To get a Temporary Authorization to Practice under PSYPACT, you obtain an Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate (IPC) through the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB), then apply for the TAP add-on in the same portal. TAP lets a psychologist licensed in a PSYPACT member state travel to another member state and provide in-person psychological services for up to 30 days per calendar year in that state, without getting a separate license there.
What TAP Covers and What It Doesn’t
TAP authorizes face-to-face psychological services in any PSYPACT member state other than your home state. It fits short engagements: a hospital consultation, a specialized assessment, covering for a colleague, or continuing care with a patient who has temporarily relocated.
The ceiling is 30 days per calendar year in each remote state. A “day” is any portion of a day during which you perform professional duties within that state’s borders. Fly in for a morning evaluation and leave that afternoon, and you have used one day.
TAP does not authorize telepsychology. If you want to see clients in other PSYPACT states by video or other electronic means, you need the separate Authority to Practice Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (APIT). PSYPACT treats physical presence and electronic contact as two different things, and the two authorizations are not interchangeable.
Who Qualifies
You need all of the following:
- An active, unrestricted psychology license in at least one PSYPACT member state. That state becomes your home state for compact purposes.
- A doctoral degree in psychology from a program accredited by the American Psychological Association or the Canadian Psychological Association at the time you graduated, or one that meets PSYPACT’s equivalency standards.
- A passing score on the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP) that meets or exceeds the ASPPB-recommended passing score at the time of application.
- No history of disciplinary action on any psychology license you hold or have held.
Both your home state and the state you plan to visit must be current PSYPACT members. If you hold active licenses in more than one PSYPACT state, ask ASPPB which one counts as your home state for compact purposes. The current list of participating jurisdictions is maintained at psypact.gov.
The Two-Step Application
Everything runs through ASPPB’s PSY|PRO portal. You first qualify for the IPC, which verifies your credentials across the compact network, and then activate TAP on top of it.
Step 1: Get the IPC
You will need to submit or arrange for:
- Official doctoral transcripts sent directly from your institution to ASPPB. Copies you send yourself are not accepted.
- EPPP score verification, requested through ASPPB.
- License verifications from every jurisdiction where you hold or have ever held a psychology license.
- Professional history entries in the portal covering work history, any past investigations, closed disciplinary cases, dates of licensure, and board-assigned identification numbers.
Accurate, complete disclosure matters. Gaps in your history and missing license verifications are the usual reasons applications stall. University transcripts and third-party verifications can take weeks on their own, so start gathering documents well before you need to practice.
Step 2: Activate TAP
Once the IPC is approved, you apply for TAP through the same PSY|PRO account. The last step is an electronic signature affirming that your information is accurate and that you will follow compact rules and the laws of any remote state where you practice. After ASPPB and the PSYPACT Commission process your submission, you receive email confirmation, and the boards in your remote states are notified electronically. You do not contact each state board separately.
What It Costs
Two fees go to ASPPB with the initial application:
- IPC application fee: $200
- TAP authorization fee: $40
Total upfront: $240. Renewal is cheaper. The IPC renewal fee is $50, and renewing the IPC and TAP together runs $90.
Keeping Your Authorization Current
Both the IPC and TAP must be renewed every year through your PSY|PRO account. ASPPB confirms during renewal that your home-state license is still active and unrestricted and that no new disciplinary actions have appeared. PSY|PRO sends reminders at 90, 60, and 30 days before your IPC expires.
Renewal review takes roughly three to four weeks, so treat the 90-day reminder as your working deadline rather than the expiration date. If the IPC lapses, TAP lapses with it, and practicing in a remote state without a current authorization is the same as practicing without a license there.
Rules While You’re Practicing in a Remote State
While practicing under TAP, you are bound by the remote state’s scope-of-practice laws, not your home state’s. If your home state permits a particular assessment or intervention and the remote state restricts it, the remote state’s rules control for the duration of your visit. Read the remote state’s practice act and board rules before you travel.
Complaints against TAP holders go to the psychologist’s home state, which keeps primary regulatory authority. The home-state board can discipline you in a way that affects both your license and your compact privileges, and a serious violation elsewhere can cost you the TAP authorization along with action at home.
Keep a careful log of your practice days in each remote state. The 30-day cap resets each calendar year. Once you cross it, you are practicing without authorization and need full licensure in that state.
Liability Insurance
The PSYPACT Commission does not set professional liability insurance requirements. Whether your existing malpractice policy follows you across state lines is a question for your carrier. Some policies are limited to the state where you are licensed. Confirm coverage in writing before you work in any remote state.
When You Need APIT Instead
TAP is only for in-person work. If you provide therapy, consultation, or assessments to clients physically located in other PSYPACT states by videoconference, phone, or other electronic means, you need APIT. The eligibility requirements overlap heavily with TAP: doctoral degree, EPPP score, clean disciplinary record, and home-state licensure in a PSYPACT member state. APIT has no 30-day limit because telepsychology does not involve physical presence in the remote state.
Many psychologists carry both. If you sometimes see clients in person out of state and sometimes follow up by video, TAP covers the trips and APIT covers the sessions. Both run through the same IPC at ASPPB, so most of the documentation effort is shared. APIT eligibility and fees are posted at psypact.gov.