Licensing Requirements

Psychologist

• Chapter 18.83 RCW
• Chapter 246-924 WAC

Credentialing Requirements

Applicants must hold a doctoral degree from a regionally accredited institution, obtained from an integrated program of graduate study in psychology. If the doctoral degree was not accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), or the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS), it must include:

• At least 51 semester hours, or 85 quarter hours, of graduate courses in curriculum areas described in WAC 246-924-046. Courses must be clearly identified by title and course content as being part of an integrated psychology program.
• One year in residency as detailed in WAC 246-924-048.
• Submission of an original dissertation that is psychological in nature and endorsed by the program;
• An organized, sequential and coordinated practicum and internship experience as described in WAC 246-924-052 and WAC 246-924-056.Official transcript with degree and date posted must be received directly from applicant's program. Transcripts not in English must have an official translation.
• All supervisors for supervised experience hours must complete the Professional Reference Request form and submit directly to the department.
• Program staff members verify that the internship has been accredited by either regional accreditation, the American Psychological Association (APA), the Canadian Psychological Association, or the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC).
• Experience: applicants are required to verify a total of 3,300 hours of supervision. An applicant may not sign off as supervising their own postdoctoral hours.

Practicum

Applicants must complete a practicum as part of the doctoral degree program. The practicum must include a minimum of 300 hours but can include up to 1,800 hours of supervised experience and must meet the requirements listed in WAC 246-924-052.

Of the 1,500 hours that can be completed in practicum and/or postdoc, they are reduced from 1,500 to 1,020 for applicants who can demonstrate proof of being credentialed as a substance use disorder professional for three years in the previous 10 years.

Internship

Applicants must complete an internship as part of the doctoral degree program. The internship must include at least 1,500 hours of supervised experience and be completed within 12-24 months. The internship program must be accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA); by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA); or be a member of the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). If the program is not accredited by the APA, CPA, or APPIC member, it must meet the requirements listed in WAC 246-924-056 and WAC 246-924-057.

Postdoctoral Supervised Experience

If 3,300 hours of supervised experience have not been completed by conferral at the end of the doctoral degree program, then up to 1,500 hours of supervised postdoctoral experience that meets all requirements in WAC 246-924-059 may be used to satisfy the 3,300 hours requirement. Post-doctoral supervised experience must be completed only if an applicant does not already have 3,300 hours of supervised experience.

Of the 1,500 hours that can be completed in practicum and/or postdoc, they are reduced from 1,500 to 1,020 for applicants who can demonstrate proof of being credentialed as a substance use disorder professional for three years in the previous 10 years.

Verification of Out-of-State Credentials

Applicants must list all states where they do or did hold credentials, to include all credential types even if not related to psychology. This list must also include when the applicant has applied for a credential, even if a credential was not granted. The credentialing team will attempt to verify the credentials online. If your jurisdiction does not offer online verification you must complete and submit the verification form (PDF). The jurisdiction must send the completed form directly to the department.

Personal Data Questions

Each applicant must answer the personal data questions. If there is a positive answer to the professional liability claims history question, the applicant must send an explanation of the nature of the case, data and summary of care given, copies of the original complaint, and the settlement or final disposition. If the case is pending, applicant must indicate status.

National Exams

If a candidate has already passed the Examination of Professional Practice of Psychology (EPPP) in another state or jurisdiction, they must contact ASPPB to have their certified examination score sent directly to the department.

Candidates who have not yet completed the EPPP will receive authorization after the credentialing team has verified all licensing requirements have been met. Authorization will be received from the credentialing team via email, and Certemy, the testing company, will send a separate email with instructions about how to schedule the examination.

Please note, if you need to request an accommodation, please refer to the instructions provided in the EPPP authorization email sent from the credentialing team.

Failure of National Exam

Applicants who fail to pass the exam may retake it one time without the board's permission.

Applicants who fail an exam two or more times must:

• wait a minimum of one month before they can retake the exam; and 
• submit via email a written action plan requesting to take the exam again and explaining how the applicant plans to prepare for the retake. Once the request is received it will be forwarded to the board for review and approval.

Once the request is received it will be forwarded to the board for review and approval. 

Jurisprudence Examination

The Washington State Jurisprudence (JP) Examination is not required to obtain licensure but it will be required once licensed as part of the first continuing education (CE) cycle.

Process for Applying by Endorsement

You may qualify to apply by endorsement. To determine if this is an option for you, see the frequently asked question “How can I qualify and obtain a full license through the endorsement pathway” to review the different endorsement pathways available. 

