Psychology License from Colorado to North Dakota: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: North Dakota State Board of Psychologist Examiners ↗
A psychology license transfers from Colorado to North Dakota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Dakota State Board of Psychologist Examiners, verify your Colorado license, and meet North Dakota's endorsement requirements. EPPP passing score transfers (not retaken) — expedited licensure requires documentation confirming the applicant previously passed the national examination required by North Dakota; the passing standard is a scaled score of 500. The board may additionally require the applicant to pass an examination on the ethics, laws and rules regulating psychology practice, and North Dakota's own examination is currently an ORAL examination (no fee), to be replaced once developed by a written North Dakota professional responsibility examination ($50)..
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Both Colorado and North Dakota are PSYPACT participants, which helps you right up until you actually relocate. As long as Colorado remains your licensed home state, the compact lets you treat North Dakota clients by telehealth (APIT) and work in North Dakota in person for up to 30 days per calendar year (TAP). None of that makes you licensed in North Dakota. A permanent move puts you in front of the North Dakota State Board of Psychologist Examiners for endorsement — your EPPP score carries over rather than being retaken, but the degree, supervised experience, jurisprudence exam, and background check are all reviewed on North Dakota's terms.
What changes, Colorado → North Dakota
| Colorado (current) | North Dakota (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| PSYPACT status | PSYPACT member — multistate license honored | PSYPACT member — multistate license honored |
| Application fee | 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 | $450 (Application Initiation Form fee payable to NDSBPE, nonrefundable. Add $200 for the ASPPB PLUS online application and, if the EPPP has not already been passed, $600 to the exam owner plus any testing-site fee. The oral examination itself carries a $0 fee; the future North Dakota professional responsibility examination is $50. Limited practice application is $25; annual renewal is $250.) |
| Processing time | 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 | The board publishes no turnaround time and warns that processing takes 'several days' after the applicant's own work plus primary-source verifications whose timing varies by program and faculty. On receipt of a completed Application Initiation Form from an out-of-jurisdiction licensee the board may grant a provisional license valid six months, extendable for good cause, so the applicant can practise while the file is pending (NDAC 66-02-01-03(3)). |
| Licensing authority | Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners (Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Professions and Occupations) | North Dakota State Board of Psychologist Examiners |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — North Dakota sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm North Dakota's current requirements on the North Dakota State Board of Psychologist Examiners website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the North Dakota State Board of Psychologist Examiners (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a license in good standing in another jurisdiction and enclose a copy of the current license with the Application Initiation Form so verification can begin.
- Document graduation from an accredited doctoral program at the degree level of licensure sought in North Dakota.
- Identify every professional license, certification or registration ever held in any jurisdiction and its current status, with an explanation of any disciplinary history.
- Provide endorsements of application from currently licensed behavioral health professionals approved by the board.
- Complete the two-step process: the Application Initiation Form to the board, then the ASPPB PLUS online application.
- Pass the North Dakota oral examination (or the professional responsibility examination once the board adopts it).
- Pay the fees ($450 (Application Initiation Form fee payable to NDSBPE, nonrefundable. Add $200 for the ASPPB PLUS online application and, if the EPPP has not already been passed, $600 to the exam owner plus any testing-site fee. The oral examination itself carries a $0 fee; the future North Dakota professional responsibility examination is $50. Limited practice application is $25; annual renewal is $250.)) and allow The board publishes no turnaround time and warns that processing takes 'several days' after the applicant's own work plus primary-source verifications whose timing varies by program and faculty. On receipt of a completed Application Initiation Form from an out-of-jurisdiction licensee the board may grant a provisional license valid six months, extendable for good cause, so the applicant can practise while the file is pending (NDAC 66-02-01-03(3))..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does North Dakota accept a Colorado psychology license?
A psychology license transfers from Colorado to North Dakota by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Dakota State Board of Psychologist Examiners, verify your Colorado license, and meet North Dakota's endorsement requirements. EPPP passing score transfers (not retaken) — expedited licensure requires documentation confirming the applicant previously passed the national examination required by North Dakota; the passing standard is a scaled score of 500. The board may additionally require the applicant to pass an examination on the ethics, laws and rules regulating psychology practice, and North Dakota's own examination is currently an ORAL examination (no fee), to be replaced once developed by a written North Dakota professional responsibility examination ($50)..
