Minimum Requirements

On November 8, 2025, the Board approved SP.01-25 Eligibility and Approval for Candidates of the EPPP Part 1 (Knowledge), which allows doctoral students who have completed the required doctoral program coursework per A.R.S. § 32-2071 to apply for approval to take the EPPP. This is relative only to individuals whose doctorate has not been conferred. Doctoral students may apply for approval to sit for the EPPP with the online Exam and/or Licensure application. In the online application, when presented with the list of application types, doctoral students must select "EPPP Only". Go to the EPPP Only for Doctoral Students instructions page for the requirements and list of materials needed for this application.
For doctoral post-graduates who wish to apply to take the EPPP, use the online Exam and/or Licensure application. When presented with the list of application types, you may select EPPP Only or EPPP and Licensure. Go to the Board's Instructions page and click on the name of the application you wish to submit for the requirements and list of materials needed for that application.

DOCTORATE REQUIRED: The Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners does not offer any type of psychologist license for an individual whose highest level of education is a Master's degree. Per A.R.S. § 32-2071, the first minimum requirement for licensure is a doctorate in an applied psychology. You must have a doctoral degree in clinical, counseling, educational or school psychology. The only other doctorate that has been approved by the Board is forensic psychology, which included all necessary supervised clinical training. Regardless of all other factors (experience in another state or country included), if you have not earned a doctoral degree in a health-service-delivery psychology program, you do not meet requirements to be licensed as a psychologist in Arizona under A.R.S. § 32-2071. The Board has determined that a doctorate in the field of psychology is the minimum practice level required to apply for licensure by Universal Recognition under A.R.S. § 32-4302.

Per A.R.S. § 32-2071(D), 3,000 hours of supervised professional experience (SPE) that meets Arizona's statutes and rules are required for licensure. A minimum of 1,500 hours must be a pre-doctoral internship that meets Arizona's requirements under A.R.S. § 32-2071(F). The remaining balance may be additional internship hours, preinternship (practicum) hours (subsection F), and/or postdoctoral hours (subsection G). No more than 40 hours/week may be given credit (subsection H).
For internship and postdocs, SPE hours must be verified on Arizona forms by your supervisor and submitted by your supervisor directly to the Board's office. Preinternships must be verified on the Arizona form by your doctoral program's DCT. Verifications emailed to [email protected] is preferred. See the Board's Forms page for additional information and to download the applicable forms.

Statutes requiring a Department of Public Safety (DPS) fingerprint clearance card were enacted by the Arizona State Legislature in 2021. Changes to the statute language occurred in 2024, and federal approval of the statutes was granted to this Board in early 2025. Therefore, a fingerprint clearance card OR proof of submitted application for the fingerprint clearance card to DPS is now required. For details and how to apply for the card, see the Board's emailed announcement HERE.