How do state laws differ in setting psychology licensure requirements in 2025?

1. “Doctorate and the EPPP: the common core — with caveats”

Most states require a doctoral degree in psychology and passage of the national Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP), establishing a baseline national standard ^[6]. That apparent uniformity masks exceptions and administrative differences: some states accept non‑APA programs after remediation, require credential evaluations for foreign degrees, or permit practice under supervision with a master’s in limited circumstances ^{[7] [1] [6]}. The result: while the doctorate + EPPP model dominates, applicants must check state rules for acceptable program accreditation and remediation options ^{[1] [7] [6]}.

2. “Big gaps in supervised‑practice hours”

Supervised experience requirements show the sharpest interstate divergence. California’s minimum qualifying supervised experience is 1,500 hours for pre‑ or post‑doctoral work ^[1]. Florida requires two years or 4,000 hours of supervised experience, counting a 2,000‑hour internship toward that total ^[2]. Texas and other states set different post‑graduate-hour benchmarks (Texas requires 3,000 post‑graduate hours for certain tracks) ^[8]. Psychology interns and applicants therefore face materially different training loads depending on where they seek licensure ^{[9] [2] [8]}.

3. “Two‑part EPPP, jurisprudence tests, and state‑specific exams”

By 2025 the EPPP has been split into knowledge and skills components with fees cited in guides, but states also add their own law or jurisprudence exams; Pennsylvania and several state boards require both the EPPP and a state‑law exam ^{[3] [4]}. Washington requires licensees to pass a jurisprudence exam within the first CE cycle and imposes state‑specific CE topics like health equity ^[5]. Applicants must budget for multiple exams, fees and, in some states, separate jurisprudence testing ^{[3] [5] [4]}.

4. “Continuing education: shared requirement, varying content and cadence”

All responding licensing boards in one survey reported mandatory continuing education at renewal, but renewal cycles and content mandates differ ^[3]. Pennsylvania requires a biennial minimum (30 hours) including ethics and child‑abuse recognition, while Washington demands 60 hours every three years and specific health equity content ^{[4] [5]}. States can suspend practice privileges until CE requirements are met, and some offer waivers for illness — details vary by board ^{[5] [4]}.

5. “Reciprocity and PSYPACT: partial harmonization, not universal portability”

Interstate portability is expanding but not settled: as of 2025, 42 states permit psychologists to apply for PSYPACT, which allows telepsychology and temporary practice across compact states without full licensure in each jurisdiction ^[3]. That expands mobility for many practitioners but leaves eight states outside PSYPACT and does not fully replace state licensure requirements for permanent in‑state practice ^[3]. Boards still assess “substantial equivalency” or require endorsements in non‑compact contexts ^{[5] [4]}.

6. “Administrative nuances matter: reciprocity, temporary permits, and abandonment rules”

State rules include procedural landmines: Indiana, Washington and others require jurisprudence exams or permit temporary, limited permits with strict time limits; Indiana will abandon incomplete applications after one year ^{[10] [5]}. Florida’s forms and rules explicitly track internship/post‑doc hour crediting and Social Security requirements ^[2]. Applicants who focus only on headline requirements risk missing administrative constraints that can delay licensure ^{[10] [2]}.

7. “What this means for applicants and employers”

Prospective psychologists must research the target state’s education equivalency, supervised‑hour totals, exam mix (EPPP parts plus possible state law tests), CE mandates, and compact participation before moving or committing to training pathways ^{[6] [2] [3]}. Employers and training programs should recognize that a credential accepted in one state may require remediation or extra steps elsewhere — check the specific state board guidance rather than assuming national uniformity ^{[7] [11]}.

Limitations and sources: This analysis synthesizes state examples and national summaries from the provided reporting and state board pages; it does not list all 50 states’ rules. For full, current requirements consult the cited state boards and the PSYPACT participation list in the sources above ^{[1] [2] [5] [3]}.