Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists

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Renewal of License

Licensees of the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists are required to renew their licenses annually.

There are two options for renewal:

(1)   Online, or

(2)   Submission of paper renewal forms

A.  Online Renewal

Note: Currently, the online renewal system will only support the following browsers: Internet Explorer v7 and v8 and FireFox v2 and v3. All other versions of these two browsers and all other browsers will not work with the system at this time.

Eligibility Requirements for Online Renewal

You are eligible for online renewal of your license if:

Your license is active and within 60 days of expiration.  You may not renew an inactive license online, or go inactive online.

            Your license has not been expired for more than one year.

You have obtained at least 12 hours of continuing education since your last renewal. *

Your license number and social security number match the information on file at the Board’s office.

 You are not in default on a guaranteed student loan.

            You are not in default of any court-ordered child support payments.

            You have not been convicted of a felony since your last renewal.

If you do not meet the above conditions, you are ineligible to renew online and must submit your renewal form, fees and other documentation as required by mail.

* If you have held an initial license with this Board for less than a full year, continuing education hours are not required for renewal.  Please enter the following information in the continuing education fields:

Enter “Exempt” in the Course Title field;

Enter “0” in the Course Hours field;

Enter today’s date in the Course Date field.

If you hold more than one type of license with this Board, each license is required to be renewed separately online. However, if you are renewing both licenses one after the other, after you have entered the CE information for the first license, then when you come to the CE requested information for the second license, under Course Name provide just the number of the first license renewed, under Course Hours indicate the total number of hours, and under Date add today’s date.

If you have a name change, before you renew your license online, you must submit copies of legal documents indicating the name change to the Board’s office.  Please allow two weeks for the Board to process these changes before attempting to renew online.

If you are claiming exemption from the $200 professional fee because you work exclusively in an exempt setting, you must fax or mail the Statement of Exemption form to the Board’s office prior to renewing online.  Please allow two weeks for the Board to process this form before attempting to renew online.

 

If you are renewing a license which has expired (but not for more than one year), you will be charged the following late fees:

 

For Licensed Specialists in School Psychology:

One to ninety days                                           $105

Ninety-one days to less than one year             $210

 

For all other licenses:

One to ninety days                                           $225

Ninety-one days to less than one year             $450

 

Instructions for Accessing the Online Renewal Application System

 

If you choose to renew online, you must first register an account with the online renewal application system.  Please note that this is a new system as of 5-31-11, and therefore if you registered on the former system it will NOT carry over to the new system. You must register again. Registration is a one time only process.  You will need an email address to register, and this email address will become your user id.  A temporary password will be sent to this email address, and you will be asked to select a new password when you first attempt to login.

Once you have registered an account, and logged in to the system, you may add your license(s) to your registered account.  There are two license types to choose from:

1)      Psychology – LP, PLP, LPA (Licensed Psychologist, Provisionally Licensed Psychologist, Licensed Psychological Associate)

2)      Psychology - LSSP (Licensed Specialist in School Psychology)

If you have more than one license with this Board, you can add both licenses at the same time, by selecting either one of the above options.

You will need the following information in order to register:

1.                  Your social security number(no dashes);

2.                  Birthdate(in mm/dd/yyyy format); and

3.                  Zip code(Address of Record) ***

If any of the data you enter does not match the data currently in the system, you will not be able to establish an account and will need to contact the Board office during normal business hours.

If your current Address of Record does not have a zip code (foreign addresses), you CANNOT use the online renewal system.  You must download a generic renewal form and continuing education form from the Board’s website and mail it in with your payment.

Once you have registered an account and added your license(s) to this registration, you may begin the renewal application process.

*** The zip code you enter must match EXACTLY the one the Board has on file as Address of Record.  If it includes a 4 digit extension, then it must be entered as such.  If it does not include a 4 digit extension, then it cannot be entered with one.  You can find the Board’s current Address of Record on your current annual license permit.  If you do not have access to this document, you may use the Public Search feature of the online renewal system to access your current Address of Record with this Board.

If you are eligible to renew online and wish to proceed to the online renewal application, click on the following link:

Link to renew online.

