EPPP eligibility and registration, step by step

You do not register for the EPPP with ASPPB first. You apply for a license to the psychology board of the state, province or territory where you want to practice, and that board decides whether you may take the exam. Only then does ASPPB's registration system, Clarus, open an account for you, and you pay, book a Pearson VUE test center, and take the exam within your testing window. This guide follows that path step by step, answers when you can take the EPPP, including before you graduate, and covers Part 2, accommodations, retakes and score transfers, with what changes when the integrated EPPP replaces Part 1 and Part 2 in fall 2027.

The short answer

• Your board decides. "Each of our 66 jurisdictional boards determines its own requirements for licensure and approves applications to practice in its jurisdiction."
• Apply for a license first. "Before you can take either the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP)® (Part 1–Knowledge) or EPPP (Part 2–Skills), you must apply for a psychology license in the state, province, or territory where you intend to practice."
• Then Clarus. Once your board has decided you may take the exam, it enters you into Clarus, ASPPB's registration system, and Clarus emails you to set a password.
• Pay, then take it within 12 months, or by the end date your board sets, whichever comes first.
• When: ASPPB's page says you may take Part 1 "after you have completed your academic degree and registered as a candidate for licensure in a jurisdiction". For the integrated EPPP, ASPPB recommends completed doctoral coursework and all or most of your supervised experience. Your board's rules come first.
• Accommodations come before booking: "accommodations cannot be added to an exam after it is scheduled."
• Retakes need your board again, and no one may take either part "more than four times in any 12-month period."

Who may take the EPPP

The EPPP is a licensing exam, so eligibility belongs to the licensing boards and colleges, not to ASPPB. The handbook puts the first step plainly: "Regardless of the licensing authority, in order to sit for the EPPP, Candidates must first apply for licensure to the licensing authority in the state, province, or territory in which they wish to be licensed." The board "reviews applicants' credentials and determines if they meet the requirements established in the laws of the state, province, or territory".

Every one of ASPPB's 66 member jurisdictions requires Part 1: "All 66 member jurisdictions require you to achieve a passing score on the EPPP (Part 1–Knowledge) prior to licensure. Some jurisdictions also require you to achieve a passing score on the EPPP (Part 2–Skills)."

Who sits it, in practice? The handbook describes the usual candidate: "Most Candidates taking the EPPP have obtained a doctoral degree in psychology, a year of doctoral supervised experience, and appropriate postdoctoral experience." That is a description, not a rule. ASPPB's beta FAQ, for example, says the beta is open to "both master's and doctoral-level candidates who meet the eligibility requirements established by their participating licensing board or college."

Searches for the EPPP's requirements in a named state, California, Illinois, Texas and others, have one reliable answer: that state's board. ASPPB's documents point there too, and its handbook lists board contact information at asppb.net/contact-licensing-board/.

Can you take the EPPP before you graduate?

ASPPB's answer depends on which exam, and your board's answer outranks it.

Part 1 today. ASPPB's Which Exam Should I Take? page says: "You may access the EPPP (Part 1–Knowledge) after you have completed your academic degree and registered as a candidate for licensure in a jurisdiction." It adds a recommendation on timing: "At ASPPB, we recommend you take EPPP (Part 1–Knowledge) as soon as possible after finishing your academic training while your foundational knowledge is fresh."

Part 2 today. It comes after Part 1 and after your supervised hours: "If the jurisdiction where you intend to practice requires EPPP (Part 2–Skills), you must first pass EPPP (Part 1–Knowledge)." ASPPB recommends you take it "only after you have completed all the supervised experience required by your jurisdiction."

The integrated EPPP, from fall 2027. ASPPB's news post of May 8, 2026 sets out its recommendation, while "Recognizing that Licensing Boards and Colleges are responsible for approving candidate eligibility":

• "Candidates should have completed coursework from a doctoral degree program acceptable to the licensing board/college; and"
• "Candidates should have completed all or most of their required supervised experience, as determined by the licensing board/college."

