Become a Licensed Psychologist in Vermont

Vermont psychologists earn average salaries between $86,670 and $97,220, depending on their specialty. The state’s psychology field shows promising career prospects with a projected job growth of 7.4% through 2030.

Mental illness affects approximately 44 million Americans yearly, yet less than half seek treatment. This gap shows a crucial need for qualified mental health professionals. Your path to becoming a licensed psychologist in Vermont requires completion of 4,000 supervised practice hours and successful completion of two examinations before receiving credentials. On top of that, Vermont’s fast-track endorsement program welcomes professionals already licensed in other states. This guide takes you through the Vermont Board of Psychologists’ licensure process requirements, from education to ongoing professional development.

Educational Pathways

Vermont offers two different paths to get your psychology license based on your priorities and career goals. The Vermont Board of Psychologists accepts both master’s and doctoral-level credentials, which makes the profession available through multiple educational routes.

Bachelor’s Degree Foundation

Your trip toward getting a Vermont psychology license starts with a four-year undergraduate program. You’ll need a bachelor’s degree in psychology or related fields like sociology, social work, or behavioral science from an accredited institution. This foundation builds the simple concepts and skills you need for advanced psychology studies. It serves as the first step on your path to licensure.

Master’s Degree Pathway

Students who choose the master’s route need to complete a qualifying master’s program in psychology. The program must be part of the Council of Applied Master’s Programs in Psychology (CAMPP) or meet similar standards. Programs must have:

• A home in a regionally accredited academic institution
• At least 60 semester hours of coursework
• A minimum of 275 hours of campus-based instruction (excluding internship)
• Six credit hours each in psychopathology, assessment, and intervention
• Three credit hours each in statistical methods and professional ethics

The Vermont Board lets candidates add up to six credit hours to fix any gaps, with no more than three hours in one content area. This educational path means you could get your license in about eight years.

Doctoral Degree Pathway

The doctoral-level license needs either a PhD in Psychology or PsyD from an approved program. These programs take four to seven years based on your academic background and focus area. The Vermont Board wants doctoral programs to be:

• Accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) or Canadian Psychological Association (CPA)
• Or recognized through the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) and the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology

Doctoral programs need at least 400 hours of campus-based coursework. Students must complete nine credit hours each in psychopathology, assessment, and intervention. They also need three credits of foundation coursework in psychopathology and assessment.

Clinical Training Integration

Your chosen educational path requires 4,000 hours of supervised practice for licensure. You can complete up to 2,000 hours during your degree program, and you must finish at least 2,000 hours after graduation. This setup helps you gain clinical experience while studying.

Doctoral programs often use mentor-based training models. Students start their research in the first year with faculty guidance. This approach combines clinical research with academic coursework and prepares you for the supervised practice requirements.

Your educational path choice needs careful planning. Make sure your coursework meets Vermont’s psychology license requirements before moving to supervised experience and examination phases.

Supervised Experience Requirements

You’ll need to complete Vermont’s supervised practice guidelines after finishing your education requirements to get your license. The Vermont Board of Psychologists requires 4,000 hours of supervised experience from all psychology license applicants. This rule applies to both master’s and doctoral-level candidates.

Your supervised hours can be split between pre-degree and post-degree experiences. You must complete at least 2,000 hours after getting your degree. You can accumulate the remaining hours during your educational program. This flexibility lets you start your professional experience during academic training and potentially speed up your path to licensure.

The Vermont Board of Psychologists requires you to register before counting your post-degree practice hours. Your supervisor should be a licensed psychologist with at least three years of professional experience. On top of that, you need to work under at least two different supervisors for 500 hours each. This approach gives you varied mentorship and professional guidance.

Strict supervision ratios apply throughout your experience hours. You need one hour of supervision for every 20 hours of practice. To name just one example, if you work full-time with two hours of weekly supervision, you can split this between one hour of formal individual supervision and one hour of small group supervision. If you practice clinically for 20 or fewer hours weekly, only individual supervision hours count toward your requirements.

Here are the specific limits on counting your hours:

• Working full-time with just one hour of weekly supervision lets you credit only 20 hours of experience
• You must typically accumulate at least 700 hours yearly to receive credit, though exceptions might apply for unexpected situations
• The Vermont Board only accepts supervised experience from the five years before your application

Good documentation is crucial during your supervised practice. Your supervisor must submit a Supervision Report form and a Summary of Supervised Experience to the Board. You also need to complete a disclosure form that identifies you as a psychologist trainee when starting your supervised hours.

This supervised experience helps develop your clinical skills beyond what you learn in the classroom. The Vermont Board’s structure provides appropriate guidance while you gain practical experience in your chosen specialization before independent practice.

Licensing Examinations

Getting your Vermont psychology license requires passing standardized examinations as the next big step. The Vermont Board of Psychologists asks candidates to pass two different tests to become licensed.

The Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) serves as the national board examination. The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) created this standardized test to check your competency in core psychological areas. The EPPP has two parts:

• EPPP (Part 1–Knowledge) – Tests your general psychology knowledge, intervention and assessment techniques, theoretical understanding of cognition, affect, and development. It also covers your grasp of key research topics that affect psychological functioning
• EPPP (Part 2–Skills) – Reviews how well you apply your knowledge to make decisions in real-life practice scenarios

Vermont and all but one of the ASPPB member jurisdictions need you to pass the EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) with a minimum score of 500. Requirements for EPPP (Part 2-Skills) vary by location, so you should ask the Vermont Board of Psychologists about their specific rules.