B. General Information for Renewal of License

 

(1)   Paper Renewal forms,

(2)   Continuing Education,

(3)   Policy on Ethics Course Guidelines)

 

Click on links to download renewal forms:
Renewal Form (all licensure types)
CE Declaration Form (all licensure types)

Licensed and Provisionally Licensed Psychologists who work exclusively in an exempt facility and who wish to renew ONLINE, should first submit the $200 professional fee exemption form to the Board office. This form may be downloaded here. [Exemption form (PDF)]

Licensed psychologists must review or update their online profile before renewing their licenses online.  This profile system may be accessed through the following link:  Professional profiles.

Licensees of the Board are required to renew their licenses annually. At least 30 days in advance of the renewal date, licensees are mailed a reminder postcard that they need to renew. These two forms must be completed and the correct renewal fee submitted to the Board with a postmark on or before the expiration date.

Without a current renewal in hand, a licensee may not practice legally in Texas. Therefore, licensees should submit their renewals in a timely manner so that they receive their renewal cards before the expiration of their licenses.

Continuing Education:

All licensees of the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists are required to complete 12 hours of continuing education units annually in accordance with the Act and the rules. Beginning with June 2004 renewals, three (3) of the 12 hours must be in ethics, the Board's Rules of Conduct, or professional responsibility.

Failure to submit the required continuing education within 45 days after the expiration date will result in the filing of a complaint against the licensee and an investigation by the Board. The complaint is investigated, regardless of whether the licensee eventually complies with the continuing education requirements and/or the renewal process.

10% of each type of license is audited automatically on a random basis by the computer. These licensees are required to submit proof of their continuing education with their declaration form and their renewal form and fees. It is possible for a licensee to be audited two years or more in succession, even though the audits are randomly generated. Also, an irregularity in complying with the continuing education requirement could result in a manual audit for which the licensee must submit proof of the continuing education received.

A licensee who does not renew his or her license by the expiration date is subject to penalty fees when the license is renewed. However, after one year, a non-renewed (delinquent) license may not be renewed and is considered void. A licensee may not practice legally with a non-renewed license.

Requirements for renewals are set by the Act and by the rules. Licensees, who after reading the Act and rules still have questions about the renewal process, should contact the Board office.

Board rule 461.11.

Policy On Ethics Course Guidelines

  1. Ethics Course Guidelines for Psychologists and Providers:
    1. Material suitable for CE credit is that which reflects on the directives of the TSBEP and or the guidelines established by APA, NASP or other organizations of professional psychologists. Courses that focus on bases for ethical decision making and/or problem-solving with diverse groups, contexts and situations are particularly relevant to this category of CE.
    2. Professional Ethics concerns conduct and practice when engaged in professional work. Any code may be considered to be a formalization of experience into a set of rules. A professional group adopts a code in order to define and promote its purposes and activities – ethical boundaries are established in order to regulate practice in a way that is acceptable to its incumbents.
    3. Codes of Ethics are concerned with a range of issues designed to set out the ideals and responsibilities of the profession. Ethics requirements are intended to provide assistance in determining appropriate decision-making and behavior, improve consistency, and provide a minimum acceptable level of practice.
    4. Examples of acceptable continuing education courses/topics could include: “Update on new and revised TSBEP rules” or “Informed consent with geriatric populations." Examples of unacceptable continuing education courses/topics include: “Diagnostic indicators for…” or “Medical model implications for the practice of psychology."
       
  2. The following may be considered by the Board Staff in determining whether a particular Continuing Education course may be counted for the purposes of the ethics requirement:
    1. Does the title of the designated CE experience include the word or derivations of “ethics” “legal,” “rules,” “regulation,” "risk management," or other conceptually related terms?
    2. Does the title of the CE activity suggest that the focus was to enhance or improve practice that is consistent with lawful, regulated and/or ethical practice of psychology (as opposed to new, elaborated or improved techniques of practice)?
    3. Is it clear from the title or course description (for audited CEs) that the course or activity was designed to enhance or upgrade professional skills or knowledge relative to ethical practice of psychology as regulated by the Rules of the TSBEP?
      Effective: November 2003