Montana Psychology Licensure Requirements

500

ARM 24.189.610(1) sets acceptable performance on the national examination (EPPP, supported by ASPPB) at a scaled score of 500. Montana has NOT adopted an EPPP Part 2 requirement; the rule refers to a single computerized national examination plus a Montana jurisdictional training course. Applicants licensed under the 'psychologist by experience' route (MCA 37-17-319) are not required to take the EPPP.

ARM 24.189.648(2) requires supervised experience over two calendar years, 3200 hours minimum: one year MAY be predoctoral (after the master's degree, during an APA-approved or substantially equivalent doctoral internship), and one year (1600 hours minimum) MUST be postdoctoral. The rule does not state a separate hour figure for the predoctoral year, so preDoc is left null; the predoctoral year is the remainder of the 3200-hour total and is permissive, not mandatory. MCA 37-17-302(4) states the same requirement in years: a minimum of 2 years of supervised experience, one of which must be postdoctoral and may not include more than 6 months of supervised research, teaching, or a combination of both. Within the postdoctoral year, ARM 24.189.648(4) requires at least 400 hours of administering/interpreting psychological tests and clinical problem-solving, caps practicum supervision at 400 hours, and caps research/teaching at 800 hours. Board extension of supervised experience beyond 12 consecutive months must be approved.

Required

Computerized Montana Board of Psychologists jurisdictional training course with evaluative aspects, taken online and conducted by the board or its representative(s). The board makes an applicant eligible to take the course once a complete application is received, and applicants may take it as many times as necessary to pass. It is required for both the standard psychologist license and the psychologist-licensed-by-experience (senior) license.

No separate fee for the jurisdictional course appears in the board's fee schedule at ARM 24.189.401, so no amount is reported here.

1. Earn a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from an APA-approved program, or a doctoral degree in psychology plus an APA-approved formal graduate retraining program in clinical psychology, or a doctoral degree in psychology whose course of study is evaluated as meeting the minimum standards in ARM 24.189.640.
2. Complete at least 3200 hours of board-recognized supervised experience over two calendar years, of which at least 1600 hours (one year) must be postdoctoral; get any Montana postdoctoral supervision plan approved by the board in advance and keep supervision logs.
3. Apply to the Montana Board of Psychologists through the state's online licensing portal, paying the application fee and submitting transcripts, course descriptions, supervision documentation, license verifications from every jurisdiction, and an NPDB self-query.
4. Pass the national Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) with a scaled score of at least 500 and have ASPPB report your score directly to the board.
5. Take and pass the board's online Montana jurisdictional training course, for which you become eligible once your application is complete.
6. Receive the psychologist license, then renew by December 31 each biennium and report 40 hours of continuing education every two years.
7. If you already hold a psychologist license elsewhere, consider the licensure-by-experience route (MCA 37-17-319) or endorsement based on substantial equivalency, and use PSYPACT (MCA Title 37, ch. 17, part 5) for telepsychology or temporary in-person practice instead of a full Montana license where appropriate.

PSYPACT member

Montana offers several out-of-state routes. Licensure by experience (MCA 37-17-319) licenses an applicant who holds a doctoral degree described in 37-17-302, is licensed or certified as a psychologist in another jurisdiction with a disciplinary process, and has actively practiced psychology under that license for 5 of the 7 years immediately preceding application, is not subject to pending criminal or administrative charges related to unprofessional conduct or impairment, and has not been administratively disciplined for unprofessional conduct or impairment in any jurisdiction in the preceding 7 years; the board's checklist states the EPPP is not required on this route, though the Montana jurisdictional course still is. The board's website labels this the 'Psychologist Licensed by Experience (Senior)' license and states the applicant must be licensed in a U.S. or Canadian jurisdiction for 20 years or longer with at least 10 years of clinical experience in the last 15 years. Separately, general endorsement under MCA 37-1-304 requires an active license in good standing from a jurisdiction whose qualifications are substantially equivalent to Montana's, and ARM 24.189.605 adopts by reference a 2025 Board of Psychology substantial equivalency list so that applications from licensees of substantially equivalent states are treated as routine as to education, examination, and experience. Montana has enacted the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) at MCA Title 37, chapter 17, part 5, which authorizes telepsychology into Montana and temporary in-person, face-to-face practice for 30 days within a calendar year by psychologists holding an ASPPB E.Passport or Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate. A temporary permit is also available under ARM 24.189.420 to an applicant who lacks only the examination and works under the supervision of a Montana licensee of the same license type.

Montana Board of Psychologists

(406) 841-2258

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