Failing the EPPP is common enough that ASPPB, the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards, which owns the exam, has rules for what comes next. By ASPPB's own figure, about 80% of first-time candidates from accredited doctoral programs pass, so on our arithmetic about one in five does not pass on that attempt. The rules for a retake come from two places: your licensing board, which decides whether and when you may sit again, and ASPPB, which sets one limit for everyone. This guide covers what happens on the day, who approves a retake, how many times you can take the EPPP, how long to wait, the window until March 31, 2028 for anyone who fails today's exams, the beta test's own rules, and how to plan the next attempt.
The short answer
- Your board decides. "If candidates fail the EPPP, their licensing authority may approve for a retake," and boards' rules differ.
- ASPPB's limit applies to everyone: no more than four attempts in any 12-month period, whatever your board allows.
- Wait about 90 days, ASPPB recommends, to prepare.
- Below 500, you get feedback by domain at the test center, free, as a bar graph.
- Failed today's exams before the integrated EPPP starts? You may retake the same exam until March 31, 2028; from April 1, 2028, only the integrated EPPP remains.
- The beta is different: a failed beta does not count as a failed attempt on Part 1, and the beta can be taken only once.
On the day: your score and its feedback
On today's exams, "Immediately upon completing the EPPP, candidates will receive an unofficial score at the test center," and the Handbook adds that "This is the only notification candidates will receive from ASPPB," so keep it. The score then goes into Clarus, ASPPB's registration system, where you and your board can see it, and your board decides whether it meets the standard.
If you score below 500, ASPPB's recommended passing score for independent practice, you "will automatically receive performance feedback at the test center as part of the score report. The feedback will be reported by domain in the form of a bar graph. There is no fee for this report." That bar graph is the most useful thing you take home: it shows where the points went, and the plan for the retake starts from it.
One more number can matter. ASPPB also recommends 450 for supervised practice, and the Handbook notes "some variation among licensing authorities regarding the passing score for supervised practice." If your score fell between 450 and 499, ask your board what it means where you practice under supervision. Our guide to the EPPP's format and scoring explains the scaled score.
The beta test works differently: its results come later, since "EPPP Beta Test results are expected to be available in late June 2027," and "Unlike the current EPPP, results will not be available immediately following the examination."
Who approves a retake
You do not book a retake with ASPPB on your own. ASPPB's Retake Process page says that if your score "does not meet the requirements of the licensing authority where you are seeking licensure, you will need to contact them to request a retake." The Handbook gives the steps: your board approves, then "a new Authorization to Test must be approved and assigned to the candidate by their licensing authority in Clarus. Once the new assignment is made, that candidate can register for the retake exam."
Each attempt is a new sitting with its own fees: in the Handbook's fee summary, Part 1 is "$600 USD per sitting (non-refundable)," plus a test sitting fee of "$91.88 per sitting (non-refundable)." Our guide to what the EPPP costs lists every fee.
Boards set their own conditions on top: "Requirements for retakes vary from licensing authority to licensing authority. Some licensing authorities have rules related to retakes such as waiting periods, maximum allowances, or additional requirements." This guide names no board's rule, because each board's rule is its own; your board's website or office is the source for yours.
One caution about ASPPB's pages. The Retake Process page still sends you to a portal "hosted by Certemy." The Handbook of September 2026 replaces it: "Effective September 29, 2026, ASPPB's new EPPP Candidate Registration portal is Clarus. Certemy is no longer accessible."
How many times can you take the EPPP?
ASPPB sets one limit for every candidate, and it holds whatever your board allows: "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." The Retake Process page calls it "any rolling 12-month period," which means any 12 consecutive months, not a calendar year, on our reading.
ASPPB's documents set no lifetime limit. Whether a second, third or fourth failure changes anything else is up to your board, whose rules may include "maximum allowances, or additional requirements." If you have failed more than once, read your board's rules before you book again, because the next attempt may need more than a new Authorization to Test.
How long to wait before a retake
ASPPB's advice is about three months: "It is recommended that candidates wait for approximately 90 days from their last test date in order to allow sufficient time to prepare to take the EPPP again." A board's own waiting period, if it has one, is the rule; the 90 days is ASPPB's recommendation for preparing well.
