How to Get Your Virginia Psychology License

A West Virginia psychology license can launch your career with excellent growth potential. West Virginia psychologists earned an average of $60,203 yearly as of May 2021. Clinical and counseling psychologists made even more, averaging $88,540 per year. The field shows strong growth potential, with a projected 10% increase between 2020 and 2030. Clinical, counseling, and school psychology lead this expansion with an 18.1% growth rate.

West Virginia provides an ideal environment to build your psychology career with opportunities in many specializations. The state’s Board of Psychology manages licensing for both master’s and doctoral-level practitioners. Your scope of practice remains the same whatever degree you hold once you become fully licensed. You’ll need to meet specific licensing requirements and complete verification processes before starting your practice. This page guides you through each step to get your West Virginia psychology license in 2026.

Educational Pathways

Getting your West Virginia psychology license starts with proper education. West Virginia stands out because it offers multiple educational paths to licensure that include both master’s and doctoral options.

Your path to becoming a licensed psychologist starts with a bachelor’s degree. This first step takes four years or approximately 120 credit hours. You can major in any subject, but choosing psychology or related fields helps avoid prerequisites when you apply to graduate programs.

After completing your undergraduate degree, several paths are available:

• Doctoral Level With Supervision – Requires a PhD, PsyD, or EdD in a clinical form of psychology from a regionally accredited institution
• Doctoral Level Without Supervision – Requires the same degree plus completion of at least 1,800 hours in a post-doctoral internship
• Master’s Level Licensure – A unique option in West Virginia that requires supervision with a WV-approved supervisor
• School Psychologist (Levels 1 & 2) – Specialized paths to provide psychology services in educational settings

Doctoral programs must come from an institution accredited by one of six nationally recognized regional accrediting agencies to qualify for licensure. The degree should come from a department of psychology, educational psychology, education and psychology, or a university department with “psychology” or “psychological” in its official name.

Your doctoral coursework should cover everything from clinical interviewing to diagnosis and treatment planning. This includes psychopathology, biological bases of behavior, ethics, assessment of children and adults, individual psychotherapy, clinical practicum, clinical internship, and tests and measures. Beyond the master’s degree, at least half of your doctoral courses should clearly identify as psychological in nature.

Students who choose the master’s level path need 50 credit hours of coursework. The program requires 80% campus-based learning, not counting practicum and thesis work. Master’s programs cover similar core areas as doctoral programs but come with different practice limitations.

Doctoral programs must include a pre-doctoral or post-doctoral internship. You can apply to waive the post-graduation supervision requirement if you complete an American Psychological Association (APA)-approved internship of at least 1,800 hours. Without this, you’ll need one year of Board-approved supervision after graduation.

The West Virginia Board of Examiners of Psychologists looks at each equivalency application individually. The Board might still accept your program if it’s not labeled as psychology but has psychological content taught by instructors with graduate degrees in psychology. They assess distance learning programs case by case and require them to match APA-accredited programs.

After completing your education, you can start the West Virginia psychology license verification through the Board’s application process. Doctoral candidates without a 1,800-hour predoctoral internship must find a board-approved supervisor and stay under supervision until they pass all required exams.

Supervised Experience Requirements

Your West Virginia psychology license experience will need supervised clinical experience as a vital part to help you build practical skills with proper guidance. The Board will give you a “Gold Card” after approving your application. This card shows you’re a Board-approved supervised psychologist and lists your supervisor(s).

Your educational background and internship experience determine how much supervision you need in West Virginia:

• You need one year of supervised practice with an APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship of at least 1,800 hours
• One year of supervision is needed if your internship wasn’t APA-accredited but came from an accredited institution
• You must complete two full years of supervised practice without an approved internship
• Master’s level applicants should complete their supervision in West Virginia with a state-approved supervisor

Regular contact with your supervisor is essential during your supervision period. The West Virginia Board requires one hour of individual supervision for every 20 hours of clinical practice. You need at least one hour weekly whatever your practice hours. These individual supervision sessions should happen face-to-face in private at least once every two weeks.

Your supervisor should be available by phone during regular business hours. They must also countersign all your psychological reports and professional opinions. This approach helps your professional growth and keeps clients safe.

The supervision process requires quarterly reports. You’ll need to submit four reports each year to the Board on a strict schedule. These reports show your face-to-face supervision and psychology work hours. Your supervisor should keep a detailed supervision log based on your supervision contract.

The Board needs prompt notification if you change supervisors during supervised practice. You’ll complete the demonstrable competency form with your current supervisor. You must get Board approval and submit new supervision contract forms with your new supervisor before starting work with them.

Your supervised practice period also needs continuing education credits. You should complete 10 hours of continuing education yearly, with at least 1.5 hours in ethics. These credits will help you renew your Gold Card.

The West Virginia psychology license verification process tracks your supervision progress through quarterly reports. You must also pass the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) during supervision. Doctoral candidates get five attempts to pass this examination. Master’s candidates must take it yearly until passed, with a limit of five attempts.

This well-laid-out supervision process will help you develop professional skills for independent practice. You’ll meet all regulatory requirements for licensure in West Virginia along the way.

Licensing Examinations

Getting your West Virginia psychology license requires passing several challenging examinations. These tests will assess your professional expertise and knowledge of state regulations. Each exam serves as a crucial milestone in your licensing experience.

The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) develops the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). You need to achieve a minimum score of 70% or 500 on the computer-based EPPP Part 1. The West Virginia Board hasn’t made EPPP Part II mandatory yet.

