Arkansas Psychology Licensure Requirements

500

The Arkansas Psychology Board's Applicants page states the EPPP passing score is a minimum of 500 (the ASPPB-recommended scaled score). The 2024 Rules themselves no longer name a number, instead providing that "Passing scores will be set in accordance with the standards of the Association of State and Provisional Psychology Board (ASPPB)" (Rule 8.3.B). The Board publishes nothing about EPPP Part 2 (Skills); only the EPPP is referenced. Retakes require a 60-day wait, with a maximum of 4 attempts in a 12-month period.

Rule 5.4.F of the 2024 Rules requires a 2,000-hour pre-doctoral internship (APA-accredited, or a program meeting all criteria in 5.4.F.(2)) and 2,000 hours of post-doctoral supervision. The postdoctoral experience must be full-time (40 hours/week) for at least one calendar year (50 weeks), may not exceed three years, and part-time arrangements must be pre-approved by the Board. At least 25% (minimum 500 hours) of the postdoctoral experience must be direct client services, and the supervisee must accumulate at least one hour per week of formal face-to-face supervision by a licensed psychologist. Postdoctoral hours can only be accrued after the Board grants Provisional Licensure status.

Not required

The 2024 Rules describe the examination process as credentials review plus a single written examination (the ASPPB exam) — Rule 8.1: "Examination of applicants includes formal examination of academic, personal, and experience credentials and a written examination." There is no separate Arkansas jurisprudence or state-law examination in the current Rules. The Arkansas oral examination/interview, which formerly covered Arkansas statutes and ethics, was removed; the Board's Applicants page states that only "applicants prior to July 3, 2020, may sit for an Oral interview." Note that Rule 8.3 reserves to the Board the right to use additional examinations relating to Arkansas statutes and ethics, but none is currently administered per the published Rules and Board instructions.

1. Earn a doctoral degree in psychology from a regionally accredited institution - either an APA- or CPA-accredited program or one meeting all the criteria and coursework requirements in Rule 5.4.A and 5.4.E.
2. Complete a 2,000-hour pre-doctoral internship that is APA-accredited or that meets every criterion in Rule 5.4.F.(2).
3. Request an application packet, pay the $200 application fee, and submit the completed application with your Statement of Intent, three psychologist reference forms, a program director letter, official transcripts sent directly from the registrar, and an Arkansas State Police state and national criminal background check.
4. Pass credential review at a regularly scheduled Board meeting and be granted Provisional Licensure status, which you must hold before you can begin accruing postdoctoral hours (granted for up to 18 months, extendable up to 3 years, at $100 per six months).
5. Pass the EPPP with a scaled score of at least 500 after the Board approves your coursework and you pay the $50 Board administrative fee; retakes require a 60-day wait and are limited to four attempts in twelve months.
6. Complete 2,000 hours of Board-approved postdoctoral supervised experience under a licensed psychologist - full-time for at least one calendar year (50 weeks), with at least 500 hours of direct client services and at least one hour per week of face-to-face supervision.
7. Submit a revised Statement of Intent and pay the $200 registration fee plus the pro-rated license fee to be issued your license, then renew annually between May 1 and June 30 with 20 hours of continuing education per year.

PSYPACT member

Rule 5.6.A allows a psychologist licensed in another jurisdiction to be licensed in Arkansas without written examination if the other jurisdiction's requirements equal or exceed Arkansas's. Applicants holding an ASPPB Certificate of Professional Qualification (CPQ) or National Register certification who have held an active license elsewhere for at least five years are deemed to have met Arkansas's educational and experience requirements. Applicants from jurisdictions outside those programs file a standard application and ask the Board to determine that their jurisdiction's standards are not lower than Arkansas's. Rule 5.4.I provides a Senior Psychologist License for applicants with at least 20 years of doctoral-level licensure in a U.S. state or Canada and no disciplinary sanction. Rule 10.3 grants automatic licensure to uniformed service members stationed in Arkansas, uniformed service veterans, and their spouses who hold a license in good standing with a similar scope of practice in another state. Arkansas is a PSYPACT member state: the Compact is codified at A.C.A. § 17-97-501 and Rule 5.6.E provides that temporary interjurisdictional practice by psychologists licensed in PSYPACT member states who hold a valid Temporary Authorization to Practice is governed by Article V of PSYPACT; Rules 11.10 and 11.11 address discipline under PSYPACT.

Arkansas Psychology Board

(501) 682-6167

Official board page →