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Where Do I Start?

Where Do I Start?

If you wish to practice psychology independently in Arizona, you must be licensed by the Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners (Board).  Even if you are licensed in another state, you must submit an application for licensure to the Board which must then be approved by the Board before a license can be issued (see details of the application process HERE). 

Board staff cannot advise what type of application for you to make.  Everyone's professional history and circumstances are unique. There are three main pathways to licensure in Arizona. Please see "Three Pathways to Licensure", below, for more information. 

The materials that need to be submitted either by you or by a primary source differ depending on the type of application being submitted. Once you determine which application is right for you, in the table of contents on the Psychologist Applications page, go to #3, Instructions and List of Materials Needed for Online Applications. Click on this link, then click on the application you will be making to see a list of materials that are needed for that application. These instructions are also provided at the start of each online application. 

REQUIREMENTS

Requirements for licensure are codified in law.  All applicants using the Exam and/or Licensure application must meet these requirements for education, training and national exam score (scaled score of 500 or above) to be qualified for licensure.  

EPPP:  The national exam for psychologists is the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology or the EPPP (pronounced Eē-Triple-Pē), administered by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB).  Individuals who have completed their doctorate in an applied psychology and wish to take the EPPP must apply for approval to a state or provincial psychology board for authorization to sit for the EPPP.  For more detailed information relative to the EPPP, please see the Board's EPPP Resources page.  

REQUIREMENTS IN LAW:  Most of the statutes that regulate psychologist licensure in Arizona can be found in Title 32, Chapter 19.1 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. Each statute in this chapter is listed and linked on the Board's Statutes and Rules page (under the Resources menu tab). 

Please note, the Board does not have a statutorily-defined reciprocity application option with other states or provinces or applications by endorsement. Applicants will need to apply by one of the three pathways outlined below.

  1. LICENSURE by UNIVERAL RECOGNITION:  Under A.R.S. § 32-4302,  if you have a doctorate in psychology, hold a psychologist license for independent practice in another state that has been active for at least one year, and have established residence in Arizona, you may qualify to apply for licensure by Universal Recognition. This application does not require separate verification of education and training. Please see "Three Pathways to Licensure", below, for more information. 
  2. LICENSURE by CREDENTIAL:  Under A.R.S. § 32-2071.01(D), if you hold a credential recognized by this Board (ABPP, CPQ or National Register HSP), and have been licensed in another state for five (5) or more years, you may qualify to apply by Credential. The credential is accepted as verification of education and training; the ABPP and the CPQ are also accepted as verification of a passing EPPP score. Applicants do not need to live in Arizona to apply for licensure by Credential.  See "Three Pathways to Licensure", below, for more information.  
  3. EXAM AND/OR LICENSURE:  If you do not qualify to apply for licensure by Universal Recognition or Credential, you may apply by Exam and/or Licensure under A.R.S. § 32-2071,  § 32-2071.01(A)-(C), & § 32-2072. This application has six sub-types of applications that can be made, based on the applicant's individual professional history. See the header, "Psychologist Applications" on the Instructions for Online Applications page, and click on the application type for detailed instructions for each of these application types.  The first six (6) application types listed are submitted using the Psychologist Application for Exam and/or Licensure. 

     

