01).
The statute text itself was not read for this page — alison and Justia were bot-blocked — so the statute points here come from the rules and brochures.
For how master’s-level psychology licences work where they exist, see the master’s-level psychology practitioner.
“unlawful and a violation of §34-26-1, et seq.”
A doctorate in psychology, and what accreditation decides
A doctoral degree from a department or school of psychology at an accredited institution is the entry requirement (r.
750-X-2-.01(3)(c)).
Rule 750-X-2-.04 decides what counts: a program APA-accredited — fully or provisionally — at graduation meets the board's educational requirements outright.
Programs without APA accreditation must satisfy listed organisational and curriculum criteria instead, including at least three academic years of full-time graduate study, at least 60 semester hours of graduate psychology coursework excluding the internship, and a 24-semester-hour core covering statistics, ethics, research design, psychological measurement and history and systems.
There is no ASPPB or National Register designation route in the rule.
The technician path is different: a master's degree in psychology from a regionally accredited institution, or the equivalent from an APA-accredited doctoral program (PT brochure, citing §34-26-65).
For how the PhD and PsyD routes to this degree differ, see PhD vs. PsyD.
“Departments or schools which have programs fully or provisionally accredited by the American Psychological Association at the time the applicant graduated will be recognized as meeting the Board's definition of a department or school of psychology, and applicants who graduated from these APA accredited programs will be considered to have met the Board's educational requirements.”
The internship is the experience rule — and the postdoc answer
The only supervised-experience rule in the chapters read is the internship (r.
750-X-2-.07(1)).
An APA- or CPA-accredited internship meets it.
A non-accredited internship must satisfy criteria (a) through (n): the equivalent of 1 year of full-time training completed in no less than 11 months (10 months for school psychologists' internships) and no more than 24 consecutive months, at least 25% of the trainee's time in direct client contact, at least two hours per week of individual supervision, and two additional weekly hours of structured learning.
No postdoctoral supervised-experience requirement appears anywhere in ch. 750-X-2 as published (rev. 1/14/23).
The caveat matters: the statute, §34-26-41, was not read, so this is a rules-only reading — confirm with the board before relying on it.
For the whole path from degree to licence, see how to become a clinical psychologist.
“(l) The internship experience was the equivalent of 1 year full-time training completed in no less than 11 months (10 months for school psychologist's internships) and no more than 24 consecutive months.”
The EPPP, Alabama's PSE, and no Part 2
Two exams.
First the EPPP: the board sets pass or fail at the ASPPB recommended passing score, which the board's brochure gives as 500 for psychologists; technicians pass at a scaled 400 (r.
750-X-3-.01(1)).
Then Alabama's own Professional Standards Examination on the APA ethics code and Alabama psychology law — 42 multiple-choice items at the board office in Montgomery, passed at 80% (r.
750-X-3-.01(3); brochure).
No EPPP Part 2 requirement appears in the rules or board pages read.
The exam landscape is set to shift regardless: ASPPB replaces the two-part EPPP with one integrated exam for first-time takers from fall 2027, and the integrated version is the only option from April 1, 2028.
“A minimum score of 80% is considered a passing grade”
The technician's supervision contract, filed before any practice
A technician's supervision runs on a board-adopted written contract: the contract must be filed with and accepted by the board prior to any practice, amendments follow within 45 days of a change, and the supervisor — who must be a licensed psychologist — co-signs the technician's reports and files annual reports (r.
750-X-2A-.07).
Minimum supervision steps down, but the lower levels are board-approved on application, not automatic with tenure.
Level I — less than two calendar years of supervised practice, at least 3,000 hours of it — runs from two hours a month at the low end to six at the high end, scaled to the hours of supervised activity.
Level II (two years, 3,000 hours; one to three hours a month) and Level III (seven years, 10,500 hours; one to two) each require an application to the board, at least one calendar year of supervision from the most recent supervisor, that supervisor's written recommendation, and letters from all available previous supervisors.
“A licensed psychologist shall be recognized by the board as an appropriate supervisor for a psychological technician supervisee.”
What a technician may not do, and the title rule
Without supervision, a technician may administer and interpret tests of intelligence, achievement, aptitudes and interests, interview and screen, and deliver psychoeducational interventions (r.
750-X-2A-.06).
Personality appraisal, clinical intervention, consultation services and assistance with forensic or neuropsychological evaluations require qualified supervision — and independent forensic assessments and neuropsychological evaluations are outside the technician scope altogether.
The title rule is strict: a technician may not use the title psychologist or allow themselves to be held out as one (r.
750-X-4-.03(3)).
Specialty titles are available to psychologists only.
The practical effect for an associate weighing the licence: beyond testing, interviewing and psychoeducational work, the technician's clinical tasks run through the supervising psychologist.
For which states let specially trained psychologists prescribe, and on what terms, see prescriptive authority for psychologists.
“Independent forensic assessments and neuropsychological evaluations are outside of the scope of practice for psychological technicians.”
PSYPACT: in effect since June 1, 2021
The board's site links PSYPACT, but the enacting statute was not read for this page.
The PSYPACT Commission map, read September 24, 2026, lists Alabama as a member in effect: SB 102, enacted March 18, 2021, effective June 1, 2021.
PSYPACT is doctoral-only, so a licensed psychological technician cannot practise under it.
An Alabama psychologist using PSYPACT to practise telepsychology or work temporarily in person in another participating state also needs ASPPB's E.Passport or Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate plus the matching PSYPACT authorization.
Compact membership is time-sensitive — check the commission's map for the current list before relying on it.
