Psychologist Licensure in Vermont: Degree, Supervised Hours and the EPPP
Vermont licenses psychologists through the Board of Psychological Examiners in the Office of Professional Regulation, and the statute defines two licence titles: psychologist-doctorate and psychologist-master.
Both rest on 4,000 hours of supervised practice — no fewer than 2,000 after the degree over at least one year — plus the EPPP and an open-book jurisprudence exam.
Supervised practice in Vermont requires roster registration first, unless the applicant is already licensed as a clinical mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist, LICSW or LMSW.
Vermont joined PSYPACT effective July 1, 2024.
A prescribing psychologist specialty takes effect July 1, 2029.
Verify before you rely on this
At a glance
Psychologist-doctorate and psychologist-master, both defined in the statute itself (26 V.S.A. § 3001(3)–(4)).
Doctorate: a doctoral degree in psychology from a regionally accredited professional psychology training program, an APA- or CPA-accredited program, a designated Canadian program, or an acceptable program under Board Rules 2.4–2.6 (Rule 2.3).
Master's: a program offered by a CAMPP full-member institution (§ 3001(10)(C)) or a Board-equivalent degree (Rule 3.4).
No separate internship hour count appears in the statute; Board Rules 2.3–2.5 address the doctoral program's structure.
Yes: of the 4,000 supervised practice hours, no fewer than 2,000 must come after the degree, and the post-degree half may not take less than one year (26 V.S.A. § 3011a(a)(2)(A); Board Rule 2.14(a)).
The texts read contain no provision letting accredited-program graduates count internship or practicum hours toward the 2,000.
The EPPP with a passing score of 500 (no more than four attempts in any twelve-month period) and the Board's open-book jurisprudence exam (pass: fewer than six incorrect answers).
No EPPP Part 2 requirement was found.
Yes: the psychologist-master, on a CAMPP or Board-equivalent master's degree, the same 4,000 hours with no fewer than 2,000 after the master's degree over at least one year, the EPPP and the jurisprudence exam.
Member, in effect: 2023 Act No. 37 added the compact effective July 1, 2024, and the PSYPACT Commission map as read in September 2026 lists Vermont as an effective member.
Enacted, not yet in force: 2026 Act No. 84 (H.237) creates a prescribing psychologist specialty effective July 1, 2029 — no patients under 18, over 80 or pregnant, and no injected controlled substances.
Until then, Board Rule 6.5 allows only a medication recommendation.
Every two years (26 V.S.A. § 3015(a)); 60 hours of continuing education with the first renewal application after two years of licensure and each renewal after, no fewer than 6 in ethics (Board Rule 8.1), including units in the area of systematic oppression and anti-oppressive practice (§ 3015(d)(2)).
The Vermont credential ladder
- Roster of nonlicensed, noncertified psychotherapistsOther
Not a licence and not a public-facing credential: a person who wishes to take post-degree supervised practice toward licensure in Vermont must register on this roster unless already licensed as a clinical mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist, licensed independent clinical social worker, or licensed master social worker (Board Rule 4.2).
Hours accrued in Vermont without registration do not count (Rule 4.3(b)); registered supervisees identify themselves as psychological trainees or psychological interns (Rule 4.8).
- Psychologist-masterIndependent
The master's-tier licence: a CAMPP-member or Board-equivalent master's degree in psychology (Board Rules 3.3, 3.4), 4,000 supervised practice hours with no fewer than 2,000 after the master's degree over at least one year (26 V.S.A. § 3011a(a)(2)(B); Board Rule 3.14(a)), the EPPP and the jurisprudence exam.
Once issued, no post-licensure supervision requirement appears in chapter 55 or the 2015 rules read.
- Psychologist-doctorateIndependent
The doctoral licence: a doctoral degree in psychology, the same 4,000-hour structure with no fewer than 2,000 hours after the degree over at least one year (26 V.S.A. § 3011a(a)(2)(A); Board Rule 2.14(a)), the EPPP at a passing score of 500, and the Board's open-book jurisprudence exam.
- Prescribing psychologist specialtyOther
Created by 2026 Act No. 84 (H.237) for the psychologist-doctorate: an APA-designated postdoctoral psychopharmacology program, clinical rotations of not less than 14 months in not less than five practice settings — the statute names psychiatry, geriatrics, family or internal medicine, emergency medicine and neurology (§ 3019(b)(3)) — a national certifying exam and a written collaborative agreement with a psychiatrist.
Prescriptive authority excludes dispensing, administering or distributing drugs and excludes patients under 18, over 80 or pregnant (§ 3001(17)), and prescription or administration of a controlled substance by injection is barred (§ 3019(c)(4)).
