ASPPB administered 9,191 EPPP exams in 2025, the most in at least a decade and nearly 50% more than in 2020. 3,750 of those sittings (41%) were retakes. How much a failed attempt costs depends heavily on where you are licensed: 24 of 60 jurisdictions cap attempts, five of them at two or fewer, and several make you wait months or years, reapply from scratch, or file a board-approved study plan before sitting again. With an integrated EPPP scheduled to replace the current exam in fall 2027, the practical move for anyone eligible now is to sit prepared, early enough that a retake, if you need one, still lands on the exam you studied for.
Each year the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards publishes ASPPB InFocus, its annual report on psychology licensure across the United States and Canada. The 2025 edition, released in July 2026, draws on survey responses covering 60 jurisdictions plus ASPPB’s own exam records. Most of its 430 pages are jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction requirements. The part that matters most to anyone preparing for the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology is a short section near the end, and one set of board answers buried in the appendix.
Read together, they say two things. More people are sitting for the EPPP than at any point in the last ten years, and a large share of them are sitting for a second or later time. And the rules that govern that second attempt vary so much from board to board that the same score can cost one candidate a month and another candidate two years.
The EPPP is busier than it has been in a decade
ASPPB’s ten-year count shows steady growth with one interruption. Volume climbed from 6,761 in 2016 to 8,487 in 2019, fell to 6,179 in 2020 when test centers closed, and has risen every year since. The 2025 total of 9,191 is 8% above the pre-pandemic peak.
The growth was uneven across the year. April, May, July, October, and December 2025 all ran well ahead of the same months in 2024, while March, June, August, September, and November ran behind. July 2025 was the busiest month in either year at 1,045 sittings, the only month to cross 1,000.
One caution on reading these numbers: ASPPB counts administrations. A candidate who sat twice in 2025 appears twice. That matters for the next figure.
3,750 of those sittings were retakes
InFocus splits each month of 2025 into first-time and repeat takers. Across the year, 5,441 sittings were first attempts and 3,750 were repeat attempts, so roughly four of every ten EPPP exams ASPPB delivered went to someone who had already taken it at least once.
The repeat share moved through the year. It was lowest in April, at 35%, and highest in the last four months: 45% in September, 46.5% in October, 44% in November, and 45.5% in December. For most of the fall, close to half the people in an EPPP testing room were sitting for the exam again.
This is not a failure rate, and it should not be read as one. Repeat sittings in 2025 include people who first failed in 2024 or earlier, and people who took the exam more than once during 2025, so there is no clean way to back a pass rate out of it. For pass-rate data, including how first-attempt results vary by program, see our earlier piece on EPPP pass rate trends and Triad’s national pass rates page. What the retake count does show is scale. About 3,750 times last year, a candidate paid for, scheduled, and sat an exam they had already sat, and in many jurisdictions that second attempt came with conditions.
What a missed attempt costs depends on your board
The EPPP is one national exam with one score scale, and 58 of the 60 jurisdictions in InFocus require it. What happens after a failing score is set locally, and the board answers in the report’s appendix show how far apart the rules sit.
According to InFocus, 24 jurisdictions cap the number of attempts. Of those, five allow two attempts or fewer, 16 allow three or four, and only two allow five or more. InFocus also reports that 47% of boards impose a waiting period once a candidate reaches the limit. Even where a board sets no cap, there is a ceiling on pace: ASPPB’s candidate handbook allows no more than four attempts in any 12-month period and recommends waiting about 90 days between attempts. Each attempt currently costs $691.88 in ASPPB and test-center fees ($600 plus a $91.88 appointment fee) before any board reapplication fee.
A sample of what boards reported:
| Jurisdiction | Attempt limit | After the limit, or after a failure |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 2 attempts | Two failures means a 2-year wait before applying again; retakes no sooner than 2 months after the prior attempt |
| Washington | 2 attempts | 30-day wait; candidate files an EPPP Retake Request Form |
| Alabama | 2 attempts per application (1-year candidacy) | New application, current fee, and updated professional references |
| Louisiana | 3 attempts within 4 years | 2-year waiting period |
| Nevada | 4 attempts, the fourth requiring board approval | Application denied; no reapplication for at least 18 months |
| Ohio | 9 attempts total, 4 in any 12 months | 30 days between attempts; 6-month wait after three straight failures; after nine, the application is permanently closed |
| Montana | Board rule (reported as “other”) | After two or more failures, the candidate must file and complete a board-approved plan for further training and experience before retaking |
| Texas | No fixed cap reported | An applicant whose application is denied must submit a board-approved study plan addressing the areas of deficiency before sitting again |
| Ontario | 4 attempts in a 12-month period | Registration Committee must approve a remediation plan before another attempt |
| Alberta | 4 attempts within 5 years | Moved to the canceled register; may reapply as a new applicant after 5 years, starting again at credentials evaluation |
Two patterns stand out. First, several boards treat repeated failure as a preparation problem rather than a scheduling one: Montana, Texas, Ontario, and New Brunswick all require some form of approved study, training, or remediation plan before a candidate can sit again. Second, the penalties in the strictest jurisdictions are measured in years. A candidate in Mississippi or Louisiana who runs out of attempts loses two years; in Alberta, five.