The wording is coursework, not a conferred degree, and all or most of the supervised experience, not all of it. Whether that lets you take the integrated EPPP before graduation is your board's decision; ASPPB's documents set no rule of their own for it.

Registering, step by step

The handbook describes the path for Part 1 and Part 2. ASPPB's beta FAQ uses the same system, Clarus, for the beta.

1. Apply for a license to your board, in the jurisdiction where you intend to practice.
2. Your board enters you into Clarus. Once it has decided you may take the EPPP, the board will "enter the candidate's identifying information and authorization into the EPPP online registration system Clarus, creating an account for the candidate with ASPPB."
3. Set your password. "The candidate will be sent an automated email from Clarus to set their password and log into their Clarus account."
4. Check your details. Verify what your board entered. Your first and last name "must MATCH the name on the two forms of identification that will be required to present when checking-in at the testing center." If something is wrong, Clarus has links to ask your board to correct it.
5. Ask for accommodations now, if you need them, by marking the "Exam Accommodations" box during registration (more below).
6. Pay when you are ready to test, not before. "Candidates should not pay or schedule their exam fees until they are ready to sit for the exam." Fees are paid in Clarus: today US$600 for Part 1 or US$450 for Part 2, plus a US$91.88 sitting fee. EPPP exam cost lists every fee.
7. Mind the window. "Once Candidates pay their exam fee, they must sit for the exam within the following 12 months, unless their testing window end date set by their licensing authority is before that 12-month mark." "Candidates can always view their approved testing window start and end dates on the Clarus dashboard."
8. Book your appointment through Clarus, or by phone with Pearson VUE. You receive an email confirming the date, time and place, with an Order Number, a Registration ID and your ASPPB Candidate ID; keep it. Our guide to EPPP test day covers the day itself.
9. Arrive 30 minutes early with two IDs: "a currently valid, government-issued photo ID (e.g., passport, driver's license), as well as another piece of identification imprinted with their name and containing a signature or recent photo (e.g., credit card, CPR card)."

Each authorization covers one attempt. "The Authorization to Test is good for one exam appointment only during the candidate's testing window. Each exam requires its own approval by the licensing authority."

One warning about ASPPB's own pages. Its Registration and Fees page still describes an email "from Certemy.com" and a portal "hosted by Certemy". The handbook of September 2026 replaces both: "Effective September 29, 2026, ASPPB's new EPPP Candidate Registration portal is Clarus. Certemy is no longer accessible."

Part 2, where your board requires it

Part 2 has its own approval and its own registration. "The EPPP (Part 2-Skills) can only be taken AFTER the EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) has been taken and passed." ASPPB's Registration and Fees page sends you back to your board for it: "Contact the licensing board in your intended jurisdiction to register for EPPP (Part 2–Skills)."

Part 2 closes to first-time test takers when the integrated EPPP launches in the fourth quarter of 2027, and candidates who failed it before the launch may retake it until March 31, 2028. If your board requires Part 2 and your supervised experience will not be complete by then, ask your board which exam it will want from you. EPPP changes 2027 sets out the dates.

The beta and the integrated EPPP

The beta, March and April 2027. Only first-time test takers in jurisdictions that take part can register: "Only licensing boards or colleges that have elected to take part in the EPPP Beta opportunity will have access to the EPPP Beta Test and be able to approve candidates for the EPPP Beta Test." Approved candidates "will receive an email with instructions for activating/accessing their account in Clarus, ASPPB's online EPPP Candidate Registration System", and book an appointment within the testing period.

The integrated EPPP, from fall 2027. ASPPB has said it will publish a candidate handbook for it, covering "eligibility requirements, registration procedures, examination administration, test content, scoring, accommodations, policies, and other important details". Until then, the steps above are the ones ASPPB's documents describe.

