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LicenseReciprocity

Transfer Your Psychology License to North Carolina: Reciprocity & Endorsement (2026)

Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: North Carolina Psychology Board ↗

Your psychology license does not transfer to North Carolina automatically — you apply to the North Carolina Psychology Board for licensure by endorsement. The board verifies your active license, doctoral degree, and supervised experience and accepts your existing EPPP score rather than re-testing you. Expect $100 (Nonrefundable application fee, check or money order only ($20 charge for a returned bank item). Add $38 for the criminal background check and $200 for the State Examination; health services provider (HSP-P) certification, which is mandatory for permanently licensed psychologists rendering health services in North Carolina, costs a further $50.), processing 4–9 weeks (Board rule of thumb: if an application is complete by the last working day of a month it will be reviewed by the last working day of the following month — roughly 4 to 9 weeks depending on when the file completes. Some files must go to the full Board, which follows the published meeting calendar. An incomplete application stays active only three months, then voids.). North Carolina participates in PSYPACT, but that only covers telepsychology and up to 30 days a year of temporary in-person work — it does not license you in North Carolina, and a move here still runs through endorsement.

Moving to North Carolina from a specific state?

Pick your current state — the checker returns your exact pathway.

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Verdict

PSYPACT member — multistate license honored

Be precise about what you are actually trying to do in North Carolina, because the two mechanisms answer different questions. If you are staying licensed and resident elsewhere and want to see North Carolina clients by telehealth, North Carolina's PSYPACT participation is the relevant route and you never touch the North Carolina Psychology Board — you work through ASPPB and the commission instead. If you are moving to North Carolina, or want an unrestricted North Carolina license for any other reason, the compact contributes nothing at all and the endorsement steps below are your path.

The Board states flatly that 'There are no reciprocity agreements between North Carolina and other jurisdictions.' What exists is an abbreviated application for two groups: holders of a mobility credential under 21 NCAC 54 .1701(b) (CPQ, National Register, or ABPP) and senior psychologists under 21 NCAC 54 .1707. The mobility route is the strongest form of transfer in this state — it waives the EPPP entirely — but it does not waive the North Carolina State Examination, the background check or the $100 fee, so it is endorsement, not full reciprocity. Simply holding another state's license without one of the three named credentials puts an applicant on the standard application. North Carolina residence is not required to apply. The Board's website moved to ncpsychologyboard.info; the old ncpsychologyboard.org domain now redirects. North Carolina is a PSYPACT participating state (assembler-supplied), so telepsychology into the state under APIT and 30-day-per-year temporary in-person practice under TAP are available without this license — but neither confers a North Carolina license.

North Carolina requirements at a glance

Out-of-state psychology license transfer requirements for North Carolina, verified 2026-08-07
ExamThe EPPP is not required at all for an applicant whose credentials are approved under the mobility-credential provision (21 NCAC 54 .1701(b)); other out-of-state applicants transfer their EPPP score through the ASPPB Score Transfer Service rather than retesting. Every applicant must still pass the Board-developed State Examination on the North Carolina Practice Act, selected Board rules and the APA Ethics Code — a two-hour, 50-item computer-based exam with a $200 fee.
Additional requirements
  • Hold an ASPPB Certificate of Professional Qualification (CPQ), a National Register of Health Service Psychologists (NRHSPP) registration, or an ABPP diploma to use the mobility-credential application
  • Arrange for ASPPB, the National Register or ABPP to write directly to the Board verifying the credential, and for every jurisdiction where you are or were licensed to report licensure status and any discipline
  • Submit a fingerprint card, an Authority for Release of Information form and the $38 criminal background check fee
  • Submit a completed Supervision Contract Form with the application
  • Pass the Board's State Examination on the NC Practice Act, Board rules and the APA Ethics Code
  • File the application within 30 days of offering to practice or undertaking the practice of psychology in North Carolina (G.S. 90-270.139)
Fees$100 (Nonrefundable application fee, check or money order only ($20 charge for a returned bank item). Add $38 for the criminal background check and $200 for the State Examination; health services provider (HSP-P) certification, which is mandatory for permanently licensed psychologists rendering health services in North Carolina, costs a further $50.)
Processing time4–9 weeks (Board rule of thumb: if an application is complete by the last working day of a month it will be reviewed by the last working day of the following month — roughly 4 to 9 weeks depending on when the file completes. Some files must go to the full Board, which follows the published meeting calendar. An incomplete application stays active only three months, then voids.)

Step by step

  1. Confirm North Carolina's current requirements on the North Carolina Psychology Board website — rules change.
  2. Submit the endorsement application to the North Carolina Psychology Board (application linked on this page).
  3. Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
  4. Hold an ASPPB Certificate of Professional Qualification (CPQ), a National Register of Health Service Psychologists (NRHSPP) registration, or an ABPP diploma to use the mobility-credential application.
  5. Arrange for ASPPB, the National Register or ABPP to write directly to the Board verifying the credential, and for every jurisdiction where you are or were licensed to report licensure status and any discipline.
  6. Submit a fingerprint card, an Authority for Release of Information form and the $38 criminal background check fee.
  7. Submit a completed Supervision Contract Form with the application.
  8. Pass the Board's State Examination on the NC Practice Act, Board rules and the APA Ethics Code.
  9. File the application within 30 days of offering to practice or undertaking the practice of psychology in North Carolina (G.S. 90-270.139).
  10. Pay the fees ($100 (Nonrefundable application fee, check or money order only ($20 charge for a returned bank item). Add $38 for the criminal background check and $200 for the State Examination; health services provider (HSP-P) certification, which is mandatory for permanently licensed psychologists rendering health services in North Carolina, costs a further $50.)) and allow 4–9 weeks (Board rule of thumb: if an application is complete by the last working day of a month it will be reviewed by the last working day of the following month — roughly 4 to 9 weeks depending on when the file completes. Some files must go to the full Board, which follows the published meeting calendar. An incomplete application stays active only three months, then voids.).

