Psychology – Applying for a License FAQ’s

Yes, if your degree was conferred by an institution accredited by a regional accreditor recognized by CHEA, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, or the U.S. Department of Education (see Board rule 463.1).

Yes. You must have your degree evaluated by a NACES-member evaluation service before submitting your application. Submit the evaluation results with your application.

No. You must complete a formal internship to qualify. You may enroll in a re-specialization program to obtain the required hours (see rule 463.11(f)).

Only if you began your program before August 31, 2019 and applied for LPA by August 31, 2021 (see rule 463.8(g)). Otherwise, you must have 60 graduate credit hours (no more than 12 hours may be practicum/internship).

Staff may accept an electronic transcript only if emailed directly from the school - to transcripts@bhec.texas.gov. Staff may accept a paper copy of a transcript only in the unopened envelope that was sealed by the school - mailed to BHEC PSYTranscripts, 1801 Congress Ave., Ste. 7.300, Austin, TX 78701.

EPPP and Praxis scores never expire.

Yes, there is a maximum of 3 attempts allowed (rule 882.6(a)). If denied after 3 failures, you must submit an approved study plan before retaking.

Developed and owned by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB), the EPPP is a standardized knowledge-based exam provided to state and provincial boards of psychology to assist them in their evaluation of the qualifications of applicants for licensure and certification. Four hours and 15 minutes is the allotted time for taking the exam. The exam covers eight content areas. For additional information, please review the resources below. • Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) website: www.asppb.net • The EPPP Candidate Handbook (Link) is available for download from the ASPPB’s website.

For instructions and access to the Jurisprudence Examination click here. You must register for each attempt; and you have 14 days to complete the attempt.

Request analysis of incorrect answers by submitting the Request for Analysis form with fee. The analysis will list the total number of questions answered incorrectly, as well as the number of questions answered incorrectly within each content area. The exam analysis will not however identify which questions were answered incorrectly.

Council rule §882.5. Applicants must take and pass the jurisprudence examination no more than 6 months prior to submitting an application for licensure to the Council.

There are no limits on the number of attempts for the Jurisprudence Exam pursuant to Council rule §882.6(c).

Yes. The registration places a new exam into your existing account and will activate the 14 day period for completing the exam.

Exam is untimed (2 hours is only an estimate)

Only after being licensed as an LPA (rule 463.8). Hours must be supervised by a Licensed Psychologist. LPAs who also hold licensure as a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP), can utilize supervision obtained in the schools if the supervisor was dually licensed as a Licensed Psychologist and a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology.

Yes, if it meets Texas requirements.

Supervision may be documented by a licensed psychologist with knowledge of the supervision and the applicant’s participation in the supervision year. If the applicant is applying for the LSSP and using the hours towards LSSP licensure, then the supervision may be documented by a LSSP with knowledge of the internship program and the applicant’s participation in the internship program.4.

Yes, Texas currently has a reciprocal agreement with the state of Oklahoma for the licensing of psychologists. Applicants from Oklahoma can use the reciprocity application located on the board's Forms and Publications page to receive an abbreviated licensing process.

Yes. Texas offers a temporary psychologist license, which authorizes issuance of a temporary Texas license for individuals licensed as a psychologist in another jurisdiction. Temporary license holders are allowed to use this license for up to thirty (30) days within one year from the date of issuance, and the thirty days are not required to be consecutive. Temporary license holders are required to report the use of this license after utilizing the full thirty days or the expiration of one year from licensure, whichever occurs first.

Applicants for a psychologist license who have completed all licensure requirements except post-doctoral supervised experience and passaged of the EPPP may received a one-time provisional license for a two-year period.

No. Pursuant to Board rule 463.12(h), an applicant for permanent licensure is not eligible for temporary licensure.

Yes. Licensure is required in Texas to be an I/O psychologist (see rule 463.11(e)).

Former licensees may apply for reinstatement of a license after meeting all requirements and paying the reinstatement fee. Carefully review Council Rule §882.22 Reinstatement of a License. Gather the items listed in the Reinstatement Required Documentation Checklist from the MFT Board’s Forms and Publications webpage. Then, follow the step-by-step instructions in How to Request Reinstatement of an Expired/Retired/Revoked/etc. License on the Council’s How To User Guides webpage.

Inactive status maintains your license with the Council, but by placing it in “inactive” status you are no longer eligible to practice unless/until you request to return to active status. See How To Request Inactive Status and How To Reactivate Inactive Status on the Council’s How To User Guides webpage.

No. Licensees with inactive status are not required to complete continuing education.

A retired license is no longer considered a current, renewable license. Someone with a retired license wishing to practice again would be required to reinstate their license. See How To Request “Retired” Status on the Council’s How To User Guides webpage.

A fee table is available in Council Rule 885.1.

License applications expire and are automatically denied if incomplete after 180 days. Staff cannot extend the time of an application. Applicants whose application expires will be required to re-submit their application and pay the application fee again.

Yes, if possible it is recommended that you submit all required documents together. Sending materials separately or in multiple parts may delay the processing of your application. To avoid unnecessary delays, please ensure your application is complete before submission.

Visit https://www.npdb.hrsa.gov/pract/selfQueryBasics.jsp for instructions on how to obtain a Self-Query Report from the National Practitioner DataBank (NPDB). • The NPDB may email to you a certified self-query report. DO NOT ALTER THIS PDF FILE. You may upload the certified report when you complete your online application for license or you may forward the emailed, certified NPDB self-query report to NPDB@bhec.texas.gov. • If you prefer, NPDB will mail the self-query report to you. You may mail the NPDB self-query report to the Council as long as it is still in the unopened envelope sealed by NPDB. Mail to BHEC NPDB, 1801 Congress Ave., Ste. 7.300, Austin, Texas 78701.

Each board offers a Verification of Licensure form on its Forms and Publications webpage. Complete the portion designated for an applicant, and then send the form to the non-Texas licensing agency that issued your license to complete the remaining information. A separate form must be received for each license you currently hold or have ever held in the past. Some state agencies generate their own form. Council staff may rely on the state-agency-generated form. However, if necessary data is not included on the state-agency-generated form, staff may ask the applicant for additional information/documentation. Some state agencies no longer issue any type of license verification, but rather provide an online primary source verification. If that’s the case for one or more of the licenses you hold, please note that in your online application contact staff after your application has been submitted. If another state’s online license verification does not include all the data needed, staff may ask the applicant for additional information/documentation.

Upon submission of your online application, the online licensing system will send you a confirmation email. Within the confirmation email is a link to instructions for completing the fingerprint process. See more details on our Fingerprint Information webpage.

Yes. There are various waivers and advantages provided for active-duty military, veterans and military spouses. For more information see the Council’s Military Service Members, Veterans, and Military Spouses webpage.