At 10 hours a week, 90 days is about 13 weeks, or about 130 hours, on our arithmetic: less than the about 149 hours the course counts for a full pass through everything. That is a reason to plan the retake around the domains that cost you the most rather than starting again from page one.
Failed before the integrated EPPP? The 2028 window
The EPPP changes in fall 2027, and ASPPB has said what that means for anyone who has not passed by then. "Candidates who fail the EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) or EPPP (Part 2-Skills) before the integrated EPPP release date may retake the respective exam until March 31, 2028." Then the old exams end: "Effective April 1, 2028, the EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) and EPPP (Part 2-Skills) will be retired and will no longer be available. At that point, the integrated EPPP will be the only EPPP examination available for psychology licensure candidates in ASPPB Member Jurisdictions."
So a candidate who fails Part 1 before the launch can keep retaking Part 1, within the board's rules and ASPPB's limit, until March 31, 2028, and after that takes the integrated EPPP. The integrated exam is built on a different outline, six domains instead of Part 1's eight content areas, so the longer the road might run, the more the new blueprint matters; our guide to the EPPP's domains compares the two, and our guide to the 2027 change covers the dates.
Three things ASPPB's documents do not yet say:
- Whether a candidate who failed Part 1 may switch to the integrated EPPP before April 1, 2028.
- How attempts on today's exams count toward any limit on the integrated EPPP.
- The integrated EPPP's own retake rules. ASPPB's FAQ says it "will also publish an integrated EPPP Candidate Handbook in 2026"; until it does, the retake rules quoted in this guide are those for today's exams.
If one of these decides your plan, ask your board and ASPPB directly.
If you took the beta test
The beta has its own rules, set out in ASPPB's beta FAQ:
- "Candidates who pass the EPPP Beta Test will have their result recognized as a passing result for the EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge)."
- "Candidates who do not pass the EPPP Beta Test will not have the result counted as a failed attempt on the EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge)."
- "Candidates may take the EPPP Beta Test only once. Those who do not pass the exam will not be eligible to retake it."
- Those candidates "will be eligible to take the EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) at a discounted examination fee of $100 USD (plus the applicable Pearson VUE sitting fee)."
A beta candidate who does not pass therefore goes back to Part 1, with no failed attempt on the record and a lower fee, and the 2028 window above still applies to Part 1.
Planning the next attempt
The score report, the 90 days and the weights together make the plan.
- Start from the bar graph. It reports your performance by domain. Rank the domains by how far each fell short, and weigh them by their share of the exam you will sit: on the integrated EPPP, 20% each for Assessment, Intervention, and Ethical and Professional Practice, 15% each for Scientific Orientation to Practice and Interpersonal Relationships, and 10% for Consultation and Supervision.
- Check where you are now. Weeks have passed since the exam. A short diagnostic, like the free account's 18 questions, shows what has held and what has faded.
- Put the points first. In the course's plan, the second pass already runs where the points are, ranked by weight and by what you miss, and in the app you can choose that order for the first pass too.
- Rehearse the length. Take a full timed mock late in the 90 days, so that the length of the exam is not a second problem on the day.
Our guide to studying for the EPPP covers the plan in detail, and our guide to EPPP pass rates puts the national figures in context.
A question to try
The course's questions look like this one: a situation, a lead-in that names the task, four options and one best answer, with the reasoning and its source. It comes from Intervention, 20% of the integrated EPPP.
Where to start
- Find your starting point. A free account starts with a short diagnostic, 18 questions in about 25 minutes, and builds your study order from the exam's weights and from what you already know.
- Get a study plan. The plan on the EPPP page comes by email, week by week to your exam date, with no account needed.
- Read a domain in full. With a free account, the eight Consultation and Supervision lessons open in full, with their questions and flashcards.
- Practice at length. Full access opens all 85 lessons and their 2,902 questions, and the timed 215-question mock.
By QualExam editorial. Written against the certifying body’s published documents, pinned by hash so a revised edition shows up as a change.