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LicenseReciprocity

Psychology License from Arizona to North Carolina: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: North Carolina Psychology Board ↗

A psychology license transfers from Arizona to North Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Carolina Psychology Board, verify your Arizona license, and meet North Carolina's endorsement requirements. The EPPP is not required at all for an applicant whose credentials are approved under the mobility-credential provision (21 NCAC 54 .1701(b)); other out-of-state applicants transfer their EPPP score through the ASPPB Score Transfer Service rather than retesting. Every applicant must still pass the Board-developed State Examination on the North Carolina Practice Act, selected Board rules and the APA Ethics Code — a two-hour, 50-item computer-based exam with a $200 fee..

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

Arizona and North Carolina both participate in PSYPACT, and it is worth being blunt about what that does and does not buy you, because the compact's name misleads a lot of psychologists. It does not transfer your license. Moving from Arizona to North Carolina means applying to the North Carolina Psychology Board for licensure by endorsement exactly as you would if neither state had ever joined — license verification, doctoral transcript, supervised-experience review, North Carolina's jurisprudence requirement. What the shared participation genuinely gives you is different and still valuable: while you remain licensed and resident in Arizona, you can serve North Carolina clients by telepsychology under an APIT authorization, and work in person in North Carolina for up to 30 days a year under a TAP. That can cover a transition period — it cannot cover the move.

What changes, Arizona → North Carolina

Side-by-side: Arizona vs North Carolina (Psychology (licensed psychologist)), verified 2026-08-07
Arizona (current)North Carolina (destination)
PSYPACT statusPSYPACT member — multistate license honoredPSYPACT member — multistate license honored
Application fee$350 ($350 nonrefundable application fee, paid online at submission; the Arizona DPS fingerprint clearance card fee is paid separately to DPS)$100 (Nonrefundable application fee, check or money order only ($20 charge for a returned bank item). Add $38 for the criminal background check and $200 for the State Examination; health services provider (HSP-P) certification, which is mandatory for permanently licensed psychologists rendering health services in North Carolina, costs a further $50.)
Processing time4–17 weeks (A.A.C. R4-26-208 Table 1 sets, for an application for licensure by credential, a 30-day administrative completeness review, a 90-day substantive review and a 120-day overall time frame; both clocks are suspended while requested documents are outstanding, and the Application Review Committee meets about twelve times a year, so real-world time depends on how fast verifiers respond)4–9 weeks (Board rule of thumb: if an application is complete by the last working day of a month it will be reviewed by the last working day of the following month — roughly 4 to 9 weeks depending on when the file completes. Some files must go to the full Board, which follows the published meeting calendar. An incomplete application stays active only three months, then voids.)
Licensing authorityArizona Board of Psychologist ExaminersNorth Carolina Psychology Board

The destination column is what you must satisfy — North Carolina sets the rules for this move.

Step by step

  1. Confirm North Carolina's current requirements on the North Carolina Psychology Board website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the North Carolina Psychology Board (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
  4. Hold an ASPPB Certificate of Professional Qualification (CPQ), a National Register of Health Service Psychologists (NRHSPP) registration, or an ABPP diploma to use the mobility-credential application.
  5. Arrange for ASPPB, the National Register or ABPP to write directly to the Board verifying the credential, and for every jurisdiction where you are or were licensed to report licensure status and any discipline.
  6. Submit a fingerprint card, an Authority for Release of Information form and the $38 criminal background check fee.
  7. Submit a completed Supervision Contract Form with the application.
  8. Pass the Board's State Examination on the NC Practice Act, Board rules and the APA Ethics Code.
  9. File the application within 30 days of offering to practice or undertaking the practice of psychology in North Carolina (G.S. 90-270.139).
  10. Pay the fees ($100 (Nonrefundable application fee, check or money order only ($20 charge for a returned bank item). Add $38 for the criminal background check and $200 for the State Examination; health services provider (HSP-P) certification, which is mandatory for permanently licensed psychologists rendering health services in North Carolina, costs a further $50.)) and allow 4–9 weeks (Board rule of thumb: if an application is complete by the last working day of a month it will be reviewed by the last working day of the following month — roughly 4 to 9 weeks depending on when the file completes. Some files must go to the full Board, which follows the published meeting calendar. An incomplete application stays active only three months, then voids.).

Official links

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

Does North Carolina accept a Arizona psychology license?

A psychology license transfers from Arizona to North Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Carolina Psychology Board, verify your Arizona license, and meet North Carolina's endorsement requirements. The EPPP is not required at all for an applicant whose credentials are approved under the mobility-credential provision (21 NCAC 54 .1701(b)); other out-of-state applicants transfer their EPPP score through the ASPPB Score Transfer Service rather than retesting. Every applicant must still pass the Board-developed State Examination on the North Carolina Practice Act, selected Board rules and the APA Ethics Code — a two-hour, 50-item computer-based exam with a $200 fee..

Do I retake the EPPP moving from Arizona to North Carolina?

No — the EPPP is passed once and your score is verified rather than retaken. The EPPP is not required at all for an applicant whose credentials are approved under the mobility-credential provision (21 NCAC 54 .1701(b)); other out-of-state applicants transfer their EPPP score through the ASPPB Score Transfer Service rather than retesting. Every applicant must still pass the Board-developed State Examination on the North Carolina Practice Act, selected Board rules and the APA Ethics Code — a two-hour, 50-item computer-based exam with a $200 fee..

What does the move cost?

$100 (Nonrefundable application fee, check or money order only ($20 charge for a returned bank item). Add $38 for the criminal background check and $200 for the State Examination; health services provider (HSP-P) certification, which is mandatory for permanently licensed psychologists rendering health services in North Carolina, costs a further $50.) (Nonrefundable application fee, check or money order only ($20 charge for a returned bank item). Add $38 for the criminal background check and $200 for the State Examination; health services provider (HSP-P) certification, which is mandatory for permanently licensed psychologists rendering health services in North Carolina, costs a further $50.).

How long will it take?

4–9 weeks (Board rule of thumb: if an application is complete by the last working day of a month it will be reviewed by the last working day of the following month — roughly 4 to 9 weeks depending on when the file completes. Some files must go to the full Board, which follows the published meeting calendar. An incomplete application stays active only three months, then voids.) — Board rule of thumb: if an application is complete by the last working day of a month it will be reviewed by the last working day of the following month — roughly 4 to 9 weeks depending on when the file completes. Some files must go to the full Board, which follows the published meeting calendar. An incomplete application stays active only three months, then voids..

Arizona and North Carolina are both PSYPACT states — doesn't my license transfer automatically?

No. PSYPACT never transfers a license, including between two participating states. It authorizes telepsychology into North Carolina (APIT) and in-person practice there for up to 30 days a year (TAP) while your license stays in Arizona. Relocating to North Carolina requires licensure by endorsement from the North Carolina Psychology Board like any other applicant.

Can I start seeing North Carolina clients before my North Carolina license is issued?

While your Arizona license remains active and is your home-state license, a PSYPACT authorization can cover North Carolina clients by telepsychology, and a TAP covers up to 30 days a year of in-person work there. Those are the compact's limits, and they end when Arizona stops being your licensed home state — they are a bridge during a transition, not a substitute for the North Carolina license.

Sources

Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.

Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-08-07

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