Accommodations

"Candidates with documented disabilities or impairments covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) may request testing accommodations to support their participation in the examination." The order matters, because the handbook is firm that "accommodations cannot be added to an exam after it is scheduled":

• Mark the "Exam Accommodations" box when you register in Clarus.
• Send your documentation to your board, which reviews the request and records its decision in Clarus.
• ASPPB then makes a final review, and Pearson VUE plans the accommodation; that "could take up to 10-15 business days."
• "Until the accommodations process is complete, candidates cannot schedule either part of the EPPP."

ASPPB's FAQ for the beta and the integrated EPPP gives the same route and the same advice: "Candidates are encouraged to submit accommodation requests and supporting documentation as early as possible to allow sufficient time for review and approval before scheduling their examination." Our guide to EPPP accommodations covers each step and the timing.

Where you can take it

"Candidates may test at any authorized Pearson VUE center that administers the EPPP, regardless of the licensing authority where they are applying for licensure. However, all US candidates must test at a US testing center including US territories and all Canadian candidates must test at a Canadian testing center." The network is large, "more than 275 Pearson Professional Centers (PPCs) in the United States and Canada", but EPPP time slots are limited, and "The earlier candidates schedule their exam, the more likely they will be able to schedule at the time and location of their choice."

In French. A French form of Part 1 "is available only to those candidates whose licensing authorities legally require the availability of a French form of the exam." The handbook adds a caution: "Some licensing authorities do not accept EPPP scores from candidates who take non-English versions of the exam." The integrated EPPP will be offered in French from fall 2027 where a jurisdiction requires it.

Retakes

Failing means going back to your board. "If candidates fail the EPPP, their licensing authority may approve for a retake." Your board then assigns a new Authorization to Test in Clarus, and you register and pay again.

Boards set their own limits: "Some licensing authorities have rules related to retakes such as waiting periods, maximum allowances, or additional requirements." ASPPB sets one for everyone: "Regardless of the licensing authority's allowance, candidates may NOT take either part of the EPPP more than four times in any 12-month period." It also advises a gap of "approximately 90 days from their last test date". Our guide to retaking the EPPP covers the score report, the limits and the 2028 window.

Score transfers

Your first score report is part of the fee: "Candidates' examination fees include a report of their score to the licensing authority where they are seeking initial licensure." After that, ASPPB keeps your scores. "The ASPPB Score Transfer Service maintains a permanent record of EPPP scores and, at a candidate's request, the service will report the candidate's EPPP scores to the licensing authority of another state or province in which the candidate seeks licensure or certification."

Two details are worth knowing before you apply in a second jurisdiction. The unofficial report you receive at the test center "cannot be used for score transfers". And a transferred report "will also include a review of ASPPB's Disciplinary Data System". Transfers are requested online, or by phone at (678) 216-1175, and ASPPB's EPPP Score Transfer page gives the fees.

Questions to ask your board

1. What do I need to complete before you will let me take the EPPP: my degree, my coursework, my supervised hours?
2. Do you require Part 2 as well as Part 1, and which exam will you want from me if I am not ready before the integrated EPPP launches?
3. Do you take part in the beta test of March and April 2027?
4. What end date will my testing window have, and what are your rules on retakes?
5. What do you charge for the license application? ASPPB's fee summary lists "Licensure Application Fees" as "Determined by the licensing authority".

Where to start

Apply to your board early: the review takes its own time, and the 12-month window starts only when you pay. Then use the months before your appointment for preparation, from the blueprint your exam is built on. If you will take the integrated EPPP, that is ASPPB's integrated blueprint, which ASPPB's FAQ says "is available on the ASPPB website under Future EPPP Content Areas." The EPPP domains explained walks through it.

QualExam's EPPP course is built on that blueprint, with lessons, practice questions and flashcards for every domain. The study plan on this page turns your exam date into a week-by-week schedule, and our guide to studying for the EPPP shows how it divides the weeks.