New Jersey Psychology Licensure Requirements

500

New Jersey does not set its own numeric cut score. N.J.A.C. 13:42-5.1(a) requires the EPPP and provides that the passing score is the one established by ASPPB at the time of the examination, i.e. the ASPPB-recommended scaled score of 500. The Board's rule refers only to 'the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology'; no rule text was found adopting an EPPP Part 1-only or Part 2 requirement.

Two years of full-time or full-time-equivalent supervised experience are required. N.J.A.C. 13:42-4.1(b) defines one year as a minimum of 1,750 hours, and the Board's own FAQ states the total is 3,500 hours. Each 1,750-hour year must include 1,000 client contact hours, 200 hours of supervision (at least 100 individual face-to-face), and 550 hours of other work-related activities. There is no fixed pre-doctoral/post-doctoral split: under P.L. 2020 c.134, applicants applying after October 1, 2020 may count experience earned before the doctorate, and the Board states hours 'can be a combination of predoctoral and post-doctoral hours.' The hours cannot be compressed into less than two years - no more than 1,000 client contact hours (20 hours per week) may be accrued per year before licensure. Supervision must be by a psychologist licensed at least two years in the state where the supervision occurred.

Required

Online jurisprudence examination administered by the Board - 25 true/false questions on New Jersey statutes and regulations, preceded by an online orientation, taken in one session

Fee: $100

N.J.A.C. 13:42-5.1(b) requires the candidate to take the Board's jurisprudence online examination within 90 days of notification of passing the EPPP. The Board's orientation site states every applicant must complete it before a license is issued. The $100 fee appears at N.J.A.C. 13:42-6.1(a)2 as 'Examination fee: $100.00 jurisprudence.' Applicants licensed by reciprocity (13:42-5.3(f)) and those licensed without the EPPP (13:42-5.4) must also complete it.

1. Earn a doctorate in psychology (or an allied field, or equivalent training) from a regionally accredited institution, including at least 40 doctoral psychology credits distributed across six required content areas plus 20 additional psychology credits.
2. Complete two years - 3,500 hours - of board-approved supervised experience at 1,750 hours per year, with 1,000 client contact hours, 200 supervision hours and 550 hours of other professional activity each year; hours may be pre-doctoral, post-doctoral, or a combination.
3. If the hours are not yet finished, apply for a three-year supervised permit and get each supervisor approved by the Board before accruing hours under supervision.
4. Submit the Practicing Psychologist application online through the Division of Consumer Affairs licensing portal, and have transcripts, license verifications, the dissertation abstract, two certificates of good moral character and supervisory forms sent to the Board.
5. Complete the fingerprint-based criminal history background check the Board requests after its initial review of your application.
6. Pass the EPPP at the passing score established by ASPPB, then complete the Board's online jurisprudence examination within 90 days of being notified you passed.
7. Pay the initial license fee to have the license issued, then renew every two years by June 30 of each odd-numbered year with 40 continuing education credits per renewal period.

PSYPACT member

New Jersey has a licensure-by-reciprocity rule, N.J.A.C. 13:42-5.3: the Board will license a psychologist holding a valid, current, corresponding license in good standing from another state if the Board finds that state's education, training and examination requirements substantially equivalent to current New Jersey standards and the applicant has practiced psychology for at least two of the five years before applying, subject to a criminal history background check, good-standing documentation from every state of licensure, and designation of a New Jersey agent for service of process if the applicant is a non-resident. Reciprocity applicants must still complete the online jurisprudence examination. Under N.J.A.C. 13:42-5.4 the EPPP itself is waived - the applicant needs only the jurisprudence exam - for holders of an ABPP diploma awarded by examination, holders of the ASPPB Certificate of Professional Qualification (CPQ), and psychologists credentialed by the National Register of Health Service Psychologists. Out-of-state licensees who meet New Jersey's other requirements may also obtain a one-year unsupervised temporary permit under N.J.A.C. 13:42-3.1 while completing licensure, provided they have had two years of active post-doctoral practice within the preceding four years. New Jersey enacted the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) as P.L. 2021, c.229 (C.45:14B-49), approved September 24, 2021, and the New Jersey Board is listed among PSYPACT participating state boards; note, however, that the Board's own FAQ still states that only psychologists holding a plenary New Jersey license may provide telehealth services to clients located in New Jersey, and the Board is circulating PSYPACT Commission rule proposals, so applicants should confirm current PSYPACT status with the Board. The FAQ also describes a separate temporary permission to practice in person in New Jersey for no more than 10 consecutive business days or 15 days in a three-month period, requested by letter to the Board.

New Jersey State Board of Psychological Examiners

(973) 504-6470

Official board page →