Psychology License from Massachusetts to Ohio: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: Ohio State Board of Psychology (Ohio Board of Psychology) ↗
A psychology license transfers from Massachusetts to Ohio by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Ohio State Board of Psychology (Ohio Board of Psychology), verify your Massachusetts license, and meet Ohio's endorsement requirements. The EPPP is not retaken on the reciprocity route — the Board verifies the applicant's out-of-state doctoral-level license directly (online where possible, otherwise by a license verification request), and EPPP score transfers are handled through ASPPB. Ohio's own licensure examination is an ORAL examination, and passing it is the final step for reciprocity applicants. R.C. 4732.11(A)(1) also provides that a candidate who passed the Board-selected examination in another state or Canadian province has the score submitted directly to the Board's executive director..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
This direction has a payoff worth planning around. Massachusetts is outside PSYPACT, so you have had no compact authorizations to work with — but Ohio participates. Endorse into Ohio through the Ohio State Board of Psychology (Ohio Board of Psychology), 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, Ohio's jurisprudence requirement applied — but what it unlocks afterwards is considerably more than a single state.
What changes, Massachusetts → Ohio
| Massachusetts (current) | Ohio (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| PSYPACT status | Licensure by endorsement | PSYPACT member — multistate license honored |
| Application fee | $420 (Board fee table for the Psychologist license type: application fee $150 + license fee $270 = subtotal $420. An 'examination and processing fee' of $282 is listed separately for the same license type and would apply to board-administered examination; an additional processing fee may be charged depending on payment method. All fees are non-refundable. Biennial renewal $270.) | $300 (R.C. 4732.15 application fee for a license issued under Chapter 4732, no part of which is returned. Biennial registration thereafter is $365 (R.C. 4732.14). Background-check and eLicense payment-processing costs are additional.) |
| Processing time | Neither the Board's application page nor 251 CMR 3.00 publishes a processing-time estimate; applications are filed through the Health Professions Licensing Portal. | The Board publishes no stated turnaround. Because the oral examination is the final step, timing depends on the Board's oral examination schedule after the file is found compliant. |
| Licensing authority | Massachusetts Board of Registration of Psychologists (Bureau of Health Professions Licensure, Department of Public Health) | Ohio State Board of Psychology (Ohio Board of Psychology) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Ohio sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Ohio's current requirements on the Ohio State Board of Psychology (Ohio Board of Psychology) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the Ohio State Board of Psychology (Ohio Board of Psychology) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- Hold a valid license to practice psychology at the doctoral level in another U.S. state or territory for a minimum of one year.
- Complete a criminal records background check.
- Pass the Ohio Board of Psychology oral examination.
- Apply through the eLicense Ohio portal and have transcripts and training verification forms sent to the Board from the original source only.
- Pay the fees ($300 (R.C. 4732.15 application fee for a license issued under Chapter 4732, no part of which is returned. Biennial registration thereafter is $365 (R.C. 4732.14). Background-check and eLicense payment-processing costs are additional.)) and allow The Board publishes no stated turnaround. Because the oral examination is the final step, timing depends on the Board's oral examination schedule after the file is found compliant..
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Ohio accept a Massachusetts psychology license?
A psychology license transfers from Massachusetts to Ohio by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the Ohio State Board of Psychology (Ohio Board of Psychology), verify your Massachusetts license, and meet Ohio's endorsement requirements. The EPPP is not retaken on the reciprocity route — the Board verifies the applicant's out-of-state doctoral-level license directly (online where possible, otherwise by a license verification request), and EPPP score transfers are handled through ASPPB. Ohio's own licensure examination is an ORAL examination, and passing it is the final step for reciprocity applicants. R.C. 4732.11(A)(1) also provides that a candidate who passed the Board-selected examination in another state or Canadian province has the score submitted directly to the Board's executive director..
Do I retake the EPPP moving from Massachusetts to Ohio?
No — the EPPP is passed once and your score is verified rather than retaken. The EPPP is not retaken on the reciprocity route — the Board verifies the applicant's out-of-state doctoral-level license directly (online where possible, otherwise by a license verification request), and EPPP score transfers are handled through ASPPB. Ohio's own licensure examination is an ORAL examination, and passing it is the final step for reciprocity applicants. R.C. 4732.11(A)(1) also provides that a candidate who passed the Board-selected examination in another state or Canadian province has the score submitted directly to the Board's executive director..
What does the move cost?
$300 (R.C. 4732.15 application fee for a license issued under Chapter 4732, no part of which is returned. Biennial registration thereafter is $365 (R.C. 4732.14). Background-check and eLicense payment-processing costs are additional.) (R.C. 4732.15 application fee for a license issued under Chapter 4732, no part of which is returned. Biennial registration thereafter is $365 (R.C. 4732.14). Background-check and eLicense payment-processing costs are additional.).
How long will it take?
The Board publishes no stated turnaround. Because the oral examination is the final step, timing depends on the Board's oral examination schedule after the file is found compliant. — The Board publishes no stated turnaround. Because the oral examination is the final step, timing depends on the Board's oral examination schedule after the file is found compliant..
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.
- Ohio Board of Psychology — U.S. License Reciprocity Application (one-year out-of-state doctoral license, background check, oral exam) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Ohio Board of Psychology — Psychologist Applicants (application routes: general, U.S. license reciprocity, senior Canadian, endorsement via ABPP/CPQ/NRHSP; oral examination as final step) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Ohio Revised Code 4732.15 — License fee ($300, nonrefundable) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Ohio Revised Code 4732.12 — Issuance of license; issuance under Chapter 4796 to an applicant holding a license in another state ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Ohio Revised Code 4732.11 — Examinations; out-of-state examination scores submitted to the Board; optional law/rules/ethics examination ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Ohio Revised Code 4796.03 — Universal licensure recognition: criteria for issuing a license to an out-of-state licensee ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Ohio Revised Code 4796.08 — Licensing authority may still require a state law-and-rules examination, criminal records check and financial responsibility ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- 251 CMR 3.00: Registration of Psychologists — §3.07 Endorsement Requirements, §3.08 Examinations, §3.09 Reciprocity (full text PDF) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Mass.gov — 251 CMR 3.00: Registration of psychologists (regulation landing page, revised 04/25/2025) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Massachusetts Board of Registration of Psychologists — Fees and License Renewal Schedules for Psychologists ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- Massachusetts Board of Registration of Psychologists — Apply for a psychologist license ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-08-07
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