State Board of Psychological Examiners

Licensing Questions

1. Must I be a citizen of the United States to be eligible for licensure?

   No. New Jersey State law allows for all individuals, regardless of citizenship status, to obtain a professional or occupational license in New Jersey if all requirements for licensure are met. Individuals with undocumented status are eligible for licensure and a social security number is not required for licensure.

2. Which application should I complete?
   • Practicing Psychologist
     This application should be completed by those who hold Psychologist licenses in other states or have completed all of the required clinical hours.
   
   
   • Three-year Permit
     This application should be completed by those who have not completed all of the clinical hours and need to accrue supervised experience hours to meet New Jersey requirements. Once a three-year permit holder's hours are completed and approved, this permit is turned in and automatically converted into a "Practicing Psychologist" application.
     Note: Permit must be turned in during Board approved extended leave periods due to illness/life event or the three-year period will not be paused.
   
   
   • One-year Permit
     This application was utilized when the oral exam was a requirement for licensure. This process was discontinued and therefore applicants are advised to instead complete the practicing psychologist license type.
     Note: This permit cannot be used for the accrual of supervision hours.
   
   
3. Does New Jersey recognize a license from another state?
   1. If you plan to be physically present in New Jersey and only wish to work in-person for not more than 10 consecutive business days or not more than 15 days in a three-month period, you would qualify for temporary permission.

      To request temporary permission to practice: Please submit a letter of request outlining the type of practice you will be undertaking in New Jersey, the date(s) on which you wish to practice, as well as your current curriculum vitae (CV), and a photocopy of your current out-of-state license to: PsychologicalExaminers@dca.njoag.gov.

   2. This type of request does not apply to telehealth work. Only psychologists with a plenary license issued by New Jersey may provide telehealth services to clients located in New Jersey. Conversely, if a psychologist, who are themselves physically located in New Jersey, wishes to provide telehealth services to clients they must also possess a plenary license issued by New Jersey.


4. How often must I renew my license?

   Every two (2) years. All licenses for practicing psychologists expire on June 30 of each odd-numbered year. All licensees will receive instructions regarding renewal approximately three months before the license expire.

Supervision Questions

1. How much supervision is required?

   Two (2) years of full-time supervised practice totaling 3,500 hours, with the following brbreakdown (Hours can be a combination of predoctoral and post-doctoral hours):

   • 2,000 client contact hours;
   • 400 hours of supervision (at least 200 of which must be individual supervision, the remainder may be group or individual supervision); and
   • 1100 hours in work-related activities such as recordkeeping, consultations, report writing, etc.

   Note: Supervision must be by a psychologist licensed for at least two (2) years in the state in which the supervision is received.

2. What are the requirements to be an authorized supervisor?
   • A psychologist licensed in New Jersey for at least two (2) years; or
   • For supervised experience obtained in another state, a psychologist licensed in that state for at least two (2) years who is eligible for licensure in New Jersey.

Continuing Education Questions

1. Is continuing education required for psychologists in New Jersey?

   Yes. New regulations were adopted on June 19, 2017 requiring continuing education for New Jersey psychologists.

2. How many continuing education credits are required?

   Licensed psychologists are required to obtain 40 continuing education (ce) credits for each biennial (2-year) renewal period. Of those 40 credits, 4 are required to be in topics related to domestic violence, and 1 credit in topics concerning prescription opioid drugs, including the risks and signs of opioid abuse, addiction, and diversion.

3. When are the continuing education credits due?

   Licensed psychologists are required to complete the required continuing education by the end of each renewal period, June 30 of each odd-numbered year. (Note: New licensees do not need to complete CE requirement before being licensed but must complete after being licensed for 2 years.)

4. What are the sources for approved continuing education courses?
   1. At least 20 of the 40 required courses must be related to the practice of psychology and presented by or approved by any of the following: American Psychological Association; National Register of Health Service Psychologists; Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards; or American Medical Association.
   2. Up to 20 of the remaining credits may come from the following sources:
      • A graduate course related to psychology from a regionally accredited school, college or university; one credit for each hour of instruction up to a total of 20 credits
      • Authorship of a textbook or chapter in a textbook directly related to the practice of psychology published within the renewal period; five credits for each chapter up to a total of five credits
      • Authorship of an article, which has been refereed through peer review related to the practice of psychology; five credits per article up to a total of five credits
      • Presenting a new lecture or seminar to professional peers or teaching or developing a curriculum for a new continuing education course related to psychology; one credit for each 50 minutes up to a total of five credits
      • Teaching or developing the curriculum for a new course related to the practice of psychology in a regionally accredited school or university; five credits for each academic credit up to a total of five credits.
   