Doctoral candidates under supervision must pass the EPPP within specific time limits. You have two years from the start of your supervised practice and can attempt the test five times during this period. Missing these requirements means you’ll need to stop practicing psychology and can’t use the “Supervised-Psychologist” title anymore.

The State Board of Psychological Examiners’ Jurisprudence Examination comes next. This test features 50 true-false and multiple-choice questions about West Virginia’s psychology laws and regulations. You must score at least 75% to pass.

The oral examination marks the final step in your West Virginia psychology license verification. You can take this exam only after passing the EPPP and finishing your supervised practice. This evaluation helps determine your practice scope limits and tests your grasp of legal and ethical principles.

You must submit these documents before the oral exam:

• A supervision report
• A competency form
• A minimum of three work samples that showcase your skill range

Board members conduct the oral examination. You need approval from at least 60% of attending members to pass. Failing this test means losing practice privileges, but the Board might provide feedback and allow another attempt. Sometimes, the Board grants a one-year extension with specific requirements, such as extra supervised practice.

Doctoral candidates become eligible for full licensure after passing all exams and completing supervised work hours. The West Virginia Board of Examiners of Psychologists will issue your license once they verify all examination results and confirm you’ve met every requirement.

Application & Licensure Process

You can start your West Virginia psychology license application after completing your education requirements. West Virginia differs from other states and asks candidates to submit their original application to the Board early in their licensing experience.

The West Virginia Board of Examiners of Psychologists provides application packets that you need to request directly since these forms aren’t online. Your application materials will help you choose between two main types that fit your situation:

• Doctoral Level Licensure Without Supervision: For applicants who completed a year-long APA-approved or equivalent predoctoral internship
• Doctoral Level Licensure With Supervision: For applicants who completed a non-APA-approved predoctoral internship or didn’t complete one

You should be ready for several application fees:

• Application fee: $120
• Temporary licensure: $100
• EPPP eligibility fee to West Virginia: $50
• EPPP examination fee to the testing company: $600
• Oral examination: $350
• Oral examination continuation (if required): $100

The Board will review your application and issue either a full license or a “gold card” that shows you’re a Board-approved supervised psychologist, based on your qualifications.

West Virginia’s reciprocity pathway welcomes psychologists licensed in other jurisdictions who met standards equal to or higher than West Virginia’s requirements. This path needs your transcripts, fees, and a letter showing good standing from each jurisdiction where you hold a license.

Reciprocity applicants can also get a temporary license to practice in West Virginia for up to 90 days while they complete the full licensure process. Your original licensing board must verify your current license status directly.

Licensed psychologists need to renew every two years, while school psychologists renew every three years. Psychologists must complete 20 hours of continuing education each renewal period, including 3 hours in ethics. School psychologists need 30 hours every three years, with 3 hours focused on ethics.

During the psychology license verification process, keep complete documentation of everything you submit since you might need these records later. All doctoral-level supervised psychologists must work as W-2 employees with West Virginia employers under West Virginia approved supervisors.

Continuing Education

Professional development through continuing education (CE) plays a vital role to keep your West Virginia psychology license in good standing. The West Virginia Board mandates specific CE hours that licensed professionals must complete based on their credentials.

Licensed Psychologists and Supervised-Psychologists need 20 board-approved CE hours during each two-year renewal cycle. School Psychologists and School Psychologist Independent Practitioners face different requirements – they must complete 30 CE hours every three years or maintain a valid National Certification card from the National Association of School Psychologists.

The license holders must meet these subject-specific requirements:

• 3 hours of ethics training within each renewal period
• 2 hours related to veterans’ mental health conditions and treatment
• Practitioners with dual licenses (psychology and school psychology) need at least 3 CE hours in both primary and secondary practice areas

The Board’s 10-year old guidelines clearly specify acceptable CE sources. These programs receive automatic approval when endorsed by:

• American Psychological Association or its sponsors
• Specialty Boards of the American Board of Professional Psychology
• West Virginia Psychological Association
• West Virginia Association of Professional Psychologists
• National Association of School Psychologists and its regional affiliates
• West Virginia School Psychologists Association

Your required CE hours must come from these professional associations – at least 50% of them. You can get the remaining hours from other approved programs or activities. The West Virginia psychology license verification process monitors CE compliance strictly.

You must document every CE activity on the CE Audit Form during license renewal. Your renewal application needs this form along with copies of all CE certificates and the fee. Keep your original certificates safe even after submitting copies because submitted materials won’t return to you.

Organizations that want to provide CE programs for psychology credit must submit the CE Submission Application Form with supporting documentation to get Board approval. The approved programs can appear on the CE Seminar Announcement page upon request.

Special State Variations

West Virginia distinguishes itself from other U.S. states with its diverse psychology licensing pathways through the Board. The state joins one other in licensing master’s level professionals as psychologists without title differentiation. These master’s level licensees need five years of supervised professional experience and must pass the EPPP within set timeframes.

The state provides two distinct license types specifically for school-based practitioners. A School Psychologist Level 1 license limits practitioners to working on school board property while serving county school boards. The School Psychologist Level 2 license allows independent practice both inside and outside schools. Both licenses require candidates to pass the Praxis exam instead of the EPPP.

The state’s participation in the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) makes shared practice possible across state boundaries. Qualified psychologists can deliver telepsychology services and provide temporary in-person care in other Compact States.

Psychologists from other states can obtain licensure by reciprocity when their current state meets equivalent standards. The process involves an application submission, fee payment, and successful completion of West Virginia’s oral examination. The West Virginia psychology license verification requires doctoral-level supervised psychologists to maintain W-2 employment status with West Virginia employers.