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LicenseReciprocity

Psychology License from California to Colorado: Does It Transfer? (2026)

Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations) ↗

A psychology license transfers from California to Colorado by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations), verify your California license, and meet Colorado's endorsement requirements. EPPP passing score transfers (not retaken) — Board Rule 1.12(C) lets the applicant attest to a written competence examination required and passed in any jurisdiction, including one other than the state the applicant is endorsing from; if no written exam was required when the applicant was first licensed, the Board accepts 20 years of independent doctoral-level practice in an ASPPB jurisdiction instead. Every endorsement applicant must pass the Board-developed Colorado Mental Health Jurisprudence Examination — Rule 1.12(D) applies it with no exemptions.

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Verdict

Licensure by endorsement

This direction has a payoff worth planning around. California is outside PSYPACT, so you have had no compact authorizations to work with — but Colorado participates. Endorse into Colorado through the Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations), make it your licensed home state, and that license becomes an anchor: from there an ASPPB E.Passport and APIT authorization let you serve clients across every other participating state without another full license. The endorsement itself is still an ordinary application — EPPP score accepted, credentials reviewed, Colorado's jurisprudence requirement applied — but what it unlocks afterwards is considerably more than a single state.

What changes, California → Colorado

Side-by-side: California vs Colorado (Psychology (licensed psychologist)), verified 2026-08-07
California (current)Colorado (destination)
PSYPACT statusLicensure by endorsementPSYPACT member — multistate license honored
Application fee$236 ($236 psychologist initial application fee (2024 fee schedule, the current schedule published by the Board). Separately + $127 for the CPLEE application and + $231 for initial licensure; out-of-state fingerprint hard card processing is $233)Not verifiable from a primary source. DORA/DPO does not publish a psychologist endorsement application fee on any public page — the Psychology Applications page states only that fees are shown on the respective application, and the endorsement application itself is filed inside the DPO Online Services portal behind a login. No fee amount is asserted here rather than guessed
Processing time4–6 weeks (Board states processing takes approximately 1.5 months (4-6 weeks) for applications, subsequent documents/correspondence and requested deficiency documents. Because the application, the CPLEE request and the request for initial licensure are each processed separately at that pace, total time from filing to a California license is considerably longer)No board-stated range. DORA/DPO publishes no processing time for psychologist licensure by endorsement; the only related timing note on the Psychology Applications page is that a license issued within 120 days of the upcoming renewal expiration is given the next expiration date
Licensing authorityCalifornia Board of Psychology (Department of Consumer Affairs)Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations)

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm Colorado's current requirements on the Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations) (application linked below).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Hold a current, unrestricted psychologist license in good standing in another state, U.S. territory or through the federal government, held for at least one year.
  5. Hold a doctoral degree in psychology, or a doctoral degree with a major the licensing jurisdiction determined equivalent to psychology.
  6. Attest to one year of supervised post-doctoral experience before your original licensure, or to one year of active practice averaging at least 20 hours per week.
  7. Pass the Colorado Mental Health Jurisprudence Examination — an open-book online exam on Colorado mental health law and rules.
  8. Submit verification of licensure from every jurisdiction, federal agency and military branch where you have ever been licensed, registered, listed or certified.
  9. Be at least 21 years of age and pass a Colorado Bureau of Investigation background check.
  10. Pay the fees (Not verifiable from a primary source. DORA/DPO does not publish a psychologist endorsement application fee on any public page — the Psychology Applications page states only that fees are shown on the respective application, and the endorsement application itself is filed inside the DPO Online Services portal behind a login. No fee amount is asserted here rather than guessed) and allow No board-stated range. DORA/DPO publishes no processing time for psychologist licensure by endorsement; the only related timing note on the Psychology Applications page is that a license issued within 120 days of the upcoming renewal expiration is given the next expiration date.

Official links

Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations) ↗Colorado application ↗Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact ↗

Related guides

Reverse: Colorado → CaliforniaPsychology in CaliforniaPsychology in ColoradoAll psychology statesThe PSYPACT explained

Frequently asked questions

Does Colorado accept a California psychology license?

A psychology license transfers from California to Colorado by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations), verify your California license, and meet Colorado's endorsement requirements. EPPP passing score transfers (not retaken) — Board Rule 1.12(C) lets the applicant attest to a written competence examination required and passed in any jurisdiction, including one other than the state the applicant is endorsing from; if no written exam was required when the applicant was first licensed, the Board accepts 20 years of independent doctoral-level practice in an ASPPB jurisdiction instead. Every endorsement applicant must pass the Board-developed Colorado Mental Health Jurisprudence Examination — Rule 1.12(D) applies it with no exemptions.

Do I retake the EPPP moving from California to Colorado?

No — the EPPP is passed once and your score is verified rather than retaken. EPPP passing score transfers (not retaken) — Board Rule 1.12(C) lets the applicant attest to a written competence examination required and passed in any jurisdiction, including one other than the state the applicant is endorsing from; if no written exam was required when the applicant was first licensed, the Board accepts 20 years of independent doctoral-level practice in an ASPPB jurisdiction instead. Every endorsement applicant must pass the Board-developed Colorado Mental Health Jurisprudence Examination — Rule 1.12(D) applies it with no exemptions.

What does the move cost?

Not verifiable from a primary source. DORA/DPO does not publish a psychologist endorsement application fee on any public page — the Psychology Applications page states only that fees are shown on the respective application, and the endorsement application itself is filed inside the DPO Online Services portal behind a login. No fee amount is asserted here rather than guessed (Not verifiable from a primary source. DORA/DPO does not publish a psychologist endorsement application fee on any public page — the Psychology Applications page states only that fees are shown on the respective application, and the endorsement application itself is filed inside the DPO Online Services portal behind a login. No fee amount is asserted here rather than guessed).

How long will it take?

No board-stated range. DORA/DPO publishes no processing time for psychologist licensure by endorsement; the only related timing note on the Psychology Applications page is that a license issued within 120 days of the upcoming renewal expiration is given the next expiration date — No board-stated range. DORA/DPO publishes no processing time for psychologist licensure by endorsement; the only related timing note on the Psychology Applications page is that a license issued within 120 days of the upcoming renewal expiration is given the next expiration date.

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

How we verify · All sources · spot an error? [email protected]