When you are allowed to sit matters too
Boards also disagree about when a candidate may take the EPPP in the first place. In 24 jurisdictions the answer is after the degree is granted. Eleven allow it during the postdoctoral year, and four allow it before the degree, during graduate school or internship. Nine require candidates to finish all supervised experience first: Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Utah.
That last group is where a failed attempt hurts most. When the exam can overlap with the postdoc, a retake often fits inside time the candidate would have spent in supervision anyway. When it comes after every supervised hour is complete, the exam is the last gate between the candidate and a license, and each retake delays licensure directly. Our state-by-state licensure timeline analysis covers how these steps stack up.
The EPPP is also rarely the only exam. InFocus reports that 41 of 60 jurisdictions (68%) require a jurisprudence exam on their own laws and rules, and 16 (27%) require an oral exam. On the EPPP itself, 25 boards use ASPPB’s recommended passing point and 21 specify a scaled score of 500.
The exam changes in fall 2027
Timing has one more dimension this year. In February 2026 ASPPB published content specifications for an integrated EPPP that combines knowledge and skills assessment in a single-day exam, with beta testing in spring 2027 and live administration from fall 2027. Sample exams on the new blueprint are due in fall 2026. ASPPB has said the current EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) administered in 2026 and 2027 will keep its published blueprint.
For a candidate eligible to test now, that creates a planning question. Someone who sits in the first half of 2027 and needs a retake may find the retake window running into the transition, and ASPPB has not yet published the exact date the current exam stops being offered. Sitting well prepared in late 2026 or early 2027 leaves room for a second attempt, under the four-in-twelve-months limit, on the same exam you studied for. Candidates who are further out should expect to prepare for the integrated format.
For employers and training directors
Many EPPP candidates are already working, often as postdoctoral fellows, psychological associates, or unlicensed staff in agencies and group practices. For their employers, each retake has a concrete cost: months more before the clinician can practice independently, bill under their own license, or supervise others. In the nine jurisdictions that only allow the EPPP after supervised experience is complete, that delay lands after the organization has already invested in the full supervision period.
Several boards already require structured study after a failure. Organizations that provide structured prep before the first attempt get ahead of that requirement and protect the supervision investment. If you are budgeting for it, our guide to funding sources for licensure prep covers Section 127 education assistance, workforce grants, and other ways employers pay for exam prep.
How Triad fits
AATBS, Triad’s exam prep brand, was founded in 1976 around a single product: EPPP prep. Its EPPP program maps every practice item to ASPPB’s current blueprint, and its diagnostic and midpoint mock exams show candidates their weak domains before the scored attempt rather than after it. For organizations, Triad’s employer solutions put prep, continuing education, and completion reporting in one place, and our Path to Licensure tool maps exams, supervision, and board requirements by state.
Preparing for the EPPP?
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Explore EPPP Exam Prep →Sources & further reading
- ASPPB Centre for Data and Analysis on Psychology Licensure, ASPPB InFocus 2025 (Focus: EPPP; Examinations; Appendix B, questions 23 to 31; Endnotes). asppbcentre.org
- ASPPB, EPPP Candidate Handbook (retake limits). asppb.net
- ASPPB, EPPP Registration Fees. asppb.net
- ASPPB, ASPPB Announces Content Specifications for the EPPP Operational in Fall of 2027 (February 11, 2026). asppb.net
- California Board of Psychology, EPPP Part 2/Integrated EPPP. psychology.ca.gov
- Triad, EPPP Pass Rate Trends 2026. triadhq.com/blog
- Triad, How Long Does Licensure Actually Take? triadhq.com/blog
This article summarizes board-reported data published by ASPPB and is general information, not legal or licensing advice. Attempt limits, waiting periods, and eligibility rules change and vary by license type. Always confirm current requirements with your psychology licensing board before scheduling the EPPP.