Georgia PROV-PERMIT Requirements & Hours Tracker

Georgia Provisional Psychology License (PROV‑PERMIT) in Georgia: Requirements and Hour Breakdown

In Georgia, what the online system calls a “PROV‑PERMIT” corresponds to the Board’s non‑renewable provisional license for psychologists. This license is used while you complete your postdoctoral supervised work experience (SWE) required for full licensure.

All of the detailed requirements come from the Georgia State Board of Examiners of Psychologists rules, primarily Chapter 510‑2 (Licensure by Examination) and Chapter 510‑9 (Licenses of Limited Duration).(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

Below is a step‑by‑step breakdown of what you must have and what hours are required.

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1. What the Georgia provisional license is

The Board describes the provisional license this way:

• The Board may issue a provisional license to an applicant for a permanent license who is “in the process of completing the postdoctoral supervised work experience requirement.”
• The provisional license can be granted only to someone who has passed all written examinations and completed all other requirements for permanent licensure except:
  • the postdoctoral supervised work experience (SWE), and
  • the oral examination.(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

In Rule 510‑2‑.01, the Board also calls it a “non‑renewable provisional license” that is “valid for up to two (2) years from date of issuance.”(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

Functionally, this is the license Georgia issues once you are otherwise license‑ready but still need to complete your postdoc SWE and then pass the oral exam.

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2. Prerequisites you must meet before the Board will issue a provisional license

Before you can hold a PROV‑PERMIT / provisional license, you must already meet all of the standard entry‑level licensure requirements except SWE and the oral exam. That includes:

2.1 Doctoral degree requirements

You must have:

• “A doctoral degree from an American Psychological Association (APA) or Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) accredited doctoral program in applied psychology,”
  or from an I/O or international program as defined in the Board’s education rule.(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

(Applied psychology here includes clinical, counseling, school, I/O, and related APA/CPA‑recognized specialties.)

2.2 Predoctoral internship requirements and hours

For licensure (and thus before a provisional license can be issued), you must have completed an internship that meets Board criteria. The Board’s “Internship Requirements” rule specifies:(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

• Total internship hours:

  • Either an APA/CPA‑accredited or APPIC member internship of at least 2,000 hours, or
  • A non‑accredited/non‑APPIC internship that still meets explicit Board standards.

• Direct client/patient contact during internship (non‑I/O specialties):

  • “The intern must spend at least 500 hours in direct contact with clients/patients.” (I/O interns are exempt from the 500‑hour direct contact minimum.)(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

• Time frame for internship:

  • For non‑I/O internships, the Board requires that the internship be completed in no less than 11 months and no more than 24 months after it starts; I/O internships may take up to 48 months.(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

• Other key internship features (abbreviated):

  • Total of 2,000 hours of organized training experiences appropriate to your program specialty.(rules.sos.georgia.gov)
  • Supervision assumptions (e.g., at least 80% of supervision provided by one or more licensed psychologists, weekly in‑person supervision, etc.).(rules.sos.georgia.gov)
  • Practicum hours for which course credit is awarded cannot be counted toward the internship hours.(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

So, before you ever reach PROV‑PERMIT status, you already must have:

• 2,000 internship hours, including ≥ 500 direct client/patient hours (unless in I/O).

2.3 Examination requirements (before provisional status)

To be eligible for a provisional license, you must have:

1. Passed the two‑part EPPP (national licensing exam):

   • The Board requires passing “a two‑part national licensing exam” (EPPP Parts 1 and 2) and accepts the ASPPB passing standard.(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

2. Passed the Georgia Jurisprudence Examination:

   • A “timed, multiple choice, closed book Jurisprudence Examination covering current law, rules and regulations, and general provisions.”(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

3. Completed the criminal background check and the full PLUS application through ASPPB, as required in Rule 510‑2‑.01.(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

By rule, the only remaining pieces when you seek the provisional license should be:

• Completing the 1,500‑hour postdoctoral supervised work experience (SWE), and
• Passing the Board‑administered oral examination.(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

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3. Postdoctoral supervised work experience (SWE) hours required

The SWE is the core hour requirement you complete while holding the provisional license.

3.1 Total hours and definition

The Board states explicitly:

• “Licensure requires 1500 hours of [postdoctoral] supervised work experience (SWE) that is deemed acceptable to the Board.”(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

This entire 1,500 hours is supervised experience; it is not 1,500 direct + 1,500 supervised as in your hypothetical example.

3.2 Required distribution of those 1,500 SWE hours

Within the 1,500 hours:

1. Minimum client/patient involvement hours

   • “The content of the SWE must include a minimum of 500 hours of client/patient involvement,” which the Board defines to include:
     • face‑to‑face client/patient contact,
     • document review,
     • test scoring,
     • note/report writing, or
     • any professional activity “which directly relates to the treatment of or services provided for the client/patient.”(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

   So you must have at least 500 of the 1,500 SWE hours in client‑focused work (broadly defined).

2. Minimum proportion of client‑related professional activity

   • For I/O fellows specifically, the Board requires: “At least one half of the SWE hours must be spent in professional psychological activities with or on behalf of a client (person or organization).”(rules.sos.georgia.gov)
   • That requirement is written under the section addressing postdoctoral I/O supervision, but it effectively sets a benchmark for how much of the SWE must be client‑directed professional work.

   In practice, this means that a substantial proportion of the full 1,500 hours must be professional psychological activities with or on behalf of clients, not just administrative tasks.

