Psychology License from Pennsylvania to North Carolina: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Last verified: 2026-08-07 · source: North Carolina Psychology Board ↗
A psychology license transfers from Pennsylvania to North Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Carolina Psychology Board, verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet North Carolina's endorsement requirements. 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..
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Verdict
Licensure by endorsement
Both Pennsylvania and North Carolina are PSYPACT participants, which helps you right up until you actually relocate. As long as Pennsylvania remains your licensed home state, the compact lets you treat North Carolina clients by telehealth (APIT) and work in North Carolina in person for up to 30 days per calendar year (TAP). None of that makes you licensed in North Carolina. A permanent move puts you in front of the North Carolina Psychology Board 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 Carolina's terms.
What changes, Pennsylvania → North Carolina
| Pennsylvania (current) | North Carolina (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| PSYPACT status | PSYPACT member — multistate license honored | PSYPACT member — multistate license honored |
| Application fee | $105 (Initial application fee of $105 under 49 Pa. Code 41.12; 41.52a(4) directs endorsement applicants to pay that initial application fee. Biennial renewal is $300. No separate endorsement/reciprocity fee line exists in the regulation. PPLE and EPPP fees are paid to the exam vendors) | $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 time | Neither the Board page, the licensure snapshot, nor 49 Pa. Code Chapter 41 states a processing-time range; no Board processing-time page was reachable on 2026-08-07 | 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.) |
| Licensing authority | Pennsylvania State Board of Psychology (Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, Department of State) | North Carolina Psychology Board |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — North Carolina sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm North Carolina's current requirements on the North Carolina Psychology Board website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the endorsement application to the North Carolina Psychology Board (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state via the verification system.
- 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).
- 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
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does North Carolina accept a Pennsylvania psychology license?
A psychology license transfers from Pennsylvania to North Carolina by endorsement — there is no automatic reciprocity, but you do not start over. Apply to the North Carolina Psychology Board, verify your Pennsylvania license, and meet North Carolina's endorsement requirements. 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..
Do I retake the EPPP moving from Pennsylvania to North Carolina?
No — the EPPP is passed once and your score is verified rather than retaken. 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..
What does the move cost?
$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 will it take?
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..
Pennsylvania and North Carolina 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 Carolina (APIT) and in-person practice there for up to 30 days a year (TAP) while your license stays in Pennsylvania. Relocating to North Carolina requires licensure by endorsement from the North Carolina Psychology Board like any other applicant.
Can I start seeing North Carolina clients before my North Carolina license is issued?
While your Pennsylvania license remains active and is your home-state license, a PSYPACT authorization can cover North Carolina 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 Pennsylvania stops being your licensed home state — they are a bridge during a transition, not a substitute for the North Carolina license.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-08-07.
- NC Psychology Board — Application for Licensure Based on Mobility Credential (eligibility, fees, EPPP waiver, documentation) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- NC Psychology Board — Applications ('There are no reciprocity agreements between North Carolina and other jurisdictions') ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- NC Psychology Board — Application for Licensure (standard route, fees, senior psychologist provision, review timing) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- NC Psychology Board — Examinations (EPPP and the $200 Board State Examination) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- 49 Pa. Code 41.52a — Licensure by endorsement (Act 41) conditions for out-of-state psychologists ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- 49 Pa. Code 41.52 — Licensure of psychologists licensed in another state (EPPP national-portion waiver, child abuse training, temporary practice) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- 49 Pa. Code 41.12 — State Board of Psychology fee schedule ($105 initial application, $300 biennial renewal) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PA Department of State — Psychologist Licensure Snapshot (EPPP + PPLE, supervised experience, fees, PSYPACT) ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
- PA State Board of Psychology — board home page ↗ (accessed 2026-08-07)
Reviewed by Billy Reiner, Editor · verified against primary sources 2026-08-07
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