EPPP

The Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) is a standardized licensure examination used in the United States and Canada to assess whether an applicant is prepared for independent professional practice as a psychologist. It is developed by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) and is typically administered at authorized testing centers operated by Pearson VUE.

Format and content: The EPPP consists of roughly 225 multiple-choice items that are completed in about four hours. A portion of the questions on each form are pretest items that do not count toward the final score. The exam covers seven core content domains used in professional psychology, including biological bases of behavior; cognitive and affective bases of behavior; social and cultural bases of behavior; growth and development; assessment and diagnosis; treatment and intervention; and ethical, legal and professional issues.

Scoring and licensure: Scores are reported on a scaled scale, and the passing threshold is set by licensing boards, varying somewhat by jurisdiction. Passing the EPPP is commonly a prerequisite for licensure, but many boards also require additional steps such as jurisdiction-specific examinations, jurisprudence tests, or a period of supervised practice. If the exam is not passed initially, many jurisdictions allow retakes after a specified waiting period, subject to board policies. The EPPP is widely used as a standard measure of foundational knowledge essential for professional psychology practice.