Quebec Psychology Licensure Requirements

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

All supervised practice is PREDOCTORAL and embedded in the doctorate: a minimum of 2,300 hours of supervised practical training, split as 700 hours of 'stages' (practica) plus 1,600 hours of 'internats' (internship), worth 51 credits. This figure is stated in the Ordre's equivalence regulation (C-26, r. 219, s. 2) as the standard a non-Quebec degree must match, and the same 700 / 1,600 split is imposed on accredited Quebec doctoral programs by the Ordre's Manuel d'évaluation des programmes de doctorat en psychologie (Table 3). Within those totals the Manuel requires, for the stages, at least 250 hours of client contact (100 direct) and 125 hours of supervision (50 individual); and for the internat, at least 600 hours of client contact (400 direct) and 200 hours of supervision (100 individual). Quebec requires NO postdoctoral supervised year -- postDoc is 0, not unknown: the Ordre's licensing conditions list no post-degree residency, and the Ordre's own 2023 brief notes it is 'certains États américains' (some US states) that add a clinical postdoctoral year. Candidates granted only PARTIAL equivalence (typically internationally trained applicants holding a professional master's) are separately required to complete a bridging program of courses plus a supervised internat set case by case by the equivalence committee; no fixed hour figure is published for that.

Required

A mandatory COURSE, not an examination. Candidates must pass a course on professional ethics of at least 45 hours offered by the Ordre, bearing specifically on the legislation and regulations in force in Quebec applicable to the Ordre and its members (C-26, r. 215, s. 1). The course is offered at least once a year. A candidate may be exempted if the equivalence committee finds they completed one or more university courses totalling at least 45 hours specifically on ethics and Quebec law; to verify eligibility for that exemption the committee MAY impose an examination (C-26, r. 215, s. 2) -- that is the only exam contemplated anywhere in the permit pathway, and it is discretionary and only for exemption purposes. Psychologists licensed in another Canadian province entering Quebec under C-26, r. 211 must likewise take and pass an Ordre-recognized course on Quebec legislation, regulation and ethics.

This 45-hour ethics/Quebec-law course is the functional equivalent of a US jurisprudence requirement, but Quebec delivers it as coursework rather than as a test. The Ordre does not publish a standalone price for the course on its public licensing pages, so the fee is left null.

1. Earn a doctorate in psychology (Ph.D., D.Ps., D.Psy. or Psy.D.) from one of the Quebec university programs recognized by the Ordre, or obtain a recognition of diploma or training equivalence for a degree earned elsewhere.
2. Complete, inside that doctorate, at least 2,300 hours of supervised practical training -- 700 hours of stages (practica) and 1,600 hours of internat (internship).
3. Pass a course of at least 45 hours on professional ethics and the Quebec legislation and regulations governing the Ordre, given by the Ordre or a university course it recognizes.
4. Demonstrate appropriate knowledge of French under the Charter of the French Language, either by having studied three years full-time in French at secondary or post-secondary level, by the equivalent secondary-school French results, or by passing the Office québécois de la langue française examination.
5. Open an account in the Ordre's Portail sécurisé and file the permit application with your birth certificate, diploma (or department attestation) and certified transcript, paying the CAD $127 file-opening fee.
6. Once the comité des permis issues the permit, register on the Tableau de l'Ordre and pay the annual dues to obtain your permit number and the legal right to practise.
7. Note: there is NO licensing examination and NO postdoctoral supervised year in Quebec -- the EPPP is not used.

Not eligible — U.S. compact

INBOUND (Canadian psychologists): under the Règlement sur les autorisations légales d'exercer la profession de psychologue hors du Québec (C-26, r. 211), a legal authorization to practise psychology issued in another Canadian province or territory itself gives access to the OPQ permit. The applicant writes to the secrétaire général with proof of that authorization and the file fee (CAD $127), and must additionally take and pass an Ordre-recognized course on the legislation, regulation and ethical aspects of practising psychology in Quebec, plus meet the French-language requirement of the Charter of the French Language. The Ordre advises allowing 30 days for processing. Such applicants do NOT go through the equivalence process. OUTBOUND (Quebec psychologists): under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (ALEC/CFTA), Quebec psychologists can obtain a licence in other Canadian provinces and territories without significant additional training, experience, examination or assessment requirements; the Ordre cautions that several provinces require English proficiency and impose a local ethics-and-regulation examination. The Ordre issues an attestation of professional standing for this purpose for CAD $95 plus taxes. INTERNATIONAL: applicants trained outside Canada go through the diploma/training equivalence route (C-26, r. 219); partial recognition triggers a bridging program of courses and a supervised internat, which the Ordre says frequently takes more than two years. FRANCE–QUEBEC: there is NO mutual recognition arrangement (ARM) for psychologists under the 2008 Entente Québec-France. 'Psychologue' does not appear on either official Gouvernement du Québec list of the 81 trades and professions covered by an ARM (Quebec-side or France-side), so French-trained psychologists must use the ordinary equivalence route. PSYPACT does not apply -- it is a US interstate compact and Quebec is not a participant.

Ordre des psychologues du Quebec

(514) 738-1881

Official board page →