Official links

North Carolina Psychology Board ↗North Carolina application ↗License verification ↗Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact ↗

Coming from a specific state?

Direction matters — these guides cover the exact move into North Carolina:

Alabama → North CarolinaAlaska → North CarolinaArizona → North CarolinaArkansas → North CarolinaCalifornia → North CarolinaColorado → North CarolinaConnecticut → North CarolinaDelaware → North CarolinaDistrict of Columbia → North CarolinaFlorida → North CarolinaGeorgia → North CarolinaHawaii → North CarolinaIdaho → North CarolinaIllinois → North CarolinaIndiana → North CarolinaIowa → North CarolinaKansas → North CarolinaKentucky → North CarolinaLouisiana → North CarolinaMaine → North Carolina
All 50 origin states
Maryland → North CarolinaMassachusetts → North CarolinaMichigan → North CarolinaMinnesota → North CarolinaMississippi → North CarolinaMissouri → North CarolinaMontana → North CarolinaNebraska → North CarolinaNevada → North CarolinaNew Hampshire → North CarolinaNew Jersey → North CarolinaNew Mexico → North CarolinaNew York → North CarolinaNorth Dakota → North CarolinaOhio → North CarolinaOklahoma → North CarolinaOregon → North CarolinaPennsylvania → North CarolinaRhode Island → North CarolinaSouth Carolina → North CarolinaSouth Dakota → North CarolinaTennessee → North CarolinaTexas → North CarolinaUtah → North CarolinaVermont → North CarolinaVirginia → North CarolinaWashington → North CarolinaWest Virginia → North CarolinaWisconsin → North CarolinaWyoming → North Carolina

Frequently asked questions

Does my psychology license transfer to North Carolina?

Your psychology license does not transfer to North Carolina automatically — you apply to the North Carolina Psychology Board for licensure by endorsement. The board verifies your active license, doctoral degree, and supervised experience and accepts your existing EPPP score rather than re-testing you. Expect $100 (Nonrefundable application fee, check or money order only ($20 charge for a returned bank item). Add $38 for the criminal background check and $200 for the State Examination; health services provider (HSP-P) certification, which is mandatory for permanently licensed psychologists rendering health services in North Carolina, costs a further $50.), processing 4–9 weeks (Board rule of thumb: if an application is complete by the last working day of a month it will be reviewed by the last working day of the following month — roughly 4 to 9 weeks depending on when the file completes. Some files must go to the full Board, which follows the published meeting calendar. An incomplete application stays active only three months, then voids.). North Carolina participates in PSYPACT, but that only covers telepsychology and up to 30 days a year of temporary in-person work — it does not license you in North Carolina, and a move here still runs through endorsement.

Do I have to retake the EPPP to get licensed in North Carolina?

No. The EPPP is not required at all for an applicant whose credentials are approved under the mobility-credential provision (21 NCAC 54 .1701(b)); other out-of-state applicants transfer their EPPP score through the ASPPB Score Transfer Service rather than retesting. Every applicant must still pass the Board-developed State Examination on the North Carolina Practice Act, selected Board rules and the APA Ethics Code — a two-hour, 50-item computer-based exam with a $200 fee..

How much does it cost to get a North Carolina psychology license by endorsement?

$100 (Nonrefundable application fee, check or money order only ($20 charge for a returned bank item). Add $38 for the criminal background check and $200 for the State Examination; health services provider (HSP-P) certification, which is mandatory for permanently licensed psychologists rendering health services in North Carolina, costs a further $50.) (Nonrefundable application fee, check or money order only ($20 charge for a returned bank item). Add $38 for the criminal background check and $200 for the State Examination; health services provider (HSP-P) certification, which is mandatory for permanently licensed psychologists rendering health services in North Carolina, costs a further $50.).

How long does North Carolina take to process an endorsement application?

4–9 weeks (Board rule of thumb: if an application is complete by the last working day of a month it will be reviewed by the last working day of the following month — roughly 4 to 9 weeks depending on when the file completes. Some files must go to the full Board, which follows the published meeting calendar. An incomplete application stays active only three months, then voids.) — Board rule of thumb: if an application is complete by the last working day of a month it will be reviewed by the last working day of the following month — roughly 4 to 9 weeks depending on when the file completes. Some files must go to the full Board, which follows the published meeting calendar. An incomplete application stays active only three months, then voids..

Is North Carolina a PSYPACT state?

Yes — North Carolina was participating as of 2026-08-07. That lets a psychologist licensed in another participating state provide telepsychology to North Carolina clients under an APIT authorization, and work in person in North Carolina for up to 30 days a year under a TAP. It does not license you in North Carolina: relocating still requires endorsement through the North Carolina Psychology Board.

Can I practice in North Carolina using PSYPACT instead of getting licensed?

Only within the compact's limits, and only if you are not moving. Telepsychology into North Carolina is covered by APIT; in-person work is capped at 30 days per calendar year under a TAP. Beyond that — and for any relocation to North Carolina — you need a North Carolina license by endorsement.

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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