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

Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: Tennessee Board of Examiners in Psychology (Tennessee Department of Health) ↗

A psychology license transfers from California to Tennessee by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Tennessee Board of Examiners in Psychology (Tennessee Department of Health), verify your California license, and meet Tennessee's endorsement requirements. EPPP passing score transfers (not retaken) — a reciprocity applicant submits proof of a written examination score meeting Tennessee standards, or after five years of continuous good-standing licensure may substitute ABPP certification, National Register listing, or an ASPPB CPQ; the Tennessee ethics and jurisprudence examination is required and Rule 1180-02-.03(14) states it shall never be waived.

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

What changes, California → Tennessee

Side-by-side: California vs Tennessee (Psychology (licensed psychologist)), verified 2026-08-07
	California (current)	Tennessee (destination)
PSYPACT status	Licensure by endorsement	PSYPACT 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)	$175–$375 (PH-1034 requires a $175 nonrefundable application fee plus a $200 licensure fee at submission; a $10 state regulatory fee and a $100 ethics and jurisprudence exam fee are also due, for a board-stated total of $485. Temporary license adds $100; provisional license adds $125. Fingerprint/background-check vendor charges are billed separately.)
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)	4–6 weeks (Board-stated: materials are typically in the applicant's file within two weeks of the postmark and, absent complicating factors, average application processing time is four to six weeks.)
Licensing authority	California Board of Psychology (Department of Consumer Affairs)	Tennessee Board of Examiners in Psychology (Tennessee Department of Health)

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

Step by step

Confirm Tennessee's current requirements on the Tennessee Board of Examiners in Psychology (Tennessee Department of Health) website (linked below) — rules change.
Submit the endorsement application to the Tennessee Board of Examiners in Psychology (Tennessee Department of Health) (application linked below).
Arrange license verification from your current state.
Hold a valid psychologist license in good standing in another jurisdiction and have license verification, including disciplinary history, sent from every jurisdiction ever licensed.
Pass the Tennessee ethics and jurisprudence examination, which the board schedules after the EPPP requirement is satisfied and which may never be waived.
Have a criminal background check submitted directly from the vendor identified in the board's application materials.
Document a qualifying doctoral program, internship, and postdoctoral supervised experience for Health Service Provider designation, which may not be waived even under the ABPP/National Register/CPQ shortcut.
Submit three letters of recommendation from psychologists, two of whom must be licensed, with licensure endorsement forms.
Pay the fees ($175–$375 (PH-1034 requires a $175 nonrefundable application fee plus a $200 licensure fee at submission; a $10 state regulatory fee and a $100 ethics and jurisprudence exam fee are also due, for a board-stated total of $485. Temporary license adds $100; provisional license adds $125. Fingerprint/background-check vendor charges are billed separately.)) and allow 4–6 weeks (Board-stated: materials are typically in the applicant's file within two weeks of the postmark and, absent complicating factors, average application processing time is four to six weeks.).

Official links

Tennessee Board of Examiners in Psychology (Tennessee Department of Health) ↗Tennessee application ↗Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact ↗

Frequently asked questions

Does Tennessee accept a California psychology license?

Do I retake the EPPP moving from California to Tennessee?

No — the EPPP is passed once and your score is verified rather than retaken. EPPP passing score transfers (not retaken) — a reciprocity applicant submits proof of a written examination score meeting Tennessee standards, or after five years of continuous good-standing licensure may substitute ABPP certification, National Register listing, or an ASPPB CPQ; the Tennessee ethics and jurisprudence examination is required and Rule 1180-02-.03(14) states it shall never be waived.

What does the move cost?

$175–$375 (PH-1034 requires a $175 nonrefundable application fee plus a $200 licensure fee at submission; a $10 state regulatory fee and a $100 ethics and jurisprudence exam fee are also due, for a board-stated total of $485. Temporary license adds $100; provisional license adds $125. Fingerprint/background-check vendor charges are billed separately.) (PH-1034 requires a $175 nonrefundable application fee plus a $200 licensure fee at submission; a $10 state regulatory fee and a $100 ethics and jurisprudence exam fee are also due, for a board-stated total of $485. Temporary license adds $100; provisional license adds $125. Fingerprint/background-check vendor charges are billed separately.).

How long will it take?

4–6 weeks (Board-stated: materials are typically in the applicant's file within two weeks of the postmark and, absent complicating factors, average application processing time is four to six weeks.) — Board-stated: materials are typically in the applicant's file within two weeks of the postmark and, absent complicating factors, average application processing time is four to six weeks..

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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