Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (Part 1–Knowledge)

The EPPP® Exam

The EPPP is the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology, the licensing exam owned by the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB), which says all 66 of its member jurisdictions in the United States and Canada require a passing score on it. Part 1–Knowledge is 225 multiple-choice questions, 175 of them scored, in 4 hours 15 minutes at a Pearson VUE test center. It is scored from 200 to 800; ASPPB recommends 500 for independent practice, but the licensing authority you apply to decides the score it requires.

At a glance

Questions	225 (175 scored, 50 unscored)
Time limit	4 hours 15 minutes
Exam fee	$691.88
Delivery	In person on computer at Pearson VUE test centers (Pearson Professional Centers in the United States and Canada), administered continuously. Each sitting costs a $600 ASPPB exam fee plus a $91.88 test center sitting fee, both paid through Certemy and non-refundable. There are no scheduled breaks; the clock keeps running during any break taken.
Eligibility	Candidates must be approved by the psychology licensing authority in the jurisdiction where they are seeking licensure, which sets its own requirements. Most candidates have a doctoral degree in psychology plus supervised doctoral and postdoctoral experience.
Passing standard	Scores are reported on a 200–800 scale. ASPPB recommends a passing score of 500 for independent practice and 450 for supervised practice; each licensing authority decides the score it requires. An unofficial score is given at the test center.
Retakes	Retakes need approval from the candidate's licensing authority, and waiting periods and attempt limits vary by jurisdiction. ASPPB allows no more than four attempts at either part in any 12-month period and recommends waiting about 90 days between attempts. Full fees are due for every sitting.
Outline in force	EPPP (Part 1–Knowledge) Test Specifications, based on the 2017 ASPPB Job Task Analysis (EPPP Candidate Handbook, January 2026, Appendix A)

Exam facts are taken from ASPPB’s own published material, last checked October 2, 2026. Source. Confirm fees, dates and rules with the organization you register with before you book.

One exam, many licensing authorities

Two bodies share the work. ASPPB writes the exam, sets the fees for it and reports the score. Your licensing authority, the psychology board in the state or province where you are seeking licensure, decides everything else: whether you may take the exam, what score counts as a pass, how long you must wait after a failed attempt and how many attempts you get.

So you do not start with ASPPB. You apply to your licensing authority, and it approves you to take the exam. Each authority sets its own requirements; most candidates have a doctoral degree in psychology plus supervised doctoral and postdoctoral experience.

This page covers Part 1–Knowledge, which is the part this site's question bank is written for.

Format

225 multiple-choice questions. 175 are scored and 50 are unscored pretest questions, which is 22% of what you answer. They are not identified, so the only workable approach is to treat every question as scored.

ASPPB's handbook says each question has three or four possible responses. Do not assume four: a three-option question is a normal part of this exam, not a mistake on the screen.

The exam is taken in person, on a computer, at a Pearson VUE test center (Pearson Professional Centers in the United States and Canada), and it is administered continuously rather than on set dates.

How long it takes

You have 4 hours 15 minutes for the questions, which is about 68 seconds each. The appointment is longer than that: it also allows 5 minutes for an acknowledgement statement, 5 for a tutorial and 5 for an exit survey, about 4 hours 30 minutes in all.

There are no scheduled breaks. You may take one, but the clock keeps running while you are away. In practice that means a break has to be paid for out of your pace: a candidate who has banked ten minutes by the midpoint can afford to stand up, and one who has not cannot.

What it costs

Each sitting costs $691.88 before any applicable tax: a $600 exam fee to ASPPB and a $91.88 test center sitting fee. Both are paid through Certemy, and both are non-refundable.

The full amount is due again for every sitting. Your licensing authority's own application and licensing fees are separate, and they vary from one jurisdiction to the next.

How it is scored

Scores are reported on a scale from 200 to 800. ASPPB recommends a passing score of 500 for independent practice and 450 for supervised practice. Those are recommendations: each licensing authority decides the score it requires, so the number that matters is the one your own authority has adopted.

You are given an unofficial score at the test center before you leave.

A scaled score is not a percentage. This page gives no number of correct answers for a 500 because we have no published figure to give, and a 'you need about so many right' figure quoted elsewhere is someone's estimate.

If you need to retake it

A retake needs approval from your licensing authority, and the waiting period and the limit on attempts are the authority's to set. ASPPB's own ceiling is no more than four attempts at either part in any 12-month period, and it recommends waiting about 90 days between attempts.

Full fees are due for every sitting, so each further attempt costs $691.88 again.

What the eight domains add up to

The specifications list 71 knowledge statements in eight domains. Read as a whole, they split into two halves of nearly equal size. Four domains are the foundations of the discipline: biological bases (10%), cognitive-affective bases (13%), social and cultural bases (11%) and growth and lifespan development (12%), which is 46% of the exam. Three are about professional work: assessment and diagnosis (16%), treatment, intervention, prevention, and supervision (15%) and ethical, legal, and professional issues (16%), which is 47%. Research methods and statistics is the remaining 7%.

On 175 scored questions, a 16% domain is about 28 questions and the 7% domain about 12. The practical consequence: a candidate who is strong in clinical work and has not opened a neuroscience, learning theory or developmental text since coursework is exposed on close to half the exam.

The statements are phrased as knowledge, not as tasks, and the exam's name says the same thing. Expect questions that ask what the research shows, which theory predicts a result, or which instrument or statistic fits a situation.