For how PSYPACT’s telepsychology and temporary-practice authorizations work, see PSYPACT explained.
Moving to Alabama: what the endorsement rule accepts
Rule 750-X-2-.08: a psychologist currently independently licensed elsewhere (temporary, provisional and conditional licences excluded) still meets Alabama's education and internship rules, age and character, and passes the EPPP at Alabama's point and the PSE. .08(2), the PSE's stated exception, needs independent licences in at least two states plus a national exam passed at Alabama's point, no further exams.
CPQ and ABPP holders take the PSE (ABPP: no failed board exam in the preceding six months). .08(6)'s 30-day window takes a valid, independent, doctoral-level licence from an ASPPB-recognized jurisdiction, not a previously denied applicant, an Alabama legal resident, or anyone intending full-time or major-portion practice in Alabama. .08(7) allows 60 days per year in a Governor-proclaimed disaster or emergency (registration within 10 business days).
750-X-2-.10 adds a military-family route: an eligible individual with an active, unrestricted out-of-state licence, a completed application with background-check authorization, and EPPP passage at Alabama's rate gets a one-year certificate on an executive-director substantially-similar finding, or a 180-day permit for the named gaps (extendable with executive-director approval, lapsing at one year if licensure requirements are unmet).
Annual renewal on October 15, with 20 and 10 CE hours
Renewal is annual.
Notices mail August 15; payment and CE compliance are due October 15, the official renewal date, and a licensee who misses it lapses and may not practise unless working in an exempt setting (r.
750-X-4-.01).
Late renewal adds $20 for each month or fraction of a month, and a licence lapsed for two years or more cannot be reinstated — the holder applies as a new applicant.
Continuing education is 20 hours per year for psychologists and 10 hours per year for technicians, per the board's brochures, alongside an annual CE fee.
Inactive status is available but strips the right to practise or use either licensed title.
Rule changes 2023–2026
Three changes showed in the chapters read for the 2023–2026 window.
Rule 750-X-2-.03, the application rule, was amended effective January 14, 2023.
Rule 750-X-2-.10 — certification of applicants licensed in another jurisdiction under the Alabama Military Family Jobs Opportunity Act (Act 2018-540) — was a new rule published November 30, 2022, effective January 14, 2023.
And ch. 750-X-6, which carries the Appendix I fee schedule, was amended effective January 11, 2025, with publication November 27, 2024; its pages print Revised 1/11/25.
No other 2023–2026 amendments appear in the chapters as published.
The board's Proposed Rule Changes page renders through JavaScript and could not be read, so pending amendments may exist that this page cannot see.
What This Page Does — and Doesn’t — Cover
This page summarizes the Alabama statute, rules, board pages and other documents cited above, as read for this state-by-state psychologist licensure series, current as of September 2026.
It does not list application forms, fees beyond those cited above, or processing times, and it is not a substitute for the instructions the Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology publishes.
Hour totals, exams and supervision rules change by statute and by board rule; for how the two doctoral routes differ, see PhD vs. PsyD.
Confirm every requirement with the Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology before you count hours, register for an exam or apply — and before you take one of the clinical psychologist jobs in Alabama that asks for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Alabama require a postdoctoral year for psychologists?
No postdoctoral supervised-experience requirement appears in the board's rules — chapter 750-X-2 as published through its January 14, 2023 revision contains only the internship rule.
But that is a rules-only reading: the underlying statute, Ala.
Code §34-26-41, was not read for this page, so confirm with the board before relying on it.
What the rule does require is the internship — APA- or CPA-accredited, or one meeting the listed criteria.
Can a master's-level practitioner practise independently in Alabama?
No. The master's licence is the licensed psychological technician, and it is supervised: practice runs under a written contract filed with and accepted by the board before any practice, and a licensed psychologist must be the supervisor.
Independent forensic assessments and neuropsychological evaluations are outside the technician scope entirely, and a technician may not use the title psychologist.
Only the doctoral licence is independent.
What exams does Alabama require for psychologist licensure?
The EPPP and Alabama's Professional Standards Examination.
The EPPP is scored against the ASPPB recommended passing score — 500 for psychologists, 400 scaled for technicians — and the PSE covers the APA ethics code and Alabama psychology law at an 80% pass mark.
No EPPP Part 2 requirement was found in the sources read.
ASPPB's integrated EPPP replaces both parts for first-time takers from fall 2027.
Does Alabama have PSYPACT?
Yes.
The PSYPACT Commission map, read September 24, 2026, lists Alabama as a member in effect since June 1, 2021 — SB 102, enacted March 18, 2021.
The compact covers doctoral-level psychologists only, so licensed psychological technicians cannot use it.
Note the caveat: the enacting statute itself was not read for this page, so the status comes from the commission's map.
How many supervised hours does Alabama require to become a psychologist?
The rules read set no hourly total beyond the internship.
An APA- or CPA-accredited internship meets the experience rule; a non-accredited one must equal 1 year of full-time training completed in no less than 11 months and no more than 24 consecutive months, with at least 25% direct client contact and two hours of weekly individual supervision.
No postdoctoral hours appear in the rules; the statute was not read.
More Alabama & Clinical Psychologist Resources
Sources
- Ala. Admin. Code chs. 750-X-1 through 750-X-6 (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology, Information for Psychologist Applicants (rev. Aug 2022) (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology, Information for Psychological Technician Applicants (rev. Aug 2022) (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- PSYPACT Commission, PSYPACT Map (retrieved 2026-09-24)
Sourced from the statute, rules, board pages and other documents cited above.
Verified September 2026.
This is career information, not legal or clinical advice — confirm current rules with the Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology.