Psychology

License Requirements

General Requirements

The practice of psychology or use of the title "psychologist" or terms "psychologist, psychology, or psychological" or any derivative thereof within New York State requires licensure as a psychologist, unless otherwise exempt under the law.

To be licensed as a psychologist in New York State you must:

• be of good moral character
• be at least 21 years of age
• meet education, examination, and experience requirements

Submit an application for licensure and the other forms indicated, along with the appropriate fee, to the Office of the Professions at the address specified on each form. It is your responsibility to follow up with anyone whom you have asked to send us material.

The specific requirements for licensure are contained in Title 8, Article 153, Sections 7603 and 7604 of New York's Education Law and Part 72 of the Commissioner's Regulations. The Rules of the Board of Regents on Unprofessional Conduct are available on this site (www.op.nysed.gov/part29.htm).

You should also read the general licensing information applicable for all professions.

Fees

The fee for licensure is $294.

The fee for a limited permit is $70.

Fees are subject to change. The fee due is the one in law when your application is received (unless fees are increased retroactively). You will be billed for the difference if fees have been increased.

• Do not send cash.
• Make your personal check or money order payable to the New York State Education Department. * Your cancelled check is your receipt.
• Mail your application and fee to:
  
  

  NYS Education Department
  Office of the Professions
  PO Box 22063
  Albany, NY 12201
  

Partial Refunds

Individuals who withdraw their licensure application may be entitled to a partial refund.

• For the procedure to withdraw your application, contact the Psychology Unit at opunit3@mail.nysed.gov or by calling (518) 474-3817 ext. 270 or by fax at: (518) 402-5354.
• The State Education Department is not responsible for any fees paid to an outside testing or credentials verification agency.

If you withdraw your application, obtain a refund, and then decide to seek New York State licensure at a later date, you will be considered a new applicant, and you will be required to pay the licensure and registration fees and meet the licensure requirements in place at the time you reapply.

Education Requirements

To meet the professional education requirement for licensure, you must:

• Have a doctoral degree in psychology that was granted on the basis of the completion of a doctoral program in psychology registered by the Department as licensure qualifying, or determined by the Department to be the substantial equivalent in accordance with the Regulations of the Commissioner. All persons who apply on or after January 1, 2002 must meet the requirements that became effective on that date.
• Satisfy the Child Abuse Identification Reporting requirement by completing coursework or training in the identification and reporting of child abuse according to Section 6507 (3)(a) of the Education Law. If you graduated after September 1, 1990 from a New York State psychology program registered as licensure qualifying, you are credited with having completed this coursework as part of your program. All other applicants must submit a certificate of completion from an approved provider or file a claim of exemption (Form 1 CE) before a New York State license can be issued. Approved providers include many hospitals and schools within New York State. A list of approved course providers is available on this site, or from opforms@mail.nysed.gov or (518) 474-3817 ext. 320. If you have questions, please contact the Professional Education Program Review Unit at oppleuca@mail.nysed.gov, or (518) 474-3817 ext. 360 or fax to: (518) 473-8577.

How will I know if a program is licensure qualifying?

The doctoral programs in psychology in New York State that have been approved as licensure-qualifying should include that information in their course catalog. You may also find that information in the Inventory of Registered Programs compiled by the Office of Higher Education at www.highered.nysed.gov/ocue/.

How will I know if a program can be considered the "substantial equivalent" of a New York State licensure-qualifying program?

To be determined to be the equivalent of a New York State program registered as licensure qualifying, a program must be offered by an institution accredited by an accrediting organization acceptable to the Department or recognized by the appropriate civil authorities of the jurisdiction in which the school is located as an acceptable doctoral program in psychology. The program must be designed and conducted by the degree-granting institution to prepare graduates to practice professional psychology independently, and it must be shown to be substantially equivalent to the requirements for the registration of a licensure qualifying doctoral program in psychology in New York State. The program must consist of at least three years of full-time study, or the part-time equivalent, and must include at least 30 semester hours of course work obtained at the doctoral degree-granting institution. Programs located in the United States must be accredited by a regional accrediting body approved by the United States Department of Education or the New York State Board of Regents.

What are the curricular requirements for programs registered as licensure-qualifying, or the substantial equivalent?

The program must be a doctoral program in psychology which requires at least three years of full-time study or the equivalent, including seminars, tutorials, or other graduate level coursework representing two years of full-time study or the equivalent and include:

• coursework in scientific and professional ethics and standards of practice, and issues of cultural and ethnic diversity;
• at least three semester hours or five graduate quarter hours in each of the following seven substantive content areas: biological basis of behavior; cognitive-affective basis of behavior; social basis of behavior; individual difference; psychometrics; history and systems of psychology; and research design, methodology, and statistics, and
• one year of supervised practicum, internship, field experience, or applied research, which is appropriate to the practice of psychology as the practice is defined in Section 7601-A of Title 8 of the Education Law. To meet this requirement, a "practicum" must be the equivalent of an "internship."

