PSYPACT Explained: Participating States and What the Compact Actually Grants (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-07 · live membership: psypact.gov ↗
The Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) is active in 41 jurisdictions and grants a psychologist holding an active, unrestricted license in a participating home state two things: an Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT) for telehealth into other participating states, and a Temporary Authority to Practice (TAP) for in-person work in a receiving state capped at 30 days per calendar year. It does not grant a license, does not transfer one, and does not cover relocation — a psychologist moving permanently still applies to the destination board for licensure by endorsement.
Membership right now
Interactive version with every compact: Compact Membership Map
Does the PSYPACT cover your move?
Pick your two states — the checker applies the compact rules for you.
Who qualifies: the 5 uniform licensure requirements
A multistate license is issued only if you meet every one of these, in addition to living in a member state:
- Hold an active, unrestricted psychologist license in a PSYPACT participating home state
- Doctoral degree in psychology from a qualifying program
- Passing EPPP score on record
- No disciplinary action on any psychology license
- Obtain an ASPPB E.Passport (for APIT / interjurisdictional telepsychology) or an ASPPB Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate (IPC) (for TAP / temporary in-person practice), then the corresponding authorization from the PSYPACT Commission
PSYPACT is active and issuing authorizations as of 2026-07-21. Forty states and the District of Columbia are effective and participating (authorizations valid), plus the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (a territory outside this dataset's 51 jurisdictions). PSYPACT does NOT transfer, grant, or replace a license: it lets a psychologist who holds an active, unrestricted license in a PSYPACT home state (a) practice telepsychology into other participating 'receiving' states via the Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT), obtained with an ASPPB E.Passport, and (b) practice temporarily in person up to 30 days per calendar year per receiving state via a Temporary Authority to Practice (TAP), obtained with an ASPPB Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate (IPC). A psychologist who relocates permanently, or who wants an unrestricted independent license in a new state, must still obtain that state's license by endorsement — PSYPACT does not help there, even between two PSYPACT states. Three states have enacted PSYPACT but are NOT yet participating as of 2026-07-21: montana (statute effective 10/1/2025 but not yet activated by the Commission), alaska (effective 9/20/2026), and iowa (effective 7/1/2027). California, hawaii, louisiana, massachusetts, new-mexico, new-york, and oregon are not members (introduced-only or no legislation). Always confirm a state's live status on the PSYPACT map before relying on it.
Primary state of residence: the rule that decides everything
Start with what PSYPACT is not, because the name misleads almost everyone. It is not a multistate license like the nurses have. It does not make you licensed in participating states. It does not shorten, replace, or feed into an endorsement application. Holding APIT in fifteen states does not make you licensable in any of them, and it earns you no credit when you eventually apply to one of their boards. The compact solves cross-border service delivery; it does not touch licensure.
Everything hangs on your home-state license. To obtain either authorization you must hold an active, unrestricted psychologist license in a participating state, have a doctoral degree in psychology and a passing EPPP score on record, and carry no disciplinary action on any psychology license. You then obtain the ASPPB credential — an E.Passport for telepsychology, an Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate for temporary in-person work — and the corresponding authorization from the commission. Lose or lapse the home license and the authorizations go with it.
The 30-day TAP limit is a real ceiling, not a formality. It is 30 days per calendar year per receiving state, counted whether or not you saw a client every day, and it exists precisely so that temporary practice cannot quietly become residence. A psychologist who needs to be physically working in another state beyond that window needs that state's license — which is the endorsement path, with no head start from the compact.
Practice is regulated where the client is physically located. A telepsychology session with a client sitting in Ohio is practice in Ohio and requires either an Ohio license or an APIT authorization covering Ohio, no matter where you are. This is why the compact matters so much for telehealth practices and so little for people relocating: it addresses precisely the case where the client crosses the line and you do not.
Moving scenarios
Telehealth into another participating state (APIT — the compact's core use)
You are licensed and living in a participating state and want to see clients located in other participating states by video. This is what PSYPACT was built for. Obtain an ASPPB E.Passport, apply to the commission for APIT, and you may practice telepsychology into any participating state, subject to each one's participation status remaining current. You do not apply to those states' boards and you do not become licensed there — your authority to serve those clients rides on your home license plus the authorization.
Short in-person work in another participating state (TAP)
You need to be physically present in a receiving state — a short contract, assessments on site, a workshop with clinical contact. An Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate plus a TAP authorization covers up to 30 days in that state per calendar year. Track the days: the limit is per state per year, and exceeding it is unlicensed practice. If the engagement is going to run long or recur indefinitely, the honest plan is endorsement, not repeated TAPs.
Relocating between two participating states (the compact does not help)
You are moving from one PSYPACT state to another PSYPACT state. It feels like the compact should carry you, and it does not — this is the trap the compact's name sets. You apply to the destination board for licensure by endorsement like any other applicant: license verification, degree and supervised-experience review, your existing EPPP score, that state's jurisprudence exam, a background check. Your APIT and TAP authorizations do not convert, and once your old home-state license stops being your home license, they need to be re-anchored to the new one.
Home state outside the compact
If your license is in a non-participating state, PSYPACT is closed to you in both directions: you cannot obtain APIT or TAP against a non-participating home license, and you cannot use the compact to reach clients elsewhere. Your options are to become licensed in the states where your clients are, by endorsement, or to establish licensure in a participating state and make it your home. Nothing about the compact changes the endorsement requirements of any individual state.
Frequently asked questions
What is PSYPACT?
The Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) is active in 41 jurisdictions and grants a psychologist holding an active, unrestricted license in a participating home state two things: an Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT) for telehealth into other participating states, and a Temporary Authority to Practice (TAP) for in-person work in a receiving state capped at 30 days per calendar year. It does not grant a license, does not transfer one, and does not cover relocation — a psychologist moving permanently still applies to the destination board for licensure by endorsement.
Does PSYPACT let me move to another state?
No. PSYPACT grants telepsychology authority and up to 30 days per year of temporary in-person practice in a receiving state. It confers no license. If you relocate — including from one participating state to another — you must obtain the destination state's license by endorsement, and the compact gives you no credit toward it.
What is the difference between APIT and TAP?
APIT (Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology) covers telehealth into participating states and is obtained with an ASPPB E.Passport. TAP (Temporary Authority to Practice) covers in-person practice in a receiving state for up to 30 days per calendar year and is obtained with an ASPPB Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate. Both require an active, unrestricted license in a participating home state.
Who is eligible for PSYPACT authorizations?
A psychologist holding an active, unrestricted license in a participating home state, with a doctoral degree in psychology from a qualifying program, a passing EPPP score on record, and no disciplinary action on any psychology license. The authorizations are then obtained through ASPPB and the PSYPACT commission rather than from any state board.
Do all states that passed PSYPACT actually issue authorizations?
No. Enacting the compact and participating in it are different steps. Montana, Alaska, Iowa have enacted PSYPACT but were not yet participating as of 2026-07-21, so authorizations do not reach them and cannot be based on a license there. Always confirm current status on the commission map.
Where do I verify a state's PSYPACT status?
At the commission's official site, https://psypact.gov/, which publishes the live participation map and the authorization process. It is the authoritative source — prep-course and license-school sites routinely miscount participating states and describe the compact as reciprocity, which it is not.
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-08-07
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