The Board must approve your original application before you can take the EPPP. They will tell the testing company when you’re eligible. You have 60 days from your approval date to register for the exam.

The exam costs $687.50 total – a $600 registration fee plus some administrative charges. After you pay, you’ll get an Authorization to Test (ATT). This lets you schedule your exam at computer testing centers anywhere in the country.

Vermont’s state jurisprudence examination comes after the national test. This exam checks if you understand Vermont’s specific laws and regulations for psychological practice. You won’t take this one at a testing center. Instead, you’ll print it out and mail it with your supervision registration.

If you don’t pass, you can retake the exams based on the testing company’s rules. You must wait 60 days between attempts. ASPPB offers practice tests that match the actual exam’s timing and question format to help you prepare.

The Board looks at your complete application, including passing exam scores, during their next scheduled meeting.

Application & Licensure Process

Your journey to becoming a licensed psychologist in Vermont reaches its final stage when you submit your application to the Vermont Board of Psychologists. A successful application needs meticulous documentation and attention to detail to help you get your Vermont psychology license without delays.

The Vermont Secretary of State website hosts the online application system. This portal lets you track your application status and handle future license renewals. You’ll need to pay a non-refundable application fee of $175 with your submission. The best approach is to submit your application at least 60 days before your planned licensing examination date.

Your application must have these required documents:

• Official transcripts sent directly from your educational institution
• Completed jurisprudence examination answer sheet
• Summary of Supervised Experience form documenting your 4,000 practice hours
• Supervision Report forms completed by your supervisors
• Three professional references

Psychologists practicing in Vermont must register on the Roster of Non-Licensed, Non-Certified Psychotherapists before starting post-graduate supervision. The Board might reject your supervision hours if you skip this registration step.

The Vermont Board of Psychologists reviews applications during their scheduled meetings. Your education approval makes you eligible to take the EPPP examination. You’ll have 60 days to complete this exam at a Prometric Examination Service Center.

Licensed psychologists from other states have different paths to licensure. You might qualify for endorsement if you have a current license in good standing from another U.S. or Canadian jurisdiction with “substantially equivalent” standards. The Board accepts states that require just 1,500 hours of postdoctoral practice as potentially equivalent.

Doctoral-level psychologists who hold Diplomate status through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) meet Vermont’s qualification requirements automatically. Other professional certifications that show similar competence might also get Board recognition.

The Vermont Board issues your psychology license after you complete all requirements. Your license needs renewal every two years in January of even years (2024, 2026, etc.). This process needs a $150 fee payment and proof of completed continuing education.

The Board requires you to report any changes in your contact information within 30 days to keep your license active.

Continuing Education

Your Vermont psychology license requires more than just your original licensure. Licensed psychologists must complete 60 hours of continuing education (CE) every two years to renew their license.

The 60-hour requirement includes several mandatory topics. You need at least 6 credit hours focused on professional ethics. Starting in January 2026, psychologists will need to complete a minimum of 1 hour of CE related to systematic oppression and anti-oppressive practice. This requirement also covers areas like cultural competency, cultural humility, or anti-racism.

You can get up to 24 hours through independent study or asynchronous learning. The board treats synchronous virtual CE the same as live in-person training. However, you can’t spend more than 30 hours on any single topic.

The Vermont Board of Psychologists automatically accepts CE programs from these providers:

• The American Psychological Association (APA)
• The Vermont Psychological Association (VPA)

You’ll find a complete list of other pre-approved providers and programs on the Board’s website. Mental health professionals with multiple Vermont licenses can use their CE credits across all their mental health licenses under the same title.

Some professionals might qualify for exemptions. The Board may waive CE requirements if you’re on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and getting CE credits would be impossible or create a significant hardship.

Your license needs renewal every two years by January 31 of even-numbered years (2026, 2028, etc.). You’ll need to submit your CE documentation when you pay your renewal fee.

CE credits help you stay current with the latest psychological practices while meeting your license requirements. The Vermont Board’s requirements are the foundations of ongoing professional growth in various practice areas. These requirements emphasize ethical standards and cultural competence in psychological services.

Special State Variations

Vermont’s psychology license works differently from traditional structures through its participation in the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT). This interstate agreement lets you practice telepsychology across state lines. You can also provide temporary in-person psychological services up to 30 days yearly in other participating states. Your Vermont psychology license could help you expand your practice beyond state borders since the state enacted this compact.

The compact has several essential goals:

• Making psychological services more accessible through telepsychology
• Keeping clients safer across state lines
• Helping states share information about disciplinary actions
• Creating accountability when states recognize each other’s licenses

Vermont gives full reciprocity to psychologists certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). This benefit gives you an edge since not all states fully recognize ABPP credentials.

Vermont’s ethical practice rules have some unique requirements beyond standard regulations. The Vermont Board of Psychologists bans “deceptive advertising” and requires you to use your complete title (“psychologist-doctorate” or “psychologist-master”) on all professional materials. The state strictly prohibits conversion therapy with minors. Practitioners who use these practices face disciplinary action.

Client records need to stay on file for at least seven years. The recommended time extends to seven years past a minor client’s 18th birthday. You must also create a plan for handling patient health records if you become incapacitated or suddenly stop practicing.

Psychology licenses in Vermont expire every two years in January of even-numbered years (2026, 2028, etc.). This schedule sets psychologists apart from other mental health professionals whose licenses expire in odd-numbered years.

Out-of-state practitioners must register with the Office of Professional Regulation to provide ongoing telehealth services to Vermont residents. This rule remains in place even after temporary COVID-19 provisions and while the state looks at expanding its interstate practice agreements.