Licensure Reciprocity Program/Probationary Licensure

The reciprocity program, for behavioral health professions, established by Washington state as of July 1, 2020, (Senate Bill 5054) uses substantial equivalency to other states' psychologist licenses based on their scope of practice. If the state where you currently have a license, or have held a license in the past 12 months, is considered by the department to be substantially equivalent on a scope basis, you may apply for a temporary probationary license to work as a Washington state psychologist through this reciprocity program. The applicant must not have a disciplinary history or disqualifying criminal history to apply for a probationary license. The department maintains a list of approved states, where applicants from are eligible to apply for a probationary license under the reciprocity program. For psychologists, the list can be found below:

• Senate Bill 5054 Scope Analysis for Psychologists (PDF)

The probationary license is a temporary license that can be issued to an individual who is licensed in another state and applies for Washington's reciprocity program. The probationary license is issued for one year and can be renewed one time for another year. The purpose of the probationary license is to see if there are differences in education, experience, or examination between the other state's license requirements and Washington's requirements, and allows applicants to practice while working to make up those differences. Applicants will need to meet the full licensure requirements for a psychologist in Washington.

Please note that the reciprocity program is a new option which does not eliminate other options for out of state applicants, including those options where an applicant can easily qualify for full licensure based on substantial equivalency of licensure standards (if the state is substantially equivalent on that basis, known as licensure by endorsement.

Probationary License

Licensure Reciprocity Program/Probationary Licensure

Continuing Education (CE)

See CE Information below

Psychology credentials must be renewed every year on or before their birthday. Every three years when a psychologist renews their license, they must be able to verify they have completed 60 hours of continuing education (CE) including a minimum of:

• four hours in ethics,
• two hours in health equity that meets the requirements in WAC 246-12-830. Information about free qualifying courses is on the Health Equity Continuing Education webpage.
• one hour for the jurisprudence examination:
  • After initial licensure, a psychologist must take and pass the jurisprudence examination within their first CE cycle;
  • After a licensee's first CE cycle, the jurisprudence examination is optional. A licensee may claim one hour per CE cycle for taking and passing the jurisprudence examination.
• six hours in suicide prevention every six years. The six-hour training must be taken from the Model List. Review WAC 246-924-180 through WAC 246-924-255 to ensure you comply with all CE requirements and maintain proper documentation.

All CE activities are linked to maintaining or increasing professional or scientific competence in psychology. Courses or workshops primarily designed to increase practice income or office efficiency, while valuable to the licensee, are specifically non-eligible for CE credit.

Program sponsors or institutes should not apply for, nor expect to receive, prior or current board approval for CE status or category. Recognized activities include:

1. Courses, seminars, workshops and post-doctoral institutes offered by educational institutions chartered by a state and recognized (accredited) by a regional association of schools, colleges and universities as providing graduate level course offerings. Such educational activities must be recorded on an official transcript or certificate of completion.
2. Courses (including correspondence courses), seminars, workshops and post-doctoral institutes sponsored by the American Psychological Association, regional or state psychological associations or their subchapters, psychology internship training centers, other professionally or scientifically recognized behavioral science organizations, and the board.
3. Credit toward the CE requirement may be earned through teaching an approved CE program. Credit earned through teaching shall not exceed 30 hours every three years. Credit for teaching an approved CE program may be earned on the following basis:
   1. One credit hour for each 60 minutes actually spent teaching the program for the first event. Credit may be conferred for teaching similar subject matter only if the psychologist has actually spent an equal or greater amount of preparation time updating the subject matter to be taught later.
   2. One credit hour for each 60 minutes actually spent participating in a panel presentation.
4. The board reserves the right to require any licensee to submit evidence, e.g., course or program certificate of training, transcript, course or workshop brochure description, evidence of attendance, etc., in addition to the affidavit form in order to demonstrate compliance with the 60 hours CE requirement.

In the event a licensee fails to meet requirements, because of illness, or other extenuating circumstances, each case will be considered by the board on an individual basis.

When circumstances justify it, the board may grant a time extension. The board may, in its discretion, limit in part or in whole the provision of psychological services to the consumers until the CE requirements are met.

In the case of illness, the board may grant indefinite waiver of CE as a requirement for re-licensure, provided the waiver request form that is received indicates the psychologist is not providing psychological services to consumers.

If such illness status is changed or consumer psychological services are resumed, it is incumbent upon the licensee to immediately notify the board and to resume meeting CE requirements for re-licensure. CE credit hours will be prorated for the portion of that three-year period involving resumption of such services.

More information about continuing education is on the Continuing Education webpage.

More Licensing Information

• Frequently asked questions
• Substantially equivalent states/countries