Section 3019(d) adds a specialty-by-endorsement route without examination.
The Board cannot issue the specialty until July 1, 2029 (Act 84, Sec. 5).
Two licence titles, and unlicensed practice is barred
The statute names the licences: psychologist-doctorate (§ 3001(3)) and psychologist-master (§ 3001(4)).
Section 3002(a) bars unlicensed practice, and § 3002(b) separately bars anyone not licensed under the chapter from using the title psychologist or any title containing that word.
The bar has carve-outs: § 3004 excepts students of psychology, psychologists at accredited academic institutions, some in-house business and research roles, and certain clinical trainees, while § 3005 exempts clergy, other licensed and rostered clinicians and similar professions engaged in their customary duties, so long as they do not describe themselves as psychologists.
Rule 6.2 requires licensees to use their full licence title.
The supervisee stage has its own identity: a person doing post-degree supervised practice toward licensure in Vermont must register first, unless already licensed as a clinical mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist, LICSW or LMSW, and practises as a psychological trainee or psychological intern (Rules 4.2, 4.8).
For how master’s-level psychology licences work where they exist, see the master’s-level psychology practitioner.
“A person who is not licensed under this chapter shall not engage in the practice of psychology.”
Two degree routes, one per licence
The doctoral route requires a doctoral degree in psychology.
Rule 2.3 accepts a degree from a regionally accredited professional psychology training program, a doctoral program at a Canadian institution that belongs to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and is designated by the joint ASPPB/National Register committee, a program accredited by the American or Canadian Psychological Association, or an 'other acceptable degree program' defined by Rules 2.4–2.6.
The master's route takes a degree offered by an institution that is a full member of the Council of Applied Master's Programs in Psychology, or a program the Board finds equivalent (Rules 3.3, 3.4).
Neither the statute nor the 2015 rules read contain any provision letting graduates of accredited programs count internship or practicum hours toward the post-degree supervised practice requirement — the 2,000 post-degree hours stand regardless of accreditation.
For how the PhD and PsyD routes to this degree differ, see PhD vs. PsyD.
“offered by an educational institution that is a full member of the Council of Applied Master's Programs in Psychology (CAMPP)”
4,000 hours, 2,000 after the degree, over at least one year
The statute sets one structure for both licences: 4,000 hours of supervised practice as the Board defines it, of which no fewer than 2,000 must be completed after the degree (§ 3011a(a)(2)).
Rule 2.14(a) adds that the post-doctoral half may not be completed in less than one year, and Rule 3.14(a) says the same of the post-master's half.
The hours also have a gate: post-degree supervised practice in Vermont requires registration on the roster unless the supervisee is already licensed as a clinical mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist, licensed independent clinical social worker, or licensed master social worker (Rule 4.2); unregistered supervised practice is unauthorized practice and will not be counted (Rules 4.3(a), 4.3(b)), and only hours acquired within 5 years of completing the application count (Rule 4.12(c)).
For the whole path from degree to licence, see how to become a clinical psychologist.
“possesses a doctoral degree in psychology and has completed 4,000 hours of supervised practice as defined by the Board by rule, of which no fewer than 2,000 hours were completed after the doctoral degree in psychology was received”
The EPPP at 500, an open-book jurisprudence exam, and no Part 2
Applicants must successfully complete the EPPP (Rule 2.10), and the application instructions set the mark: a passing score of 500, with no more than four attempts in any twelve-month period.
Rule 2.11 requires applicants who have not previously been licensed to complete the EPPP within 5 years of applying.
The Board's jurisprudence exam sits inside the online application, is open book, and takes fewer than six incorrect answers to pass.
No EPPP Part 2 requirement appears in the rules read.
That landscape shifts nationally soon: ASPPB's integrated EPPP becomes the exam for first-time takers from fall 2027 and the only version from April 1, 2028, so check the Board's exam page for which version your application will use.
“A passing score of 500 is required for licensure.”
The rules around the hours: two supervisors, 500 hours each
Rule 4.9 requires no fewer than two supervisors during supervised practice training, each supervising no fewer than 500 hours of the applicant's clinical practice.
Supervision must keep a ratio of one hour to 20 or fewer practice hours (Rule 4.13): for every 40 hours of practice, 2 hours of supervision are due, one of those hours must be formal, individual and in person, and the second may be group supervision (Rule 4.10).
Applicants documenting fewer than 20 hours of practice per week cannot count group supervision at all (Rule 4.11).