The 2027 change

ASPPB has published new EPPP content specifications that become operational in fall 2027, and it describes the new exam as a single integrated assessment of knowledge and skills. Until then, exams are built on the current specifications, the eight domains shown on this page, which are based on ASPPB's 2017 Job Task Analysis. That covers every exam in 2026 and those in 2027 before the changeover.

If your likely test date is near fall 2027, check ASPPB's site for which specifications apply on that date before you choose study materials. If it is earlier, material built on the current eight domains is the right material. This site's bank follows the current specifications.

What is tested

The 8 domains of the current outline and the share of the exam each one carries.

Domain	Weight	What it covers
1Biological Bases of Behavior5 tasks	10%	Neurobiological and genetic underpinnings of perception, cognition, personality, mood, and affect, in health and in acute or chronic neurobehavioral disease, including comorbidities. Drug classes, how they act, and the intended and adverse effects of therapeutic drugs, drugs of abuse, and complementary or alternative agents. Findings of major clinical trials and general guidelines for medication, psychotherapy, and combined treatment of psychological disorders. and 2 more tasks
2Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior8 tasks	13%	Major research-based theories and models of intelligence and how they are applied. Major research-based theories, models, and principles of learning and how they are applied. Major research-based theories and models of memory and how they are applied. and 5 more tasks
3Social and Cultural Bases of Behavior7 tasks	11%	Major research-based theories and models of social cognition, such as person perception, stereotype formation, and prejudice. Social interaction and relationships: attraction, aggression, altruism, organizational justice, verbal, nonverbal, and online communication, mate selection, and empathy. Group and systems processes (school, work, and family systems; job satisfaction, team functioning, conformity, persuasion) and social influences on functioning. and 4 more tasks
4Growth and Lifespan Development8 tasks	12%	Normal growth and development across the lifespan. How interaction between the person and the social, school, work, and community environment shapes development over time. Major research-based theories and models of development. and 5 more tasks
5Assessment and Diagnosis13 tasks	16%	Psychometrics: test theory, item and test characteristics, test construction and standardization, reliability, validity, sensitivity and specificity, and fairness and bias. Theories and models of assessment, such as developmental, behavioral, ecological, and neuropsychological approaches. Assessment methods and their strengths and limits: self-report, multi-informant report, psychophysiological measures, work samples, assessment centers, direct observation, and structured or semi-structured interviews. and 10 more tasks
6Treatment, Intervention, and Prevention and Supervision11 tasks	15%	Factors in treatment decision-making: relevant research, fit between treatment and diagnosis, client–psychologist match, allied services, cost and benefit, and readiness to change. Contemporary research-based theories and models of treatment, intervention, and prevention. Treatment techniques and interventions, and the evidence on their comparative efficacy and effectiveness. and 8 more tasks
7Research Methods and Statistics8 tasks	7%	Methods of sampling and data collection. Design of case studies and of correlational, quasi-experimental, and experimental research. Analytic methods: qualitative (thematic, phenomenological) and quantitative (probability, descriptive, inferential, and parametric statistics, meta-analysis, factor analysis, causal modeling). and 5 more tasks
8Ethical, Legal, and Professional Issues11 tasks	16%	Current ethical principles and codes for psychologists (APA and CPA). Professional standards and guidelines for practice, such as the standards for educational and psychological testing. Laws, statutes, and court decisions that affect psychological practice. and 8 more tasks

Practice for the EPPP exam

See how you would do on questions written to the same outline before you pay the exam fee.

The free EPPP diagnostic is being prepared and is not open yet. The exam facts and the content outline on this page are current.

The EPPP exam: common questions

What is the EPPP exam?

The Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology: the licensing examination owned by ASPPB, which says all of its member jurisdictions in the United States and Canada require a passing score on it. Part 1–Knowledge is 225 multiple-choice questions across eight content domains.

How long is the EPPP exam?

4 hours 15 minutes for the 225 questions. The appointment adds 5 minutes each for an acknowledgement statement, a tutorial and an exit survey, about 4 hours 30 minutes in all. There are no scheduled breaks.

How many questions are on the EPPP?

225. 175 are scored and 50 are unscored pretest questions that are not identified. Each has three or four possible responses.

What score do you need to pass the EPPP?

It depends on your licensing authority. The scale runs from 200 to 800, and ASPPB recommends 500 for independent practice and 450 for supervised practice, but each authority decides the score it requires.

How much does the EPPP cost?

$691.88 per sitting before tax: a $600 ASPPB exam fee and a $91.88 test center sitting fee, both non-refundable. Your licensing authority's fees are on top of that.

Can you take a break during the EPPP?

Yes, but none is scheduled and the clock does not stop. Any time you spend away from the screen comes out of your time for the questions.

Who is eligible to take the EPPP?

Candidates approved by the psychology licensing authority in the jurisdiction where they are seeking licensure. The authority sets the requirements; most candidates hold a doctoral degree in psychology and have supervised doctoral and postdoctoral experience.

Is the EPPP changing in 2027?

Yes. ASPPB has published new content specifications that become operational in fall 2027. Exams before that point, including all of 2026, use the current eight-domain specifications.

What is the EPPP pass rate?

ASPPB does not publish a single overall pass rate that we could find. It publishes first-time results by doctoral program. We state no figure for the exam as a whole, and none for this site's users.

How many times can you take the EPPP?

Your licensing authority sets the limit and the waiting period, and it must approve each retake. ASPPB allows no more than four attempts at either part in any 12-month period and recommends about 90 days between attempts.

EPPP® and Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology® are registered trademarks of the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB). This site is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by ASPPB.