Experience Requirements

You must present evidence satisfactory to the State Board for Psychology, of two years of full-time supervised experience (defined as 1750 clock hours per year) or the part-time equivalent, consistent with the scope of practice in psychology in Section 7601-A of the State Education Law.

If you received a doctoral degree on or after October 1, 1992, one of the two years, consisting of 1750 clock hours, must be done after the date your institution has determined that you completed all doctoral degree requirements, including the dissertation.

Definition of practice in the profession of psychology

Section 7601-A of the Education Law defines the professional practice of psychology as:

1. The practice of psychology is the observation, description, evaluation, interpretation, and modification of behavior for the purpose of preventing or eliminating symptomatic, maladaptive or undesired behavior; enhancing interpersonal relationships, personal, group or organizational effectiveness and work and/or life adjustment; and improving behavioral health and/or mental health. The practice includes, but is not limited to psychological (including neuropsychological) testing and counseling; psychoanalysis; psychotherapy; the diagnosis and treatment of mental, nervous, emotional, cognitive or behavioral disorders, disabilities, ailments or illnesses, alcoholism, substance abuse, disorders of habit or conduct, the psychological aspects of physical illness, accident, injury or disability, psychological aspects of learning (including learning disorders); and the use of accepted classification systems.
   
   
2. The term "diagnosis and treatment" means the appropriate psychological diagnosis and the ordering or providing of treatment according to need. Treatment includes, but is not limited to counseling, psychotherapy, marital or family therapy, psychoanalysis, and other psychological interventions, including verbal, behavioral, or other appropriate means as defined in regulations promulgated by the commissioner.

1. Content

   Your experience must consist of a planned programmed sequence of supervised employment or engagement in appropriate psychology activities performed in accordance with the definition of the practice of psychology provided above, and satisfactory in quality, breadth, scope and nature.

   One year of the following types of experience may be accepted provided that it integrates psychological knowledge and application:

   • A university approved doctoral level practicum, internship, field experience or applied research as long as the research experience is not a part of your dissertation or thesis requirement;
   • Teaching psychology, as a university or college faculty member may be accepted provided it meets all the requirements for supervised experience.
   
   
2. Setting

   An acceptable setting must:

   • provide psychological services as defined in Section 7601-A of NYS Education Law;
   • provide supervision to you by a qualified psychologist responsible for the design, coordination, integrity and quality of your experience;
   • employ your supervisor, or secure his or her services as a consultant, provided that on or after January 1, 1988, the setting shall retain the qualified consultant;
   • provide a title for you that conforms to the requirements in Section 7605 of NYS Education Law that clearly designates your training status such as, "psychological intern or psychological trainee," or as "psychologist" if you hold a limited permit;
   • provide a title that meets the conditions of Section 17-A of Chapter 676 of the Laws of 2002 when you provide services in a program authorized under that section, which does not include the word "psychology, psychological, or psychologist", and
   • accept responsibility for your services while securing licensure-qualifying experience.
   
   
3. Duration

   Acceptable experience must be continuous within periods of at least six months and meet the following requirements:

   In academic settings

   Experience must consist of continuous experience within a period of not less than one semester. If you submit teaching experience, it must consist of not less than six credit hours of teaching per semester. The six-month periods or the semesters of experience are not required to be immediately successive (i.e., one after the other).

   All Other practice settings

   Acceptable full-time experience gained prior to January 1, 1998 may consist of no more than 35 hours a week. For experience gained on or after January 1, 1998, full-time experience may consist of 35 to 45 hours a week.

   Acceptable part-time experience must consist of at least 16 hours, but no more than 34 hours a week and must be gained in a minimum of two days a week.

4. Supervision
   
   
   1. Your supervisor is required to be:
      
      
      • licensed in the jurisdiction in which the supervision is provided or, in exempt settings as defined by Section 7605 of NYS Education Law, your supervisor must have qualifications satisfactory to the Department.
      • the owner of, employed by, or be a consultant to, the setting in which the experience occurs. (Note: on or after January 1, 1988, a qualified consultant providing supervision shall be retained by the setting.)
      
      
   2. If your experience was gained prior to January 1, 1998
      
      
      1. In a direct human services setting, you must have had:
         
         

         For both full-time and part-time experience - At least one hour of individual, face-to-face supervision each week regarding the services you were providing. (Note: If your experience occurred after January 1, 1988, you need one additional week of other learning activities, including face-to-face supervision, seminars, group supervision or apprenticeship activities.)

