Psychologist Licensure in Texas: Degree, Supervised Hours and the EPPP

Texas issues four psychology licences: licensed psychologist, provisionally licensed psychologist, licensed psychological associate and licensed specialist in school psychology.

The provisional licence is the doctoral applicant's supervised stage, capped at two years.

The LPA is a genuine master's-level licence, and the LSSP is the school licence.

The statute's licence requirement covers both doing the work and holding yourself out as doing it, so a job title that implies psychology practice needs the matching licence unless an exemption in § 501.004 applies.

The statute requires a doctoral degree in psychology from a regionally accredited institution, and the rule adds a paper test: for degrees conferred on or after January 1, 1979, the transcript itself must designate a major in psychology.

A doctorate in a neighbouring field with psychology coursework does not meet that line.

The rule does not require APA accreditation for the degree, but accreditation matters later, because it decides whether internship and practicum hours can stand in for post-degree supervision.

An applicant who holds ASPPB's Certificate of Professional Qualification is treated as meeting every requirement except the jurisprudence exam.

The rule asks for at least 3,500 hours of supervised experience: at least 1,750 through a formal internship within the doctoral program and at least 1,750 received as a provisionally licensed psychologist.

The statute frames the same idea as two years, one of which may be inside the doctoral program.

The twist is § 463.11(b): graduates of APA-, CPA- or PCSAS-accredited programs may count internship hours above 1,750, and qualifying practicum hours, toward the post-doctoral half.

For those graduates the postdoc year can be met before the degree is conferred.

Graduates of other programs should plan on the full 1,750 post-degree hours.

Every applicant for the psychologist or psychological associate licence must pass the EPPP, with 500 as the passing score on the computer-based exam, and the Texas jurisprudence exam, where the pass mark is 85%.

No requirement for EPPP Part 2 (Skills) was found in the rules read.

That question is time-limited anyway: ASPPB is replacing the two-part EPPP with one integrated exam for first-time takers from fall 2027, the only version from April 1, 2028, and the Texas rules read had not yet been amended for it.

A licensed psychological associate must practise under a licensed psychologist's supervision and may not practise independently, unless they show at least 3,000 hours of post-graduate-degree experience under one or more licensed psychologists.

Those hours must fall within not less than 24 and not more than 48 consecutive months, in no more than three placements, so hours from a fourth placement, or spread over more than 48 months, fall outside the rule.

An independent LPA must tell every client whether they hold a master's, specialist or doctoral degree.

Texas psychologists at any level have no prescriptive authority.

Texas joined PSYPACT through H.B.

1501, which added the compact to chapter 501.

The PSYPACT Commission map, as read in September 2026, lists Texas as a member in effect: enacted June 10, 2019, effective July 1, 2020.

PSYPACT is doctoral-only, so a Texas LPA or LSSP cannot use it.

A Texas psychologist uses it to practise telepsychology or temporarily in person in another participating state, through ASPPB's E.Passport or Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate plus the PSYPACT authorization.

The psychologist rule gives experienced out-of-state applicants three routes past parts of the file.

A current ASPPB Certificate of Professional Qualification counts for everything except the jurisprudence exam.

An active ABPP specialist certification counts for everything except the EPPP and the jurisprudence exam.

And a doctoral-level psychologist licensed in good standing who has practised in another jurisdiction for at least five years does not have to document supervised experience.

In each case the credential or licence verification must reach the Council directly from the issuing body, or as agency staff direct.

The statute requires the executive council to renew licences annually or biennially and leaves the cycle to rule.

The council's CE rule obliges every licensee to complete continuing education each renewal period but hands the amount to each member board, and the psychology board's hour figure was not located in the sources read.

BHEC requires licensees to report CE through CE Broker from January 1, 2026.

Check the board's CE page for your renewal period before your licence comes due.

The LPA rule, § 463.8, was amended effective September 21, 2023.

The psychologist and supervised-experience rules, §§ 463.10 and 463.11, were amended effective March 7, 2023, and § 463.10 again effective March 17, 2025, the same date as the exam rule § 463.31.

The LSSP statute, § 501.260, was amended by 2025 HB 2598, effective September 1, 2025.

CE Broker reporting became mandatory on January 1, 2026.