Absent exceptional circumstances, a year with fewer than 700 supervised hours does not count, and no more than 40 hours of practice per week count (Rules 4.12, 4.14).
The supervisor must hold a valid unencumbered psychologist's licence for the state where the practice occurs and have at least three years of licensed practice in good standing (Rule 4.4).
“The applicant must have no fewer than two supervisors during the course of supervised practice training. Each supervisor shall supervise no fewer than 500 hours of clinical practice for the supervision to be accepted.”
Independent once issued: titles, recommendations, and short-term licences
Neither chapter 55 nor the 2015 rules impose any post-licensure supervision requirement, for either title: once the Board issues the licence, the psychologist-master and the psychologist-doctorate practise on their own licences.
Rule 6.2 requires the full licence title, and Rule 6.5 lets a psychologist offer a medication recommendation to the prescribing provider about a patient they have evaluated — that, and not prescribing, is the medication scope until the 2029 specialty takes effect.
The Board also issues a temporary licence to a psychologist licensed with no disciplinary history and in good standing in another United States or Canadian jurisdiction, for no more than 10 days or 80 hours in any 12-month period, with no more than two temporary licences per applicant (Rule 1.8).
For which states let specially trained psychologists prescribe, and on what terms, see prescriptive authority for psychologists.
PSYPACT: enacted 2023, in effect since July 1, 2024
Vermont adopted the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact in 2023 Act No. 37, effective July 1, 2024, and the PSYPACT Commission map as read in September 2026 lists Vermont as an effective member (H 282, enacted June 1, 2023).
PSYPACT is a compact for doctoral-level psychologists, so the psychologist-master cannot practise under it.
A Vermont psychologist-doctorate uses the compact to practise telepsychology or temporary in-person psychology in another participating state, through the ASPPB credentials the compact recognizes plus the matching PSYPACT privilege.
For how PSYPACT’s telepsychology and temporary-practice authorizations work, see PSYPACT explained.
“Vermont hereby enacts and adopts the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact.”
Moving to Vermont: equivalence, credentials, and a fast track
The Board treats § 3014(a)(1)–(3) as separate routes (Rules 2.1(a)(2)–(4)), each for a psychologist licensed in another United States or Canadian jurisdiction and each joined with a passed Vermont laws-and-rules exam: substantial-equivalence licensure, supervised practice tested by a 1,500-post-degree-hour floor (Rule 2.17); ABPP diplomate status (Rule 2.18); or an individual certification acceptable to the Board (Rule 2.19).
Rule 3.15 is the master's-level counterpart.
Where the home jurisdiction is not substantially equivalent, § 3014(b) issues a licence to a United States- or Canadian-licensed doctoral psychologist in good standing with no pending charges, no disciplinary finding of unprofessional conduct in any jurisdiction, an average of at least 1,000 practice hours per year for a minimum of seven years, and five years of licensure preceding the application.
Rule 2.20 governs the master's-to-doctoral upgrade.
Rule 2.15 waives a single requirement — education, experience, or examination — and, in general, only for applicants of national or international recognition.
The instructions add a Fast Track for doctorate applicants three or more years licensed in good standing, and a 90-day provisional licence while verifications arrive.
“In determining substantial equivalence of supervised practice requirements, the Board will consider a state whose standards require no fewer than 1,500 hours of post-degree supervised practice to be substantially equivalent.”
Renewal every two years; 60 CE hours with an ethics floor
Licences are renewed on a two-year cycle (26 V.S.A. § 3015(a); Board Rule 7.1); the fee schedule sets $240.00 to apply and $195.00 for each biennial renewal (§ 3010).
Rule 8.2 requires documentation of 60 hours of continuing education with the first renewal application after two years of licensure and with each subsequent renewal, and counts only education taken within two years of the renewal date.
Of those 60 hours, no fewer than 6 must be specially devoted to professional psychologist ethics, no more than 30 hours may go to any one topic (Rule 8.1), and no fewer than 24 of the 60 must come from large group and formal presentation activities (Rule 8.5(c)).
The statute requires continuing education units in the area of systematic oppression and anti-oppressive practice (§ 3015(d)(2)).
A licensee whose Vermont licence lapsed more than five years ago and who has not practised under another United States or Canadian licence during that time returns through Rule 7.3: the jurisprudence exam, the renewal CE, Board approval and roster registration, and 1,000 hours of supervised practice.
“With the first renewal application after two years of licensure, and with each subsequent renewal application, documentation of completion of 60 hours of acceptable continuing education is required.”