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

  • DOCTORATE REQUIRED:   The Board 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 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.    
  • LICENSES CANNOT BE TRANSFERRED:  A license to practice psychology cannot be "transferred" from another state.  Regulations differ from one state to another.  Even though you were approved to practice in another state does not guarantee that you meet requirements to practice in Arizona.  
  • APPLICATIONS & VERIFICATIONS ARE NOT TRANSFERABLE between one state and another, either.  The Board cannot accept a copy of verifications you submitted to the New York, California, Kansas, etc. licensing board in lieu of Arizona's verification form.  Since applications and verifications are crafted to determine if the requirements in statute and rule are met for that particular state, they are not interchangeable or transferable.  You must submit Arizona's internship verification form to your supervisor for completion for the Arizona application for exam and/or licensure even if your supervisor completed a similar form when you applied for licensure in another state or province. 
  • WRITTEN TRAINING PLANS:  Some materials submitted to other boards may meet Arizona's requirement for written training plans, such as some of California's documents for a Psychologist Associate license, but they cannot serve as a primary source verification for Arizona's application. 
  • APPLICATION MATERIALS:  See the first page of Arizona's online application of your choice to review the list of materials needed for that application. Alternatively, the needed materials for each application may be reviewed from the Instructions page of the Board's website. Requirements and therefore the materials needed for each application type differ. 
  • APPLICATION ASSISTANCE:   Applications must be submitted by the applicant. Do not give your login information to anyone else! If it is learned that an application is submitted by a third party (anyone other than the applicant), the application will be rejected. The applicant is ultimately responsible for any and all answers provided on an application. 
     

STATUTES AND RULES

Please go to the Statutes and Rules tab under Resources in the Navigation Menu on the right side of this page or at the top of the page to review the statutes and rules that apply to psychologist licensure and regulation. 

    Regarding the minimum requirements when applying for licensure, please see the list of related statutes and rules below. These are NOT all the statutes and rules of which applicants and licensees need to be aware.

    Please note, Board staff are not qualified to interpret the statutes and rules. Do not email staff for legal advice or an interpretation.  If a statute or rule is difficult to understand, you need an Arizona attorney who has knowledge of regulatory law to provide interpretation. You may also wish to contact an Arizona association dedicated to serving the psychology profession in Arizona. (Go to RESOURCES in the menu and click on RELATED LINKS to see a list of associations.) 

    Related Arizona Revised Statutes:

    Related Arizona Administrative Code (A.A.C. or Rules):

     

    Three Pathways to Licensure in Arizona

    Board staff cannot tell you what type of application to make. You must determine this for yourself. Staff also cannot provide mentoring or guidance beyond the information provided on the website. There are many details that have been provided on the Board's website which applicants need to absorb to understand the application process. Below is the basic information that will give you a start. Please use the links in the information below to see more details about that topic. 

    • On the Psychologist Applications page, use the Table of Contents links to go to each application's overview. The qualifiers for using that application to apply for licensure are listed on that application's page. The three types of application pathways are Universal Recognition, Credential and Exam and/or Licensure. 
    • Depending on your professional history, you may qualify to apply by Universal Recognition or Credential.  
    • To apply for licensure by Universal Recognition, you MUST establish residence in Arizona and be able to provide evidence of this. If you have not established residence in Arizona, you DO NOT QUALIFY to apply for licensure using the Universal Recognition application. You also must hold a psychologist license at the doctoral level in another state for a minimum of one (1) year. See all the requirements for Universal Recognition in A.R.S. § 32-4302. 
    • If you have a credential recognized by the Arizona Board (only ABPP, CPQ or National Register HSP) and have been licensed for 5 or more years in another state, you may use the Credential application.  
    • If you do not qualify to apply by Universal Recognition or Credential, use the standard application, Psychologist Application for Exam and/or Licensure. 
    • With this last application, you will have the option to apply for EPPP Only, EPPP & Licensure, or if you have already passed the EPPP, you may apply by Waiver. 
    • Depending on how long you have been licensed in another state, you may qualify to waive specific supervised experience verifications. Please see the PDF, "Instructions for Supervised Experience Verifications" for details regarding waivers. 
    • For each application, the first page of the online application lists the documentation and verifications (application materials) needed for the Board to determine if you are qualified to be licensed in Arizona via the application pathway you choose to submit. Please use these instructions as a checklist, and read them carefully for comprehension. The instructions may also be found on the Board's website on the Instructions for Online Applications page. 
    • In each application, there are additional instructions at the beginning of various sections. To avoid delays and having to correct errors, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS before filling out the section. Read for comprehension. Do not assume. Do not just scan the material. Scanning materials may have gotten you through school, but when it comes to licensure, it just causes unnecessary delays, and extra work for both you and Board staff.

     

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