If you’ve been doing locum tenens work for a while, then you may have heard of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC) if you’re a physician, or the Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC) if you’re a nurse practitioner. You may also know that the IMLC and NLC help healthcare providers, especially locums, in accelerating the licensure process in any participating compact state, so they can more quickly get to practicing in new states.
However, since the IMLC was made specifically for physicians, and the NLC was made specifically for nurses, these compacts leave out one anther provider type: psychologists. Luckily, there is a lesser known compact program called the PSYPACT, made specifically for psychologists.
Approved in February of 2015 by the ASPPB board of directors, the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact, or PSYPACT, is an interstate compact that was created to facilitate psychologists in their practice of telehealth psychology and temporary in-person psychology across state boundaries.
This compact works to not only increase patient access to mental health care and facilitate continuity of care as patients relocate, but also to increase psychologists’ ability to provide care to underserved populations, from those that are geographically isolated, to those in need of specialty care. It provides patients with advantages other than greater access to care as well, such as a greater degree of public protection, and an avenue for complaints.
As for psychologists, the biggest benefit once you receive your credentials is an ability to bypass additional licensure processes and requirements in order to practice across state lines outside of their licensure home state. There are two ways that a psychologist can practice under the PSYPACT: 1) to practice telepsychology and/or 2) to conduct temporary in-person practice, which both have different authorizations required by psychologists to obtain with different eligibility requirements.
Telepsychology Overview:
A psychologist who obtains the proper credentials and authority to practice under the PSYPACT for telepsychology has the ability to provide telepsychology services from their home state of licensure to patients located in any participating receiving compact state without having to obtain a new license for that state.
A psychologist looking to practice telepsychology under PSYPACT for telepsychology must obtain an Authority to Practice Under Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT) by applying through the PSYPACT Commission, and an E.Passport by applying through the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB).
The total costs associated with initial applications for the credentials needed to practice telepsychology under the PSYPACT are $440, which are comprised of a $40 one-time APIT fee, and a $400 ASPPB E.Passport application fee. If you wish to renew your E.Passport, there is also an associates annual $100 ASPPB E.Passport renewal fee.
Temporary Practice Overview:
A psychologist who obtains the proper credentials and authority to practice under the PSYPACT for temporary practice can conduct face to face practice of psychology for patients within any participating PSYPACT state without having to obtain a new license for the state/s in which they will practice. However, there is a time limit of how long you can practice in-person under PSYPACT, which is 30 days per calendar year per PSYPACT state.
In order to conduct in-person practice under PSYPACT, a psychologist must obtain a Temporary Authorization to Practice (TAP) by applying through the PSYPACT Commission, as well as an Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate (IPC) from the ASPPB.
The initial application fees add up to a total cost of $240, which can be broken down into $200 for the ASPPB IPC application fee, and $40 for the $40 one time TAP fee. Renewing your ASPPB IPC will also cost an additional $50 annually.
PSYPACT States
There are currently 34 total PSYPACT participating states in the U.S., three of which have introduced PSYPACT legislation, but do not yet permit practice under the PSYPACT. The remaining 31 states on the PSYPACT map have fully enacted PSYPACT legislation, and are considered fully participating PSYPACT states where psychologists can practice telepsychology or temporary in-person psychology with the proper authorizations. You’re eligible to practice under the PSYPACT if your licensure home state is any of the following:
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Alabama
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Arizona
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Arkansas
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Colorado
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Delaware
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District of Columbia (DC)
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Georgia
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Idaho
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Illinois
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Indiana
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Kansas
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Kentucky
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Maine
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Maryland
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Minnesota
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Missouri
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Nebraska
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Nevada
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New Hampshire
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New Jersey
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North Carolina
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Ohio
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Oklahoma
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Pennsylvania
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Tennessee
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Texas
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Utah
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Virginia
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Washington
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West Virginia
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Wisconsin
For more information about the PSYPACT or eligibility requirements for your ASPPB credentials, please visit the PSYPACT website.
Unlock your practice authority in new states by applying for the PSYPACT today!
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