Licensure Mobility

Do you know where you are planning to be a practitioner? How about five years from now? Ten?

Licensure mobility is becoming more and more important to early career psychologists as we work through post-doc and into our professional careers. More recently, there has been the establishment of "banking" organizations that collect your paperwork for licensure and keep it "banked" for you so that you can easily apply to another state for licensure at any time. Not only does this make it easier for applying for licensure, but it also safe keeps everything in case you cannot get a hold of your previous supervisors, or they might be deceased. Essentially, it keeps all of your paperwork from graduate school, internship, your EPPP score, and post-doc, that you would need to apply for licensure in any state or province. All you have to do is let them know where you are applying, and they will work with that state or province to make sure they get the paperwork they need to complete your application.

There are two organizations that are the best known for this: The National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology, and the ASPPB's Psychology Licensure Universal System (PLUS).

The National Register costs between $150-$170 total to use their services, with no renewal fees for storage. In addition, they also offer scholarships for graduate students and early career psychologists that waive this fee (I got one!). Scholarships are typically announced in Fall and Spring. To apply for the register, complete the application online, and can begin compiling your paperwork after the completion of internship (and your degree).

ASPPB's PLUS service is relatively new (just announced this month), and is currently being piloted. This appears to be the new version of ASPPB's licensure mobility program. The cost of this program looks to be around $300, with no renewal fees. However, they also offer the certification of professional qualification in psychology (CPQ), which is granting you this credential to prove that you have met all of the qualifications of licensure, skipping the need to send materials to your jurisdiction. This qualification costs $200 for an initial fee, and $100 for a renewal fee every 2 years.

DO NOTE that not all jurisdictions allow the use of credentialing or banking services (including ASPPB's CPQ credential) as a part of applying for licensure. Additionally, some states may accept documentation from one banking service but not the other. If you are considering applying for a banking or credentialing service and know the range of jurisdictions that could be a possibility for you, look on their websites for which ones accept their documentation services. I can assure you that most states accept both of these services, but there are always some exceptions.

However, this is something to consider when you pass the EPPP and can have the score sent to additional places besides the jurisdiction you are applying to be a psychologist with. Food for thought!