Northwest Territories Psychology Licensure Requirements

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NWT does NOT use the US/ASPPB-recommended scaled score of 500. The Psychology Profession Regulations require 'a score of at least 70% on the Examination for Professional Practice of Psychology set by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards', and the Department's own application package repeats 'proof of completion with a score of at least 70%'. The requirement is expressed as a percentage; neither source references a scaled score. Provisional registrants must reach the same 70% within four years of initial registration on the provisional register. Nothing in the regulations indicates NWT has adopted an EPPP Part 1 / Part 2 split. The EPPP is waived entirely for applicants who already hold a full, unrestricted licence in another province or territory.

1600 hours of supervised practice completed IN the Northwest Territories, in accordance with the standards and guidelines in section 14 of the regulations and the NWT Standards for Supervision of Provisional Psychologists. The US pre-doctoral / post-doctoral split does not apply here: NWT registers at the master's OR doctoral level, and the 1600 hours are post-degree - the degree must already be held to enter the provisional register, which is the vehicle for completing the hours. The regulations impose no separate predoctoral internship requirement, so preDoc and postDoc are left null rather than guessed. Provisional registrants must complete the 1600 hours within three years of initial registration on the provisional register; the Registration Committee may extend that by no more than one year. Completion is verified by a Final Evaluation Report sent directly to the Registrar by the primary supervisor. The 1600 hours are waived for applicants who already hold a full, unrestricted licence in another province or territory.

Required

Jurisprudence and Ethics for the Practice of Psychology in the Northwest Territories Examination, set by the Office of Professional Licensing, Department of Health and Social Services. Passing score is at least 50%. The Department does not publish the delivery format or length; applicants are told to contact the Professional Licensing Office for how and where to write it.

Required for BOTH routes onto the general register: the standard route (s.4(a)) and the labour-mobility route for psychologists already licensed in another province or territory (s.4(b)). It is the one requirement that is NOT waived for out-of-jurisdiction licence holders. No separate examination fee appears in the Schedule of fees to the regulations or in the application package, so the fee is left null rather than assumed to be zero.

1. Earn a master's degree or doctorate in psychology from a Canadian university, and have the credentials approved by a psychology regulatory body recognized by the NWT Registration Committee - in practice the College of Alberta Psychologists Credentials Evaluation Committee, which issues an Approval of Academic Credentials Letter.
2. Apply to the Office of Professional Licensing for registration on the provisional register, submitting a supervision plan endorsed by one or more general-register psychologists, RCMP criminal record and vulnerable sector checks dated within six months, proof of professional liability insurance or employer coverage of at least $5 million, and evidence you are authorized to work in Canada.
3. Complete 1600 hours of supervised practice in the Northwest Territories within three years of initial provisional registration, following the NWT Standards for Supervision of Provisional Psychologists; your primary supervisor sends a Final Evaluation Report directly to the Registrar.
4. Pass the Examination for Professional Practice of Psychology (ASPPB) with a score of at least 70%, within four years of initial provisional registration.
5. Pass the Jurisprudence and Ethics for the Practice of Psychology in the Northwest Territories Examination with a score of at least 50%, arranged through the Professional Licensing Office.
6. Submit the general registration application with certificates of standing from every jurisdiction worldwide where you are currently or were previously (within 15 years) registered, a current CV, photo ID, proof of citizenship or a valid work permit, and the registration and licensing fee; allow up to 15 business days for a decision.
7. Renew the licence annually before it expires on March 31, and meet the Continuing Competency Program for Psychologists in the NWT.

Not eligible — U.S. compact

NWT offers a direct labour-mobility route consistent with the Canadian Free Trade Agreement. Under s.4(b) of the Psychology Profession Regulations, a person registered in good standing on the equivalent of the general register in a province or another territory, and licensed to practise psychology without conditions in that jurisdiction, is eligible for the NWT general register by completing only the NWT Jurisprudence and Ethics Examination and holding professional liability insurance. The Department's application package confirms this in operational terms: the credential-evaluation letter, the EPPP and the 1600 supervised-practice hours are each marked 'Waived if applicant holds full, unrestricted license in a province or territory.' A separate courtesy register lets a psychologist licensed without conditions elsewhere in Canada practise temporarily in NWT for a specified purpose for up to three months, no more than twice in the April 1 - March 31 year, subject to the Registration Committee being satisfied of their competence for that purpose. PSYPACT does not apply: it is a US interstate compact, NWT is not a party to it, and it is not mentioned in the NWT legislation or on the Department's licensing pages. Note also that NWT is regulated directly by the territorial government - the Registrar, Chief of Profession Regulation in the Department of Health and Social Services - rather than by a self-regulating college, so there is no separate college membership fee.

Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Professional Licensing

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