Psychology License from California to Montana: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: Montana Board of Psychologists (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division) ↗
A psychology license transfers from California to Montana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Montana Board of Psychologists (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division), verify your California license, and meet Montana's endorsement requirements. Montana requires a passing EPPP score plus completion of the Board's jurisdictional course; the EPPP is a national exam, so an existing passing score is verified rather than retaken. The separate 'Psychologist Licensed by Experience' route — 20 or more years licensed in a U.S. or Canadian jurisdiction with at least 10 years of clinical experience — requires only the Board's jurisdictional course and no EPPP.
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Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Neither California nor Montana is a participating PSYPACT state, so the compact is irrelevant in both directions and this is a straightforward endorsement move. The Montana Board of Psychologists (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division) verifies your California license, reviews your doctoral degree and supervised experience, accepts your existing EPPP passing score rather than re-testing you, and applies its own jurisprudence and background requirements. Nothing about holding an California license speeds up or slows down Montana's standard out-of-state process.
What changes, California → Montana
| California (current) | Montana (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| PSYPACT status | Licensure by endorsement | PSYPACT enacted — not yet issuing |
| 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) | $175 (Application fee stated on the Board's license-information page for both Psychologist and Psychologist Licensed by Experience. A postdoctoral supervision application is a separate $25 where applicable; renewal is $600 active / $1,200 late. Background-check costs are not published here.) |
| Processing time | 4–6 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) | Neither the Board's license-information page nor its statutes page states a processing-time range for psychologist applications. |
| Licensing authority | California Board of Psychology (Department of Consumer Affairs) | Montana Board of Psychologists (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Montana sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Montana's current requirements on the Montana Board of Psychologists (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Montana Board of Psychologists (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold an active out-of-state license in good standing whose qualifications the Board finds substantially equivalent to Montana's (MCA 37-1-304).
- Hold a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from an APA-approved program, or an APA-approved retraining program, or a course of study meeting the Board's rules.
- Document at least 2 years of supervised experience in the practice of psychology, at least 1 year of it postdoctoral.
- Pass the EPPP and complete the Montana Board jurisdictional course.
- Apply through the state's eBiz professional licensing portal.
- Pay the fees ($175 (Application fee stated on the Board's license-information page for both Psychologist and Psychologist Licensed by Experience. A postdoctoral supervision application is a separate $25 where applicable; renewal is $600 active / $1,200 late. Background-check costs are not published here.)) and allow Neither the Board's license-information page nor its statutes page states a processing-time range for psychologist applications..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Montana accept a California psychology license?
A psychology license transfers from California to Montana by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Montana Board of Psychologists (Department of Labor & Industry, Business Standards Division), verify your California license, and meet Montana's endorsement requirements. Montana requires a passing EPPP score plus completion of the Board's jurisdictional course; the EPPP is a national exam, so an existing passing score is verified rather than retaken. The separate 'Psychologist Licensed by Experience' route — 20 or more years licensed in a U.S. or Canadian jurisdiction with at least 10 years of clinical experience — requires only the Board's jurisdictional course and no EPPP.
Do I retake the EPPP moving from California to Montana?
No — the EPPP is passed once and your score is verified rather than retaken. Montana requires a passing EPPP score plus completion of the Board's jurisdictional course; the EPPP is a national exam, so an existing passing score is verified rather than retaken. The separate 'Psychologist Licensed by Experience' route — 20 or more years licensed in a U.S. or Canadian jurisdiction with at least 10 years of clinical experience — requires only the Board's jurisdictional course and no EPPP.
What does the move cost?
$175 (Application fee stated on the Board's license-information page for both Psychologist and Psychologist Licensed by Experience. A postdoctoral supervision application is a separate $25 where applicable; renewal is $600 active / $1,200 late. Background-check costs are not published here.) (Application fee stated on the Board's license-information page for both Psychologist and Psychologist Licensed by Experience. A postdoctoral supervision application is a separate $25 where applicable; renewal is $600 active / $1,200 late. Background-check costs are not published here.).
How long will it take?
Neither the Board's license-information page nor its statutes page states a processing-time range for psychologist applications. — Neither the Board's license-information page nor its statutes page states a processing-time range for psychologist applications..
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.
- Montana Board of Psychologists — Psychologist and Psychologist by Experience license information (requirements, exams, $175 application fee) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Montana Board of Psychologists — board home (license types, apply/renew, PSYPACT) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Montana Code Annotated 37-1-304 — Licensure by endorsement (substantially equivalent out-of-state license; reciprocity agreements may not lower Montana standards) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Montana Code Annotated 37-17-302 — Qualifications for licensure as a psychologist ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- California Board of Psychology — Out-of-State Application for Licensure as a Psychologist (Categories A/B/C, SPE and credential substitutes, CPLEE, prelicensure coursework, fingerprints) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- California Board of Psychology — Frequently Asked Questions (no licensing reciprocity; EPPP score transfer from ASPPB; 180-day pre-licensure practice for an applicant licensed elsewhere) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- California Board of Psychology — 2024 Fee Schedule ($236 initial application, $127 CPLEE application, $231 initial licensure, $233 out-of-state fingerprint hard card) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- California Board of Psychology — Application Processing Timeframes (approximately 1.5 months / 4-6 weeks per item; updated July 16, 2026) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PSYPACT — PSYPACT Map/States (California is not a PSYPACT member) ↗ (accessed 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]