North Dakota Psychology Licensure Requirements

500

N.D. Admin. Code 66-02-01-09.1 names the Examination for Professional Practice of Psychology (EPPP) as the required national written examination and fixes the passing score at a scaled score of 500 — the ASPPB-recommended cut score, which the board's own application instructions also state. The rules make no reference to an EPPP Part 2 (Skills) requirement.

N.D. Admin. Code 66-02-01-11.1(1) requires 1,500 hours of supervised predoctoral internship, plus a further 1,500 hours that may be satisfied by postdoctoral supervised experience, by additional qualifying supervised predoctoral training experience, or by a combination of the two — so a postdoctoral year is not strictly mandatory. Each 1,500-hour block requires at least 100 hours of supervision, at least 50 of them one-to-one (one-to-one with a psychologist licensed in good standing for the postdoctoral block). N.D.C.C. 43-32-20(1)(d) states the same as 'at least two full years of supervised professional experience, one year of which must be an internship program, and one year of which may be postdoctoral.' The second-block predoctoral option carries extra conditions, including completion within six years of the terminal doctoral degree and within ten years of first application. Industrial-organizational psychologist applicants instead complete 3,000 hours, at least 1,500 of them after the doctoral degree is granted (66-02-01-11.1(2)).

Required

North Dakota oral examination — a structured oral exam administered by a committee of at least two board members, taken after the board approves the applicant and a passing EPPP score is reported. It assesses knowledge of North Dakota law regulating the practice of psychology plus ethics and standards of practice. The rules authorize the board to substitute a written 'North Dakota professional responsibility examination' once that exam is developed; as of the board's current application instructions the oral examination is still the exam in use.

Fee: $0 for the oral examination; $50 for the written North Dakota professional responsibility examination once developed

N.D. Admin. Code 66-02-01-09.1 and 66-02-01-10. The examination is offered at least twice each calendar year. Out-of-jurisdiction and expedited applicants must also pass it: 66-02-01-03(2) requires them to 'pass the North Dakota oral examination or, once developed, the North Dakota professional responsibility examination as determined by the board,' consistent with N.D.C.C. 43-32-19.1(2).

1. Earn a doctoral degree in psychology from a program accredited by the American Psychological Association or the Canadian Psychological Association — the board recognises no other accrediting bodies for psychologist licensure.
2. Complete a 1,500-hour supervised predoctoral internship with at least 100 hours of supervision, at least 50 of them one-to-one.
3. File the board's Application Initiation Form with the $450 fee and have your supervisor file a Notification of Supervision Relationship Form before you begin practising in North Dakota; the board then issues a psychology resident letter (resident status lasts up to three years).
4. Complete the PLUS online application through ASPPB ($200) so the board can review your file and vote to approve you to sit for the EPPP.
5. Complete a further 1,500 hours of supervised experience — postdoctoral, additional qualifying predoctoral training, or a combination — again with at least 100 supervision hours, 50 of them one-to-one with a psychologist licensed in good standing for at least three years.
6. Pass the EPPP with a scaled score of at least 500, then pass the North Dakota oral examination on state law, ethics, and standards of practice.
7. Receive your licence on an affirmative majority vote of the board, then renew every year by November 15 with the $250 fee and documented continuing education.

PSYPACT member

North Dakota offers expedited licensure rather than blanket reciprocity. Under N.D.C.C. 43-32-19.1 and N.D. Admin. Code 66-02-01-03, the board may license a psychologist in good standing in another jurisdiction who documents graduation from an accredited program at the degree level sought, prior passage of the national examination North Dakota requires, full licensure and disciplinary history, and endorsements from currently licensed behavioural health professionals. A licence may also be granted to a holder of ASPPB's Certificate of Professional Qualification in Psychology (CPQ), or to someone qualifying under an interstate compact North Dakota has adopted. Expedited applicants must still pass the North Dakota oral examination (or the professional responsibility examination once developed). While the application is pending the board may issue a provisional licence valid six months, extendable in six-month increments, provided the applicant has no disciplinary action in the previous five years. A limited practice certificate permits practice in North Dakota for no more than thirty days in a calendar year (N.D.C.C. 43-32-19.1(5); $25 application fee). Military spouses have a separate streamlined pathway under N.D. Admin. Code 66-02-01-03.1 with no licensure fee. North Dakota has enacted the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) as N.D.C.C. chapter 43-32.1, which covers telepsychology across compact states and temporary in-person practice for thirty days within a calendar year; the board announced joining PSYPACT in 2023.

North Dakota State Board of Psychologist Examiners

(701) 214-5580

Official board page →