3. Time frame for completing SWE

   • The SWE “must be completed in no less than 11 months and no more than 24 months after its inception.”
   • Supervision “begins on the date the contract is signed by the supervisor(s) and fellow.”(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

4. Documentation/log requirements

   • “All SWE hours must be documented on a weekly log which is co‑signed by the fellow and supervisor.”
   • The log must record at least:
     • professional activities/tasks performed,
     • total hours worked that week,
     • hours of client/patient involvement that week,
     • hours of individual supervision that week.(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

5. Alternative way to meet SWE requirement

   • Completion of “1500 hours of supervised experience in no less than 11 months and no more than 24 months in a formal postdoctoral fellowship that is APA accredited or APPIC member or acceptable to the Board” is automatically deemed to satisfy the SWE requirement, and no SWE log is required for those formal fellowships.(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

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4. Supervision requirements during the 1,500‑hour SWE

The SWE hours must not only be accumulated; they must meet a specific supervision structure. The Board’s rule provides:(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

1. Written supervision contract before you start

   • “The postdoctoral supervisor(s) and fellow must enter into a written and signed supervision contract prior to the inception of the SWE.”
   • The contract has to spell out:
     • work experience goals,
     • the content of the experience, and
     • “the criteria for ensuring the quality and quantity of the fellow’s work.”

2. Minimum supervision ratio

   • “The fellow must meet with the supervisor individually to discuss cases and other professional activities at least one hour for each 30 hours of SWE.”
   • The supervision must occur during the week services are provided or the week after.
   • “Supervision must be individual, and may be accomplished through in person meetings or real time, face to face video teleconferencing.” (I/O fellows are exempt from this 1:30 ratio requirement.)(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

   For a full 1,500 hours of SWE, this supervision ratio means at least 50 hours of individual supervision.

3. End‑of‑experience documentation

   • At the end of SWE, all supervisors must attest to the adequacy of the experience on the Board’s “postdoctoral supervised work experience affidavit of supervisor” (Form G).(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

4. Supervisor qualifications

   • Supervisors must meet Board requirements for internship/SWE supervisors (licensed psychologists meeting certain criteria, not under current discipline, etc.).(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

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5. How the provisional license (PROV‑PERMIT) fits into the SWE

5.1 When you apply for the provisional license

In the Application for Licensure rule, the Board describes a specific process for the non‑renewable provisional license:(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

• Eligibility:

  • “The Board may issue a non‑renewable provisional license to an applicant who has passed the written examinations and who has completed all other requirements for licensure except the post‑doctoral supervised work experience requirement and the oral examination.”

• How to designate the provisional license on the application:

  • The applicant shall “choose the additional license type of ‘Provisional License’ on the same Application Initiation Form the applicant is submitting to apply for their two (2) year license to practice psychology.”(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

• Validity period:

  • “The non‑renewable provisional license is valid for up to two (2) years from date of issuance. An additional fee is required – see fee schedule.”(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

In Chapter 510‑9 the Board reiterates that a provisional license will expire in 24 months unless the Board grants an exception or the permanent license is issued first, and “the provisional license shall not be renewable.”

5.2 Scope and supervision while on provisional license

The Board describes the scope of a provisional license as follows:

• “A Provisional license carries all the weight and privileges of licensure except for the requirement of continued supervision for all professional activities throughout the experience (See supervised work experience).”(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

And in Chapter 510‑9:

• Individuals holding a provisional license “are restricted to the stipulations of the supervised work experience requirement.”

In practical terms:

• You can function as a psychologist in Georgia, but every professional activity during the SWE must still occur under the Board‑required supervision structure (contract, log, supervision ratio, etc.).
• The Board may revoke a provisional license if “the requirements of the supervised work experience are not being satisfactorily met.” Revocation is not treated as a “contested case” under the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act, but the provisional licensee has the right to appear before the Board.(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

5.3 Use of provisional licensees as supervisors of practicum students

In its education rule, the Board notes that:

• A person holding a provisional psychology license in Georgia may supervise predoctoral practicum students, but only if that supervision is part of the provisional licensee’s own SWE and therefore also under the provisional licensee’s supervisor.(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

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6. Putting the hour requirements together

To understand the hour structure that ultimately leads from provisional status (PROV‑PERMIT) to full licensure as a psychologist in Georgia:

1. Predoctoral internship (completed before provisional license):

   • 2,000 total internship hours,
   • with at least 500 hours of direct client/patient contact for non‑I/O specialties,
   • completed in 11–24 months (48 months for I/O).(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

2. Postdoctoral Supervised Work Experience (SWE) (typically under provisional license):

   • 1,500 total hours of postdoctoral SWE,
   • including at least 500 hours of client/patient involvement (broadly defined as direct client work and directly related professional activities),
   • completed in 11–24 months,
   • documented in a weekly co‑signed log,
   • with at least 1 hour of individual supervision per 30 SWE hours (i.e., ≥ 50 hours of individual supervision over 1,500 hours),
   • and meeting all other content and supervision standards in Rule 510‑2‑.05.(rules.sos.georgia.gov)

Georgia’s Board does not phrase its requirements as “X hours of direct experience plus Y hours of supervised experience” independent of one another. Instead, it specifies:

• A 2,000‑hour supervised internship with a built‑in requirement of ≥ 500 direct client hours, and
• A 1,500‑hour supervised postdoctoral experience, of which at least 500 hours must be client/patient involvement and a substantial proportion must be professional psychological services with or on behalf of clients.

Completion of those hours—together with all examinations, including the oral exam—leads from provisional license (PROV‑PERMIT) to full, permanent licensure as a psychologist in Georgia.