History

The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB)® is proud to celebrate our 65th Anniversary!

As we commemorate this milestone year, we invite you to explore our comprehensive history highlighting 65 years of innovation, collaboration, and commitment to protecting the public.

Founded in 1961 as the American Association of State Psychology Boards (AASPB), later renamed, The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB)®, the organization began with a visionary goal to strengthen public protection by supporting psychology licensing boards and facilitating mobility for psychologists across the United States and Canada. One of our earliest initiatives was the creation of a standardized examination for those aspiring to become licensed psychologists.

Honoring 65 years of ASPPB: Advancing psychology licensure through decades of innovation, collaboration, and commitment to public protection in psychology.
ASPPB History: The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) proudly announces the beginning of its 65th anniversary celebration

Inception and Growth of the EPPP

ASPPB created the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP)® in 1965 to serve as the bedrock of the early mobility movement, which enabled psychologists to move from one member jurisdiction to another without being relicensed. By the mid-1980s, most jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada had adopted the EPPP as the entry-level exam for licensure at the independent practice level.

In 2001, ASPPB began to offer the EPPP in a computer administered format, which is the norm in almost all the jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada today. Today, the exam is among the most researched, validated, and defensible professional exams among all the professions.

ASPPB’s Engagement in the Psychological Community

As ASPPB grew in membership and reputation, it enhanced its value to the professional psychology community with additional licensure and certification programs, research, insights, and advocacy. Our staff and Board of Directors now support 66 member jurisdictions, 28 committees and task forces each fiscal year.

The Association has liaison relationships with many organizations. Here is a comprehensive list of those organizations.  

  • American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP)
  • American Psychological Association (APA) Council of Representatives
  • American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS)
  • APA American Society for the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy (Division 55)
  • APA Board of Education Affairs (BEA)
  • APA Board of Professional Affairs (BPA)
  • APA Commission on Accreditation (CoA)
  • APA Committee on Early Career Psychologists (CECP)
  • APA Council of Chairs of Training Councils (CCTC)
  • APA Council of Executives of State, Provincial and Territorial Psychological Associations (CESPPA)
  • APA Ethics Code Task Force
  • APA Office of International Affairs (OIA)
  • APA Practice and SPTA Leadership Conference (PSLC)
  • APA Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Division 14)
  • APA Society of Consulting Psychology (APA Division 13)
  • Association of Canadian Psychology Regulatory Organizations (ACPRO)
  • Association of Counseling Center Training Agencies (ACCTA)
  • Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC)
  • Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Programs (CCPPP)
  • Canadian Psychological Association (CPA)
  • Canadian Psychological Association Accreditation Panel
  • Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs (CCPTP)
  • Council of Specialties in Professional Psychology (CoS)
  • Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology (CUDCP)
  • Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
  • Federation of Associations of Regulatory Boards (FARB)
  • National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology (NCSPP)
  • National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology (NR)
  • PSYPACT® Commission
  • The American Insurance Trust (The Trust)

ASPPB Awards

Since the 1990s, the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards has recognized individuals and entities for outstanding contributions to organizations that regulate and enhance the practice of psychology at the regional, national, and international levels. ASPPB awards the following:

Asher R. Pacht Distinguished Service Award

Ming Fisher Board Administrator/Registrar Award

Norma P. Simon Regulatory Service Award

ASPPB Distinguished Jurisdiction Award 

ASPPB State and Provincial Service Award

ASPPB Fellows

For information on the 2025 ASPPB award recipients, visit our Newsroom.

Contact us to learn more about ASPPB membership.