   
5. May I carry over extra credits from one renewal period to the next?

   No more than 10 credits may be carried over from one renewal period to the next.

6. How long do I need to keep proof of continuing education credits?

   Licensees are required to keep proofs of continuing education credits for four years after completion of the credits.

7. How do I report my continuing education credits?

   Do not send them to the Board unless specifically requested to do so. The Board does not bank proofs of continuing education courses for licensees. The Board will, however audit compliance with the continuing education requirements. At that time the licensee being audited will be required to provide documentation of the required courses.

Training and Exam Questions

1. What are the educational requirements for licensure as a psychologist in New Jersey?

   An earned doctorate (Ph.D., Psy.D. or Ed.D.) in psychology or a field allied to psychology from an institution accredited by a regional accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. The doctoral program must be accredited by the American Psychological Association or the Canadian Psychological Association or listed by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards/National Register Joint Designation or have a full-time faculty who are doctorally prepared in psychology, require full-time students to physically attend classes on campus for at least one academic year and require part-time students to physically attend classes on campus for at least two academic years.

   1. No more than one-third of the doctoral credits shall have been transferred from another regionally accredited graduate school.
   2. The doctoral degree must be based on at least 40 credit hours within the field of psychology, 36 of which must be in the following areas:
      • Six (6) credits in Personality Theory and Human Development Theory
      • Six (6) credits in Learning Theory and/or Physiological Psychology
      • Six (6) credits in Psychological Measurement and Psychological Assessment
      • Six (6) credits in Psychopathology
      • Six (6) credits in Psychological therapy/counseling or Industrial/Organizational Psychology
      • Six (6) credits in Research and Statistical Design
   3. An additional 20 credit hours specifically in the field of psychology, but which were not necessarily obtained as part of the doctoral program. They may have been granted at a pre- doctoral or post-doctoral graduate level and must have been obtained as part of a program at a regionally accredited institution.
   4. Six (6) credits may be recognized for a dissertation which is psychological in nature, at the discretion
   5. At its discretion, the Board may accept up to nine credits earned at a graduate level at a regionally accredited school or university to remediate a deficiency in the above requirements.


2. What exams are required for licensure as a psychologist in New Jersey?
   1. The candidate must pass the written Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology administered by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards.
   2. After passing the written examination for professional practice, the candidate must complete a written jurisprudence orientation based upon the statutes and regulations governing the practice of psychology in NJ.

Frequently Asked Questions Concerning P.L.2020, c.134.

1. What is P.L.2020, c.134.?

   Public Law 2020, chapter 134 revised psychologist training requirements. PLEASE NOTE: Candidates may use more than one year accrual from pre-doctoral experience toward licensure. The law amended s prior requirements for licensure in which a minimum of one-year post-doctoral professional experience was necessary. This means that when applying, candidates could now use more than one year accrued in pre-doctoral experience towards licensure.

2. What does the Board consider to be "two years of professional experience?"

   The Board considers two years of professional experience a total of 3500 hours, divided into each year of professional experience. This means that each year of professional experience consists of 1750 hours, of which 1000 must be in client contact, 200 must be in supervision (of which at least 100 must be individual supervision), and 550 hours must be in "other work-related activities" such as report-writing or recordkeeping.

3. Can I complete my hours in less than two years?

   No. Prior to being licensed, you may not accrue more than 1000 hours, or 20 hours per week, of client contact. You will not be granted credit for hours exceeding this requirement.

4. Who can supervise me?

   The Board will deem a supervisor qualified if he/she/they is a licensed psychologist for at least two years, or of one clearly eligible for licensure in the opinion of the Board, at the time the supervision took place.

5. I submitted my application and am already accruing hours, can I amend my application to include more pre-doctoral hours?

   If you applied on or after October 1, 2020 and have not been licensed yet, you may submit additional Supervisory Forms for Psychology Candidates for consideration in satisfaction of your professional experience requirements.

6. When I received my pre-doctoral supervision my supervisor was not licensed for at least two years, will my hours still count?

   This is case specific. If after a review, the Board determines that your supervisor was clearly eligible for licensure at the time supervision took place, you may be granted credit for these hours. In the event the Board does not approve your supervision and these hours, you may apply and be granted a three-year supervised permit and retain a qualified supervisor to accrue any remaining professional experience hours. The Board will review these requests for supervisors who do not clearly meet its qualifications on a case-by-case basis.

Other Questions

1. How may I obtain a duplicate of my certificate?

   Please submit a request for a duplicate certificate together with a check for the associated fee made out to the "State of New Jersey."

2. How do I order a verification of my New Jersey license for another state?

   Please submit a request and the appropriate contact information concerning where you want the letter to be sent together with a check or money order for the associated fee made out to the "State of New Jersey."