      2. In other than a direct human services setting, (including academic and research settings) you must have had:
         
         

         For full-time experience - At least two hours bi-weekly in such learning activities as face-to-face supervision, seminars, group supervision or apprenticeship activities.

         For part-time experience - At least one hour bi-weekly in such learning activities as face-to-face supervision, group supervision or apprenticeship activities.

   3. If your experience was gained on or after January 1, 1998

      For every period of full-time experience gained - At least two hours of weekly supervision, including one hour of individual, face-to-face supervision regarding services you provided and one additional hour which shall be either face-to-face supervision, group supervision, seminars or workshops, or apprenticeship activities.

      For every period of part-time experience gained - At least two hours of supervision within every two week period, one hour of which must be face-to-face supervision; and, one additional hour that must be either face-to-face supervision, group supervision, seminars or workshops, or apprenticeship activities.

Examination Requirement

You must pass the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) developed by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) with a converted score of at least 75 as determined by the State Board for Psychology.

Eligibility

To be eligible to sit for the examination you must:

• apply for licensure, pay the licensure fee and submit all required supporting documentation;
• have had a doctoral degree in psychology conferred and your education verified and approved by the New York State Education Department, and
• have at least one year (1750 hours) of experience submitted and approved by the Department.

When the Department has determined your eligibility, we will send notice of your eligibility to the Professional Examination Service (PES). PES will send you the examination application packet.

The examination is administered by:

Professional Examination Service (PES)
475 Riverside Drive
New York, NY 10115-0089
Phone: (866) 364-3777 or (212) 367-4200

For further information regarding the examination contact the Professional Examination Service or:

Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards
P.O. Box 241245
Montgomery, AL 36124-1245
Phone: (334) 832-4580

Reasonable Testing Accommodations

To receive special accommodations for the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) you must:

• Indicate your need for reasonable testing accommodations by checking the appropriate box in item 15 of the Application for Licensure and First Registration (Form 1) and send the Form 1, application fees and any other required application-related supporting documentation to the Office of the Professions at the address on the form. We will forward the Reasonable Testing Accommodations request form to you. (You can also request the form directly from the Bureau of Professional Examinations at opexams@mail.nysed.gov, by calling (518) 474-3817 ext. 290, by fax at (518) 473-8577 or print it from our Web site.)
• Complete the Reasonable Testing Accommodations request form and submit it and the required reasonable testing accommodation documentation to the New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions at the address on the form.
• Complete the Special Accommodations Notification Form included with the examination application materials you receive from PES and forward it with your examination application.

Applicants Licensed in Another Jurisdiction

If you are licensed in another jurisdiction, you must file a complete application for licensure and have supporting forms submitted to the Department. The Department may accept an examination that has been used for licensure in another jurisdiction. If you have taken the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) and have received a score that is at or above the passing raw score adopted by New York State for that administration of the examination, you should ask the jurisdiction(s) where you are licensed to submit that score on Form 3, or request the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards to send your score to the Department. If your jurisdiction did not use the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology, you may ask them to submit a copy of the examination that you took to the Department. It will be reviewed to determine if it is comparable in content to the examination used by New York State.

You should submit Form 3 to all jurisdictions where you are or have been licensed and request that each jurisdiction complete the form.

New York State does not accept the Certificate of Professional Qualification (CPQ) for licensure purposes.

Limited Permits

The Department may issue a limited permit to practice as a psychologist to an applicant:

1. who needs to gain the supervised experience required to meet the experience requirement for licensure (Form 5A). You must have:
   • completed all doctoral degree requirements, including your doctoral dissertation, and
   • met all other licensure requirements except the examination and professional experience.

   A permit holder must work under the supervision of a New York State licensed and currently registered psychologist. A limited permit shall be valid for an aggregate of three years. A one-year extension may be granted for good cause as determined by the Department.

   You may apply for a limited permit at the same time or any time after you submit your Application for Licensure (Form 1) and initial licensure fee.

   OR

2. holding a certificate or license to practice psychology issued in another state or country (Form 5B)
   • with qualifications that have been approved for admission to the examination for licensure,
   • who has resided in this state for a period of not more than six months prior to filing of such application and;
   • whose education, experience and proof of residency has been received and approved by the Department.

   The limited permit shall be valid for a period of not more than twelve months, or until ten days after notification to the applicant of failure of the professional licensing examination or until the results of a licensing examination for which the applicant is eligible are officially released, whichever comes first.