Illinois Psychology Licensure Requirements

500

68 Ill. Adm. Code 1400.130 names the EPPP as the required exam but does not print a numeric cut score — it defers to "the passing score set by the testing entity" (ASPPB), whose recommended scaled passing score is 500. Illinois has NOT adopted a separate EPPP Part 2 (Skills); the rule refers to a single EPPP. Rule 1400.130(d) allows passage of the ABPP clinical or counseling psychology examination in lieu of the EPPP, and 1400.130(c) accepts an EPPP passed in another jurisdiction if reported directly by the testing service.

Illinois requires 2 years of supervised experience, at least one an internship and one postdoctoral (225 ILCS 15/10(3)(a)-(b); 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1400.100(a)-(b)). The statute defines a year of supervised experience as not less than 1,750 hours in not less than 50 weeks, and sets the internship at a minimum of 1,750 hours completed within 24 months — so 1,750 predoctoral internship + 1,750 postdoctoral = 3,500. Full-time counts only at 35+ hours/week in a single setting for at least 6 months; part-time only at 18+ hours/week in a single setting for at least 9 months; the postdoctoral year must be completed within a 36-month window. Applicants under the non-standard-degree route in 225 ILCS 15/10(3)(c) / Rule 1400.100(c) must complete a 400-hour practicum AND an internship (or equivalent supervised clinical experience) AND 2 years of supervised experience of which at least one is postdoctoral — a higher total than 3,500. Practicum hours may never be counted toward the 2 years. Note a pending change: P.A. 104-301 (eff. 1-1-26) provides that, beginning one year after that effective date, the required examination may be taken upon graduation and before the postdoctoral supervised experience is completed.

Not required

No state jurisprudence or law exam. 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1400.130 defines the required examination exhaustively as the EPPP (with the ABPP clinical/counseling exam accepted in lieu of it), and 225 ILCS 15/10(4) requires only "an examination authorized by the Department." Neither the Act nor Part 1400 mentions a jurisprudence, state law, or professional standards exam. Illinois does require continuing education for renewal (24 hours per biennial cycle, at least 3 in ethics, and beginning September 30, 2026 at least 3 in diversity) — that is a CE requirement, not an exam.

1. Earn a doctoral degree in clinical, school, or counseling psychology from an APA- or PCSAS-accredited program (or a program approved by the National Register), or qualify under the equivalent-program or psychological-in-nature routes in 225 ILCS 15/10(3)(b)-(c), which additionally require one course in each of the seven core content areas and a 400-hour practicum.
2. Complete a predoctoral internship of at least 1,750 hours within 24 months, supervised individually by a licensed clinical psychologist, with at least one hour per week of face-to-face individual supervision.
3. Complete a postdoctoral year of at least 1,750 hours obtained in not less than 50 weeks and within a 36-month period, at 35+ hours/week full-time or 18+ hours/week part-time in a single setting, with at least one hour per week of individual supervision by a licensed clinical psychologist.
4. File the licensure application with IDFPR through the CORE online system with the $50 fee, official transcripts, certification of the doctoral degree, and VE-PSY professional experience reference forms completed by each supervisor; the Board reviews each application individually and then notifies you of exam eligibility.
5. Pass the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) at the passing score set by ASPPB — or submit passage of the ABPP clinical or counseling psychology examination in lieu of it — and apply for the license within one year of notification that you passed.
6. Renew the license by September 30 of each even-numbered year, paying $80 per year and completing 24 hours of continuing education per cycle, including at least 3 hours of ethics (plus 3 hours of diversity content beginning September 30, 2026).

PSYPACT member

Illinois grants licensure by endorsement under 225 ILCS 15/11 and 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1400.140: the Department may, in its discretion, license a person already licensed in another U.S. state or jurisdiction or a foreign country whose standards were, in the Department's opinion, substantially equivalent at the date of that licensure, or whose individual qualifications were substantially equivalent to Illinois requirements then in force. The application fee is $100. The Division has determined that either (1) a valid ASPPB Certificate of Professional Qualification in Psychology (CPQ) where the doctorate was conferred in clinical or counseling psychology, or (2) current National Register credentialing plus evidence of active licensure and independent doctoral-level practice for at least five years, constitutes proof of substantial equivalence and satisfies the education and experience documentation requirements. A separate senior-psychologist route under 225 ILCS 15/11(b) covers applicants licensed at the doctoral level in one or more other states or Canada for at least 20 years with no discipline anywhere. Short-term practice is possible without full licensure: 225 ILCS 15/11.5(a) allows a temporary permit for up to 10 calendar days per year for a psychologist licensed independently at the doctoral level elsewhere. Illinois participates in PSYPACT — 225 ILCS 15/11.11 states that a clinical psychologist licensed under the Act is subject to the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact Act, and IDFPR's Clinical Psychology page posts PSYPACT Commission rulemaking notices.

Illinois Clinical Psychologists Licensing and Disciplinary Board (IDFPR)

(217) 785-0820

Official board page →