Your Guide to Becoming a Licensed Psychologist in New York

This guide was last updated on January 11, 2022.

Obtaining licensure as a psychologist in the state of New York requires the completion of a license-eligible doctoral program in psychology; the completion of an internship or similar professional experience; achieving a score of 75 or greater on the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP, Part I); and the completion of postgraduate hours (often called postdoctoral hours), usually under a limited permit.

The license to practice psychology is granted by the New York State Office of the Professions, under the New York State Education Department.

In this guide, you’ll find easy-to-follow steps to obtain your psychology license in New York. Please keep in mind, however, that licensure requirements can change over time. We make every effort to keep our guides updated, but always consult the New York State Office of the Professions website for the most up-to-date and accurate information.

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Complete a Doctorate in Psychology

To be eligible for licensure as a psychologist in New York, you must have a doctoral degree in psychology from a program that the New York State Department of Education recognizes as licensure qualifying.

For a program to be licensure qualifying, it must:

• Require at least three years of full-time study
• Include coursework in:
  • Ethics
  • Standards of professional practice
  • Cultural diversity
• Include three semester hours or five graduate quarter hours in each of the following areas:
  • Biological basis of behavior
  • Cognitive-affective basis of behavior
  • Social basis of behavior
  • Individual difference
  • Psychometrics
  • History and systems of psychology
  • Research design, methodology and statistics

The state also requires one year of supervised practicum, internship, field experience or applied research. For most applicants, the pre-doctoral internship fulfills this requirement.

Once your doctoral degree requirements have been met, complete section I of Form 2: Certification of Professional Education and have your university registrar complete section II. Your registrar will then need to submit the completed Form 2 and official transcripts.

Submit Your Application for Licensure

Complete Form 1: Application for Licensure and First Registration to begin the licensure process in New York. You need to include all supporting documentation and pay the combined application and registration fee of $294. This application can be submitted at any time.

Complete Supervised Experience Requirements

New York State requires two years of full-time supervised experience, or the part-time equivalent, to be license-eligible. The licensing board defines one year as 1,750 hours and supervision must occur under a psychologist licensed in New York State.

In practice, the first of these years is often the pre-doctoral internship (completed prior to graduation), and the second is the postgraduate year (completed after graduation).

These can be completed on a full- or part-time basis. New York State considers 35-45 hours per week full time, and 16-34 hours per week part-time. Experiences of less than 16 hours per week are not licensure-qualifying.

Obtain a Limited Permit

The majority of postgraduate hours will count toward licensure only if they have been obtained after the applicant has been approved for a limited permit.

Some sites, called exempt sites, will allow for hours to count toward licensure without a limited permit. Once you have received your doctorate, it is important to be absolutely certain that you are working at an exempt site if you are working without a limited permit and planning to use these hours toward your professional experience requirements.

First-Time Licensee

If you are not licensed in another state, you are eligible to apply for a limited permit (Form 5A) once you have completed all the requirements for your doctoral degree, including your internship, and after you have submitted Form 1 and paid the $294 fee to the New York State Office of the Professions.

You also must have completed all the other requirements for licensure, outlined in this post, except for the completion of professional experience and the licensing exam. The fee for a limited permit is $70.

The applicant must complete one year of full-time work under the limited permit (1,750 hours) or its part-time equivalent, to be license-eligible. A faculty member who teaches nine semester hours at one institution is considered full-time; one who teaches for six semester hours is considered half-time. Fewer than six semester teaching hours, or fewer than 16 working hours weekly, is not considered licensure-qualifying.

The limited permit is valid for three years and may be extended for one year in certain circumstances, at the Education Department’s discretion.

Experiences may be combined to meet the requirements. For instance, an applicant could work in two part-time placements in the same year (or across multiple years), or hold a part-time teaching position and do part-time clinical work. These can be combined to reach the 1,750 required postgraduate hours.

All experiences must be completed under the supervision of a New York State-licensed psychologist.

If You Have A License from Another State or Country

If you are licensed in another state or country, your qualifications must be approved for admission to the EPPP, and you must file for an application within six months of residing in the state of New York. Your education, proof of residency and experience have been approved by the Department. The limited permit application for these circumstances is Form 5B.

The limited permit is valid for whichever circumstance occurs first after it is issued: a period of 12 months, or 10 days after the applicant is notified of failure of the professional licensing exam, or until results of the licensing examination are released. You can find more detailed information about the limited permit here.

Document Your Experiences

In New York State, most applicants will fill out Form 4: Report of Professional Experience at the completion of the internship year and again after completing postgraduate hours. These hours are a combination of intervention, assessment, supervision and administrative work. The form is filled out by both the applicant and the supervisor, and the supervisor mails the form directly to the state.

You should save copies of these completed documents for your records, along with detailed documentation of your experiences.

COVID-Specific Issues: Teletherapy Hours

Under the New York State’s Executive Order 202, which declared a State of Emergency beginning on March 7, 2020, teletherapy hours may be counted as professional supervised experience and remote supervision is allowed.

For details, please reference the NYSED COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions and the practice alerts that further address supervision requirements.

Pass the EPPP

New York State requires applicants to take the EPPP Part 1 and earn a passing score of 75. You should plan to take the EPPP before you complete your postgraduate experience.

To be eligible to sit for the examination, you must:

• Submit Form 1: apply for licensure by submitting this form and including the required documentation and fee
• Submit Form 2: have your degree verified and approved by NYSED
• Submit Form 4: obtain one year (1,750 hours) of Department-approved experience (typically the pre-doctoral internship satisfies this requirement) and have your supervisor submit Form 4

Once you have completed and sent the forms above and obtained the Department’s approval, the state will inform the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB). ASPPB will then email you, and you can register for the EPPP. The total cost to sit for the EPPP exam is $687.50.

What’s Next?

Once the documentation and requirements listed below have been reviewed and approved by NYSED, your license number will be issued and you will be permitted to practice independently:

• Form 1: Application for Licensure and First Registration
• Form 2: Certification of Professional Education
• Form 4: Report of Professional Experience (pre-doctoral internship)
• Form 4: Report of Professional Experience (postgraduate)
• Form 5A: application for limited permit
• Obtain passing EPPP score

You will receive written confirmation from NYSED but can also find out if your license has been issued by checking here.

Licensure Costs and Timeframe

The total cost to obtain licensure as a psychologist in New York State includes:

• $294 to submit the initial application and pay for the first three years of registration
• $70 to obtain a limited permit (if required)
• $687.50 to sit for the EPPP Part I

These fees come to a grand total of $1,051.50.

You should also consider planning for other potential costs, including:

• EPPP study materials
• Software to track supervision
• A second EPPP fee if you don’t achieve a passing score the first time

It typically takes 6-8 years to earn your doctorate degree in psychology (including your predoctoral internship year) and 1 year to complete your postgraduate experience. To obtain a psychology license in New York State, you should plan on a minimum of 6 years from graduate degree to licensure.

While we make every effort to keep our guides updated, this post is an informational resource only. Always consult the New York State Office of the Professions website for the most up-to-date and accurate information as licensure requirements can change over time.