Ohio Psychology Licensure Requirements

Not yet independently verified for this state. Confirm with the board →

Ohio requires a total of 3,600 hours (two years) of board-approved supervised professional experience. One year of that must be a pre-doctoral internship; a non-APA/non-APPIC internship must be at least 1,500 hours and no more than 2,000 hours (an APA-accredited or APPIC-member internship is accepted on completion, with no separate hour figure in rule). Each 'year' of supervised experience is defined as at least 1,800 hours (OAC 4732-9-03(A)). postDoc is left null because a post-doctoral year is NOT universally required: for graduates of accredited/designated doctoral programs (ORC 4732.10(B)(2)(a)), the remaining ~1,600–2,100 hours after the internship may be completed pre-doctorally (qualifying doctoral practicum placements), post-internship, post-doctorally, or in combination. Applicants qualifying under ORC 4732.10(B)(2)(b) or (c) — doctoral programs without APA/CPA/ASPPB-NR/NASP program accreditation, or non-U.S. degrees — must complete at least one year (1,800 hours) post-doctorally. The board warns on its own website that skipping a post-doc year may create mobility problems in other states.

Required

An oral jurisprudence examination administered by the board (typically by two Board members) after the EPPP is passed and the 3,600-hour training sequence is accepted. It covers Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4732, the board's rules (OAC 4732-1-01 to 4732-21-01), related Ohio statutes, professional ethical principles, and professional standards of care. Candidates must answer five questions correctly — two from the General Rules of Professional Conduct (OAC 4732-17-01) and one each from Supervision Rules (OAC 4732-13-02 to -13-04), other Psychology Board laws/rules, and related Ohio practice laws (e.g., child-abuse and adult-protective reporting, Ohio's duty-to-protect statute). Up to two alternate questions are allowed, one per content area; failing a question and its alternate in the same area fails the exam. The board publishes an Oral Examination Preparation Memo (updated September 2025) and requires a signed acknowledgement. It is the final step before licensure and is also required of reciprocity, endorsement (ABPP/CPQ/National Register), and senior-Canadian-psychologist applicants.

Fee: No separate fee for the first attempt is listed in the board's fee rule; $50 for any canceled, rescheduled, or failed/rescheduled exam (OAC 4732-1-03(E) sets a $50 fee 'for retaking any examination administered by the board')

Called the 'oral examination' throughout the board's materials and the 'jurisprudence examination' in OAC 4732-9-01(D)(3). Authority: ORC 4732.11(A)(2) and OAC 4732-11-01(E). Since October 1, 2025 the board will not schedule the oral exam until criminal background check results have been received.

1. Earn a doctoral degree in psychology or school psychology from an accredited institution — ideally from a program accredited or designated by APA, CPA, the ASPPB/National Register designation committee, or NASP.
2. Complete 3,600 hours of board-approved supervised professional experience, including a pre-doctoral internship of 1,500 to 2,000 hours; the remaining hours may be doctoral practicum placements, post-internship, or post-doctoral training (a post-doctoral year is mandatory only for graduates of non-accredited or non-U.S. programs).
3. Submit the psychologist application through the Ohio eLicense portal with the $300 application and license fee, and have transcripts and training-verification forms (Forms A–G) sent directly from the source to the board.
4. After the board's entrance examiner approves your doctoral degree and internship, take the EPPP and have ASPPB send your score directly to the board.
5. Complete an Ohio BCI/FBI criminal records check at a WebCheck location; results must reach the board before the oral examination can be scheduled.
6. Study the board's Oral Examination Preparation Memo, return the signed acknowledgement, and pass the board's oral jurisprudence examination on Ohio law, board rules, and professional conduct — the final step before the license is issued.
7. Keep the license active by registering biennially ($365) and meeting the board's continuing-education requirements.

PSYPACT member

Ohio offers three out-of-state routes, all of which still require passing Ohio's oral jurisprudence examination and an Ohio criminal records check. (1) Endorsement — OAC 4732-7-01: an applicant verified by ASPPB as holding a current Certificate of Professional Qualification (CPQ), by ABPP as holding an active board certification, or by the National Register as a credentialed health service psychologist may be licensed on passing the board's oral examination. (2) U.S. license reciprocity — OAC 4732-9-01(D), implementing ORC 4732.12 and ORC Chapter 4796: a psychologist independently licensed in another state, territory, or D.C. for at least one year, who has practiced in at least one of the five preceding years, and whose license was based on a doctoral degree in psychology, at least 3,000 hours of supervised experience, and an EPPP score at the national standard pass point published by ASPPB. (3) Senior Canadian psychologists — OAC 4732-9-01(C): ten or more years of unrestricted Canadian/U.S. licensure with no discipline plus three professional references are exempt from the supervised-experience rules and the EPPP, but must still pass the oral examination. Ohio is a PSYPACT state: the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact was ratified and enacted into Ohio law by ORC 4732.40 (effective August 3, 2021), allowing E.Passport telepsychology and temporary in-person practice across compact states. Military members and their spouses deployed to Ohio may receive an expedited temporary license with all fees waived (OAC 4732-9-06).

Ohio State Board of Psychology

(614) 466-8808

Official board page →