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LicenseReciprocity

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

Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology (Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation) ↗

A psychology license transfers from California to South Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology (Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation), verify your California license, and meet South Carolina's endorsement requirements. EPPP passing score transfers (not retaken) — S.C. Code Regs. 100-2 makes the EPPP the written examination with the ASPPB-determined passing score, and Formal Application materials include documentation of a passing EPPP score. South Carolina additionally requires an in-person oral examination before a Board member covering scope of practice, professional ethics and jurisprudence.

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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 South Carolina participates. Endorse into South Carolina through the South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology (Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation), 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, South Carolina's jurisprudence requirement applied — but what it unlocks afterwards is considerably more than a single state.

What changes, California → South Carolina

Side-by-side: California vs South Carolina (Psychology (licensed psychologist)), verified 2026-08-07
California (current)South Carolina (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 verified. S.C. Code Regs. 10-34 sets only a ceiling — Preliminary and Formal Applications 'Not to exceed $500'; biennial renewal 'Not to exceed $395'; temporary permit 'Not to exceed $250'. Regulation 100-7 states the actual amounts are published on the Board's LLR website, which refused connections from the research environment on 2026-08-07, so the current dollar figure was not verified and has not been guessed. EPPP fees are paid to the examination provider
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. S.C. Code Regs. 100-1(C)(1) requires an application to be complete 30 days prior to a Board meeting to be assured of review at that meeting, and the oral examination can only be scheduled after Preliminary Application approval and receipt of all Formal Application materials — so timing is driven by the Board's meeting calendar
Licensing authorityCalifornia Board of Psychology (Department of Consumer Affairs)South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology (Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation)

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

Step by step

  1. Confirm South Carolina's current requirements on the South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology (Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation) website (linked below) — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology (Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state.
  4. Have been previously licensed by a state board whose licensure criteria are equal to or more stringent than South Carolina's — the Board has no formal reciprocity agreements with any state board.
  5. File and obtain Board approval of the Preliminary Application for Licensure (with the application fee) before continuing to the Formal Application.
  6. Submit Formal Application materials including three professional references and documentation of a passing EPPP score.
  7. Appear in person before the Board (or a delegated Board member) and pass the oral examination.
  8. Document two years of supervised professional experience, one year of which may be pre-doctoral — the Board may waive supervised experience when it deems appropriate.
  9. Pay the fees (Not verified. S.C. Code Regs. 10-34 sets only a ceiling — Preliminary and Formal Applications 'Not to exceed $500'; biennial renewal 'Not to exceed $395'; temporary permit 'Not to exceed $250'. Regulation 100-7 states the actual amounts are published on the Board's LLR website, which refused connections from the research environment on 2026-08-07, so the current dollar figure was not verified and has not been guessed. EPPP fees are paid to the examination provider) and allow No board-stated range. S.C. Code Regs. 100-1(C)(1) requires an application to be complete 30 days prior to a Board meeting to be assured of review at that meeting, and the oral examination can only be scheduled after Preliminary Application approval and receipt of all Formal Application materials — so timing is driven by the Board's meeting calendar.

Official links

South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology (Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation) ↗Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact ↗

Related guides

Reverse: South Carolina → CaliforniaPsychology in CaliforniaPsychology in South CarolinaAll psychology statesThe PSYPACT explained

Frequently asked questions

Does South Carolina accept a California psychology license?

A psychology license transfers from California to South Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the South Carolina Board of Examiners in Psychology (Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation), verify your California license, and meet South Carolina's endorsement requirements. EPPP passing score transfers (not retaken) — S.C. Code Regs. 100-2 makes the EPPP the written examination with the ASPPB-determined passing score, and Formal Application materials include documentation of a passing EPPP score. South Carolina additionally requires an in-person oral examination before a Board member covering scope of practice, professional ethics and jurisprudence.

Do I retake the EPPP moving from California to South Carolina?

No — the EPPP is passed once and your score is verified rather than retaken. EPPP passing score transfers (not retaken) — S.C. Code Regs. 100-2 makes the EPPP the written examination with the ASPPB-determined passing score, and Formal Application materials include documentation of a passing EPPP score. South Carolina additionally requires an in-person oral examination before a Board member covering scope of practice, professional ethics and jurisprudence.

What does the move cost?

Not verified. S.C. Code Regs. 10-34 sets only a ceiling — Preliminary and Formal Applications 'Not to exceed $500'; biennial renewal 'Not to exceed $395'; temporary permit 'Not to exceed $250'. Regulation 100-7 states the actual amounts are published on the Board's LLR website, which refused connections from the research environment on 2026-08-07, so the current dollar figure was not verified and has not been guessed. EPPP fees are paid to the examination provider (Not verified. S.C. Code Regs. 10-34 sets only a ceiling — Preliminary and Formal Applications 'Not to exceed $500'; biennial renewal 'Not to exceed $395'; temporary permit 'Not to exceed $250'. Regulation 100-7 states the actual amounts are published on the Board's LLR website, which refused connections from the research environment on 2026-08-07, so the current dollar figure was not verified and has not been guessed. EPPP fees are paid to the examination provider).

How long will it take?

No board-stated range. S.C. Code Regs. 100-1(C)(1) requires an application to be complete 30 days prior to a Board meeting to be assured of review at that meeting, and the oral examination can only be scheduled after Preliminary Application approval and receipt of all Formal Application materials — so timing is driven by the Board's meeting calendar — No board-stated range. S.C. Code Regs. 100-1(C)(1) requires an application to be complete 30 days prior to a Board meeting to be assured of review at that meeting, and the oral examination can only be scheduled after Preliminary Application approval and receipt of all Formal Application materials — so timing is driven by the Board's meeting calendar.

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]