Do I retake the EPPP moving from Colorado to North Dakota?
No — the EPPP is passed once and your score is verified rather than retaken. EPPP passing score transfers (not retaken) — expedited licensure requires documentation confirming the applicant previously passed the national examination required by North Dakota; the passing standard is a scaled score of 500. The board may additionally require the applicant to pass an examination on the ethics, laws and rules regulating psychology practice, and North Dakota's own examination is currently an ORAL examination (no fee), to be replaced once developed by a written North Dakota professional responsibility examination ($50)..
What does the move cost?
$450 (Application Initiation Form fee payable to NDSBPE, nonrefundable. Add $200 for the ASPPB PLUS online application and, if the EPPP has not already been passed, $600 to the exam owner plus any testing-site fee. The oral examination itself carries a $0 fee; the future North Dakota professional responsibility examination is $50. Limited practice application is $25; annual renewal is $250.) (Application Initiation Form fee payable to NDSBPE, nonrefundable. Add $200 for the ASPPB PLUS online application and, if the EPPP has not already been passed, $600 to the exam owner plus any testing-site fee. The oral examination itself carries a $0 fee; the future North Dakota professional responsibility examination is $50. Limited practice application is $25; annual renewal is $250.).
How long will it take?
The board publishes no turnaround time and warns that processing takes 'several days' after the applicant's own work plus primary-source verifications whose timing varies by program and faculty. On receipt of a completed Application Initiation Form from an out-of-jurisdiction licensee the board may grant a provisional license valid six months, extendable for good cause, so the applicant can practise while the file is pending (NDAC 66-02-01-03(3)). — The board publishes no turnaround time and warns that processing takes 'several days' after the applicant's own work plus primary-source verifications whose timing varies by program and faculty. On receipt of a completed Application Initiation Form from an out-of-jurisdiction licensee the board may grant a provisional license valid six months, extendable for good cause, so the applicant can practise while the file is pending (NDAC 66-02-01-03(3))..
Colorado and North Dakota 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 Dakota (APIT) and in-person practice there for up to 30 days a year (TAP) while your license stays in Colorado. Relocating to North Dakota requires licensure by endorsement from the North Dakota State Board of Psychologist Examiners like any other applicant.
Can I start seeing North Dakota clients before my North Dakota license is issued?
While your Colorado license remains active and is your home-state license, a PSYPACT authorization can cover North Dakota 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 Colorado stops being your licensed home state — they are a bridge during a transition, not a substitute for the North Dakota license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.
- NDSBPE — Application for Licensure: Instructions (two-step process, $450 initiation fee, $200 PLUS fee, $600 EPPP, four statutory requirements, Expedited Licensure/Registration) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- NDAC Article 66-02, Chapter 66-02-01 — Licensure and Examining Applications, incl. 66-02-01-03 (licensing psychologists from other jurisdictions / expedited licensing), 66-02-01-08 (fees) and 66-02-01-09.1 (EPPP passing score 500) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- NDCC Chapter 43-32 — Psychologists, incl. 43-32-19.1 (expedited licensure for applicants licensed in other jurisdictions) and 43-32-20 (licensing, examination, qualifications) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- NDSBPE — Board home (navigation confirming application, verification and EPPP score transfer pages) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners — Rules, 3 CCR 721-1, Rule 1.12 Occupational Credential Portability Program (endorsement criteria, exam attestation, NR/ABPP/CPQ exemptions, jurisprudence exam) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Colorado DPO — Psychology Applications and Forms (initial license by examination, endorsement or telehealth method filed through DPO Online Services; jurisprudence examination guide) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Colorado DPO — Psychology Licensing Guide (EPPP and Colorado Mental Health Jurisprudence Exam requirements) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PSYPACT — PSYPACT Map/States (Colorado participating) ↗ (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]