2021–2026: oppression CE, PSYPACT, and prescriptive authority
2021 Act No. 117 put the systematic-oppression education unit into § 3015(d)(2), effective July 1, 2023.
2023 Act No. 37 enacted PSYPACT, effective July 1, 2024.
The latest change, 2026 Act No. 84 (H.237), signed April 27, 2026, adds the prescribing psychologist specialty at § 3019 with split effective dates: the Board's rulemaking duties began July 1, 2026, while every remaining section — the specialty itself — takes effect July 1, 2029.
As of the September 2026 retrieval, the consolidated chapter 55 page had not yet been updated to show § 3019; the Act is the operative text.
“(a) This section and Sec. 2 (power and duties of the Board) shall take effect on July 1, 2026. (b) All remaining sections shall take effect on July 1, 2029.”
What This Page Does — and Doesn’t — Cover
This page summarizes the Vermont 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 Vermont Board of Psychological Examiners (Office of Professional Regulation) 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 Vermont Board of Psychological Examiners (Office of Professional Regulation) before you count hours, register for an exam or apply — and before you take one of the clinical psychologist jobs in Vermont that asks for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Vermont require a postdoc year to become a psychologist?
Yes, as the rules are written.
The statute requires 4,000 hours of supervised practice with no fewer than 2,000 completed after the doctoral degree (26 V.S.A. § 3011a(a)(2)(A)), and Board Rule 2.14(a) says the post-degree half may not be completed in less than one year.
The statute and rules read contain no provision letting graduates of accredited programs count internship or practicum hours toward those 2,000 hours.
If you will practise in Vermont, register on the roster before supervised hours start — unregistered hours do not count, and holders of CMHC, MFT, LICSW or LMSW licences are exempt.
Can a master's-level psychologist practise independently in Vermont?
The psychologist-master is a full Board licence.
It takes a CAMPP-member or Board-equivalent master's degree, 4,000 supervised practice hours with no fewer than 2,000 after the master's degree over at least one year, the EPPP and the jurisprudence exam (26 V.S.A. § 3011a(a)(2)(B); Board Rules 3.3, 3.14).
No post-licensure supervision requirement appears in chapter 55 or the 2015 rules read, so treat the licence as independent — and note PSYPACT is doctoral-only, so it does not travel on the compact.
What exams does Vermont require for psychologist licensure?
Two.
The EPPP, with a passing score of 500 and no more than four attempts in any twelve-month period, and the Board's jurisprudence exam, which is open book, sits in the online application, and requires fewer than six incorrect answers to pass.
No EPPP Part 2 requirement appears in the rules read.
ASPPB's integrated EPPP takes over for first-time takers from fall 2027 and becomes the only version from April 1, 2028 — check the Board's exam page when you apply.
Can Vermont psychologists prescribe medication?
Not until July 1, 2029.
Act No. 84 (H.237), signed April 27, 2026, creates the specialty, and its effective-date section is explicit: July 1, 2029.
Until then, Board Rule 6.5 lets a psychologist offer only a medication recommendation.
The specialty belongs to the psychologist-doctorate and requires an APA-designated postdoctoral psychopharmacology program, clinical rotations of at least 14 months in at least five practice settings, including psychiatry, geriatrics, family or internal medicine, emergency medicine and neurology — plus a national certifying exam and a written collaborative agreement with a psychiatrist.
Its authority excludes dispensing, administering or distributing drugs, patients under 18, over 80 or pregnant, and injected controlled substances.
What happens if you start supervised practice before registering on the roster?
Those hours disappear.
Board Rule 4.2 requires anyone doing post-degree supervised practice toward licensure in Vermont to register first — unless they already hold a licence as a clinical mental health counselor, marriage and family therapist, licensed independent clinical social worker, or licensed master social worker.
Rule 4.3(b) says unregistered supervised practice will not be counted, and Rule 4.3(a) calls it unauthorized practice that can bring disciplinary sanctions for the supervisee and the supervisor.
Information on the roster sits on the Office's Allied Mental Health profession page — it is not a licence, and registered supervisees identify themselves as psychological trainees or psychological interns (Rule 4.8).
More Vermont & Clinical Psychologist Resources
Sources
- 26 V.S.A. ch. 55, Psychology (Vermont Legislature) (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- Administrative Rules for Psychological Examiners, eff. January 15, 2015 (Vermont OPR) (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- Vermont OPR, Psychologist Application Instructions (February 2026 version read) (retrieved 2026-09-24)
- 2026 Act No. 84 (H.237), An act relating to prescribing by doctoral-level psychologists, as enacted April 27, 2026 (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 Vermont Board of Psychological Examiners (Office of Professional Regulation).