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Licensing and certification overviewWhat It IsPrepare for Certification TestsInteractive planning toolThe essentials
Start with the licensing board where you plan to work. Your degree, supervised experience, exams, and renewal requirements need to match that jurisdiction’s rules.
Use the dated sources below for current career facts, and confirm program or licensing requirements with the responsible institution.
Go to the official source
Find your state’s psychology licensing board.
Select where you intend to practice. The board’s website provides the current application process and official requirements.
School-based practice may use a separate education credential. Check NASP’s state school-psychology credential directory as well. The finder does not determine eligibility.
Browse all 50 states and DC
- Alabama psychology licensing
- Alaska psychology licensing
- Arizona psychology licensing
- Arkansas psychology licensing
- California psychology licensing
- Colorado psychology licensing
- Connecticut psychology licensing
- Delaware psychology licensing
- District of Columbia psychology licensing
- Florida psychology licensing
- Georgia psychology licensing
- Hawaii psychology licensing
- Idaho psychology licensing
- Illinois psychology licensing
- Indiana psychology licensing
- Iowa psychology licensing
- Kansas psychology licensing
- Kentucky psychology licensing
- Louisiana psychology licensing
- Maine psychology licensing
- Maryland psychology licensing
- Massachusetts psychology licensing
- Michigan psychology licensing
- Minnesota psychology licensing
- Mississippi psychology licensing
- Missouri psychology licensing
- Montana psychology licensing
- Nebraska psychology licensing
- Nevada psychology licensing
- New Hampshire psychology licensing
- New Jersey psychology licensing
- New Mexico psychology licensing
- New York psychology licensing
- North Carolina psychology licensing
- North Dakota psychology licensing
- Ohio psychology licensing
- Oklahoma psychology licensing
- Oregon psychology licensing
- Pennsylvania psychology licensing
- Rhode Island psychology licensing
- South Carolina psychology licensing
- South Dakota psychology licensing
- Tennessee psychology licensing
- Texas psychology licensing
- Utah psychology licensing
- Vermont psychology licensing
- Virginia psychology licensing
- Washington psychology licensing
- West Virginia psychology licensing
- Wisconsin psychology licensing
- Wyoming psychology licensing
Board links checked November 5, 2026, using the ASPPB board directory and official board pages. For Canada or U.S. territories, use that directory.
Source check: November 5, 2026
What was checked: Licensure, specialty certification, school credentials and application requirements.
This is an editorial source check, not a clinical peer review. Program and licensing decisions should use the current official requirements. How this site handles sources and updates.
Organize your licensing questions.Open the interactive tool when you need it.
Use this guide
Organize your licensing questions.
Use this checklist to track information from the board where you intend to practice. Completing it does not establish eligibility.
Skim the key points. Open a section for the full explanation.
Licensing and certification overview
- Choose a jurisdiction: Use its board’s requirements to plan your education and supervised experience.
- Track the steps: Keep education records, experience documentation, and examination deadlines together.
Read the details about Licensing and certification overview
Individuals who are interested in pursuing a psychology career may be faced with meeting requirements for licensing and certification. Not all fields will require licensure or certification, but many will.
Why licensing matters
Licensing of psychologists creates a means for evaluating individuals in the field. It helps to ensure that patients receive the best possible care by setting a standard for education and experience necessary to obtain a license. Licensure requirements differ from one state to another, so it is important to understand the specific requirements for the state in which one is seeking licensure.
States differ in the amount, timing, setting and documentation of supervised experience they accept. Use the state finder to open the current board requirements before planning an internship or postdoctoral experience.
Requirements may also include national, jurisprudence or oral examinations. Confirm the current route with the board for the jurisdiction where you intend to practice.
Specialty certification
The American Board of Professional Psychology offers specialty board certification. The examples below are not a complete or current count of its specialty boards; use ABPP’s current directory and specialty requirements.
- Psychoanalysis
- Rehabilitation
- Forensic
- Group
- School
- Clinical health
- Couple and family
ABPP reviews general eligibility and the requirements of the chosen specialty. Check its current guidance for licensure, education, training, experience and examination requirements.
Licensure and certification are steps that may be necessary for one to take. This may be especially true for individuals completing doctoral degrees in psychology.
What It Is
- Licensure: A legal requirement for independent psychology practice.
- Certification: A separate credential whose purpose and requirements depend on the issuer and role.
Read the details about What It Is
Licensure establishes legal authorization for a defined scope of practice. Specialty certification recognizes additional qualifications under the certifying body’s standards. Neither means that every credential holder has identical expertise.
State licensure
Licensure is a process that is dictated at the state level. Typically, licenses are awarded only to psychologists who have completed their doctorates in psychology, documented a specific number of work experience hours, and obtained a passing score on the licensing examination. Each state dictates a specific order of items that must be completed prior to applying for licensure.
Specialty recognition
Certification in some specialty areas of psychology is an option for the practicing psychologist. Certification of psychologists is performed by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and is based on an application of information provided by the practicing psychologist and a passing score on a board certification exam. All specialty boards require an oral examination for certification.
Examination requirements vary by ABPP specialty. School-based practice may instead require an education-agency credential, while independent psychology practice can require a separate license. National school psychology certification and state credentials should not be treated as interchangeable.
Patients and employers can verify a license and examine a professional’s training and relevant experience. Licensure sets a minimum regulatory standard; it does not make all psychologists equally prepared for every specialty.
Certification is an additional step that can be taken by psychologists to gain further recognition of excellence in their specialties.
Prepare for Certification Tests
- Confirm the exam: Check which examinations your board requires and when you can take them.
- Prepare deliberately: Use the official outline, a study schedule, and practice questions.
Read the details about Prepare for Certification Tests
Examinations and preparation
Admissions tests vary by program and application year. Some graduate programs require the GRE, while others make it optional or do not consider it. Check each program’s current admissions instructions.
Furthermore, doctoral-level psychologists will be required to achieve state licensure before treating patients. Preparing for these tests can create stress for individuals, but by taking advantage of practice tests, following study tips, and preventing test anxiety, individuals can help ensure they score as high as possible on these exams.
Practice tests and study methods
For many people, practice tests are the most valuable tool to prepare for standardized tests. These exams can give one the experience of taking the exam by introducing test items on relevant topics. If one is able to acquire a full practice test, time management skills can also be improved.
Additionally, practice tests are an excellent way to determine if there are knowledge gaps that need to be addressed prior to testing.
Study tips for standardized tests are available via online resources and through test preparation companies. Some are simplistic and direct test takers to merely cross out known incorrect answers on a multiple choice test to ensure that an incorrect answer is not accidentally chosen. Others may teach specific test strategies that can help one improve test scores.
Managing test anxiety
Preventing test anxiety is difficult for many people. Some concern regarding testing is normal, but anxiety that manifests itself such that one’s score is affected needs to be dealt with. For many, the best way to combat test anxiety is through a thorough review of the relevant material.
Individuals preparing for standardized tests will likely utilize practice tests, study tips, and strategies to handle test anxiety. Because schools and licensing boards rely on an evaluation of these scores, it is important to do one’s best.