Most of what goes wrong on EPPP test day is avoidable, and ASPPB, the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards, which owns the exam, sets out the rules in its Candidate Handbook. The Handbook is written for today's two exams, Part 1 and Part 2, and this guide follows it from the night before to the last screen: when to arrive and what ID to bring, how check-in works, how the time is divided, what breaks cost, what you may use in the room, what to do if something fails, and what is known so far about the integrated EPPP's day, which starts in fall 2027.
The short answer
- Arrive 30 minutes early with two forms of ID whose names match your Authorization to Test, or you will not test and the fee is gone.
- Check-in takes time: sign-in, ID, a photo and a palm vein scan, so your appointment time is not your start time.
- The clock has parts: five minutes to accept the Candidate Acknowledgment Statement, then a tutorial, then 4 hours and 15 minutes for Part 1's items, then a short survey.
- No scheduled breaks on today's exams: you may step out, but the clock keeps running and you may not leave the building.
- Ask for a whiteboard if you want one, since it is not handed out automatically, and bring no paper or pens of your own.
- Answer every item, since your score is the number you get right.
- The integrated EPPP has five hours of testing plus an optional 30-minute break in one session; its own handbook will set its day out in full.
Before the day
Book and change your appointment with the fees in mind. Rescheduling more than 31 days before the start time costs nothing, rescheduling or canceling between 31 days and 24 hours before costs $87.50 plus tax, and inside 24 hours a no-show, cancellation or reschedule means "Forfeiture of all fees." Our guide to what the EPPP costs has every fee.
Choose the test center with one rule in mind: "all US candidates must test at a US testing center including US territories and all Canadian candidates must test at a Canadian testing center." Within that, "Candidates may test at any authorized Pearson VUE center that administers the EPPP, regardless of the licensing authority where they are applying for licensure."
Two things belong before the day, not on it. Accommodations must be approved before you schedule, as our guide to EPPP accommodations explains. And the Candidate Acknowledgment Statement, the rules you accept at the start of the exam, is printed in full in the Handbook's Appendix E; the Handbook says it "contains important rules for taking the EPPP and should be read in its entirety before acknowledging that it has been read."
Arrival and ID
The Handbook is specific: "Candidates must arrive 30 minutes prior to their scheduled appointment." Bring two forms of ID: "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)." The names must match too: "The first and last name on both forms of ID must match the name on the Authorization to Test email." Without them, "Candidates will not be permitted to test, and the registration fee will be forfeited if proper IDs are not presented."
Lateness is treated like absence. If you do not arrive, or do not arrive on time, without having rescheduled more than 24 hours ahead, "the exam fee, the test center sitting fee, and the Authorization to Test will be forfeited," and you cannot book again "until re-registering with the licensing authority and paying for another examination."
Check-in
"Candidates should remember that their appointment time is not necessarily their starting time." Check-in means you "sign in, present the appropriate identification, have a digital facial photo taken, and have a palm vein scan," and it "may take time if many candidates have the same appointment time." If you wait more than 30 minutes past your appointment, staff will ask whether you would rather reschedule for another day within your eligibility period.
The room itself is watched closely. "Proctors monitor the testing process through an observation window and from within the testing room," and "All testing sessions are videotaped and audio-monitored, and a digitized image of all candidates taking the EPPP will be retained."
How the time is divided
For Part 1, the Handbook allows five minutes to accept the Candidate Acknowledgment Statement, five minutes for the tutorial, "4 hours and 15 minutes for completion of the exam items" and five minutes at the end for a brief survey. Part 2 allows nine minutes for its tutorial and 4 hours and 10 minutes for its items.
The first five minutes matter more than they look: "If the accept option is not selected within the 5-minute timeframe, the Exam will be canceled and cannot be reset." So read the statement beforehand, and accept it when it appears.
Use the tutorial well, because no one in the room can help with the software: "Testing center staff will not be familiar with the specific navigation tools used within the EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) or EPPP (Part 2-Skills) exams." In Part 1's tutorial, "candidates will learn how to highlight, strikethrough, comment, flag, and skip forward or backward through the exam to review questions."
On our arithmetic, Part 1's 225 items in 4 hours and 15 minutes come to about 68 seconds an item, and the integrated EPPP's 215 questions in five hours to about 84 seconds a question.
Breaks
Today's exams have no break built in. "There are no scheduled breaks during the EPPP. Candidates may take breaks whenever they wish; however, the clock on the time allotted for the exam will continue to run." You also stay put: "Once the exam begins, candidates are not allowed to leave the test center for any reason. A palm scan will be performed each time a candidate leaves and returns to the testing room."
The integrated EPPP is different. Its testing time is "five (5) hours, plus an optional 30-minute break," which our format guide reads as a break outside the five hours.
In the room
Paper and pens. "Whiteboards can be supplied by the testing center upon request, but they are not automatically supplied," and "Candidates are not allowed to bring their own scratch paper or writing instruments into the testing room." Ask for one when you check in if you think with a pen.
Noise. The Handbook warns that other candidates may be taking exams that call for written answers or play audible questions, and that proctors come and go. "If a candidate is concerned that these kinds of distractions will affect exam performance, earplugs and/or noise canceling headphones may be requested after arriving at the testing center. This does not require pre-approval." Your own earplugs stay outside.
Flagging. You can mark questions to come back to, and a flag costs nothing: "Questions that are "flagged" for review do not need to be "unflagged" in order to count in the scoring of the exam, as long as the questions have been answered."
Guessing. "The total number of correct responses determines a candidate's score. Therefore, it is to the candidate's advantage to answer every item, even when uncertain of the correct response." On Part 1, "the candidate should choose the single best answer to each item."
If something goes wrong
Report a problem at once, to the staff in the room. A candidate "who experiences technical difficulties (e.g., a malfunctioning computer) while taking the EPPP should alert Pearson VUE staff immediately." If staff cannot fix it within 30 minutes, you choose between staying, if the center can give the extra time, and rescheduling. Do not wait until afterward: "The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards cannot help to resolve a problem that has not been reported to the test center staff at the time it occurs."
After the last question
On today's exams, "Immediately upon completing the EPPP, candidates will receive an unofficial score at the test center," and a score below 500 comes with feedback by domain. Our guide to retaking the EPPP covers what happens next if you fall short. The beta test is the exception: its "results will not be available immediately following the examination," and are expected in late June 2027.
The integrated EPPP's test day
What ASPPB has published so far is the shape of the day: one session, 215 questions, five hours of testing and an optional 30-minute break. The rest waits for its own guide: ASPPB "will also publish an integrated EPPP Candidate Handbook in 2026." Until it does, plan on the rules above, which are the ones in force, and check the new handbook when it appears.
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 Consultation and Supervision, the domain a free account opens in full.
Where to start
- Rehearse the length. Full access includes the timed 215-question mock, on one five-hour clock like the integrated EPPP, with all 85 lessons and their 2,902 questions.
- 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.
- Plan the weeks. Our guide to studying for the EPPP puts the mock and a final week of review at the end, and the plan on the EPPP page comes by email.
- Know the format. The format guide covers the item types and the scoring.
By QualExam editorial. Written against the certifying body’s published documents, pinned by hash so a revised edition shows up as a change.