Montana PSY Requirements & Hours Tracker

Montana’s “Psychologist Licensed by Experience (Senior)” credential is a pathway for seasoned doctoral‑level psychologists who have practiced extensively in other U.S. states or Canadian provinces to become licensed under the Montana Board of Psychologists.

Below is a step‑by‑step guide focused specifically on this senior “licensed by experience” route, with emphasis on experience, hours, and how Montana defines them.

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1. What this license category is (and is not)

Montana lists two main psychologist pathways on its Board site:

• Psychologist – the standard route, based on doctoral education plus 3,200 hours of supervised experience (pre‑ and post‑doctoral), national exam, and a Montana jurisprudence course. (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)
• Psychologist Licensed by Experience (Senior) – an experience‑based route for long‑practicing, already‑licensed psychologists from other U.S. or Canadian jurisdictions. It relies on years of licensed practice and clinical experience, not on re‑documenting specific supervised hours. (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

The “PSY Psychologist Licensed by Experience (Senior)” credential is not an early‑career supervised‑hours license. It is intended for applicants with a long, clean practice history.

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2. Core eligibility requirements for “Psychologist Licensed by Experience (Senior)”

From the Montana Board’s own license‑information page and the underlying licensure‑by‑experience statute, a Senior Psychologist Licensed by Experience applicant must show all of the following: (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

2.1 Doctoral degree

• You must hold a doctoral degree in psychology that meets Montana’s psychologist degree requirements (referenced in Montana Code Annotated 37‑17‑302).
• The Board’s summary for this category simply specifies: “Doctoral Degree” under “Psychologist Licensed by Experience (Senior)” education requirements. (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

In practice, this means a doctoral program in psychology of the type Montana accepts for its standard psychologist license (e.g., APA‑accredited clinical psychology or a program meeting equivalent standards under Board rule).

2.2 Licensure history and length of practice

For the Senior license, the Board requires that you: (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

1. Have been licensed or certified to practice psychology in a U.S. state or Canadian jurisdiction that has a formal disciplinary process.
2. Have held such licensure for at least 20 years.
3. Within the 15 years immediately prior to applying in Montana, have accumulated at least 10 years of clinical experience.

The general licensure‑by‑experience statute also requires that an applicant has actively practiced psychology under a license for at least 5 of the 7 years immediately before application, and that the license is from a jurisdiction with its own disciplinary system. (law.justia.com)

Taken together, the Senior pathway is essentially a “high‑threshold” licensure‑by‑experience option: long‑term licensure (20+ years) plus substantial recent clinical work (10 of the last 15 years), overlaying the statute’s baseline requirement that you were actively practicing for 5 of the last 7 years.

2.3 Disciplinary history

For the Senior license, the Montana Board states that the applicant must not have been subject to any disciplinary action during the entire period of licensure. (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

The statute also requires that the applicant: (law.justia.com)

• Is not facing any pending criminal or administrative charges related to unprofessional conduct or impairment, and
• Has not been administratively disciplined for unprofessional conduct or impairment in any jurisdiction within the 7 years immediately before applying in Montana.

2.4 Age and character

Montana statute requires that licensure‑by‑experience applicants: (law.justia.com)

• Are 18 years of age or older, and
• Are of good moral character.

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3. Experience and hours: what Montana actually requires for the Senior license

3.1 Does Montana require a specific number of hours (e.g., 1,500 direct / 1,500 supervised) for the Senior path?

No.

For the Psychologist Licensed by Experience (Senior) license, the Montana Board does not specify a numeric hour requirement (such as 1,500 direct service hours plus 1,500 supervised hours). Instead, it uses time‑in‑practice criteria, as summarized on the Board’s own license‑information page:

• 20+ years licensed in a U.S. or Canadian jurisdiction, and
• At least 10 years of clinical experience in the 15 years before application. (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

The Board does not break these years into “direct” vs. “supervised” hour categories for the Senior license. The assumption is that you already satisfied your original jurisdiction’s supervised‑experience requirements long ago and have since maintained a substantial, active clinical practice.

3.2 How Montana defines supervised and clinical experience in general

Although the Senior route does not require you to re‑document supervised hours, Montana law and rule do define supervised and clinical experience for the standard psychologist license. This is useful context, and you can expect that your original license would have involved something broadly comparable.

Under the Board’s rules for psychologist licensure (not specific to the Senior category): (regulations.justia.com)

• Supervised experience must total at least 3,200 hours over two calendar years.
• Up to 1,600 hours may be predoctoral, obtained after the master’s degree during an APA‑approved or equivalent internship.
• At least 1,600 hours must be postdoctoral, after you complete all doctoral requirements.
• During supervised practice, the supervisee must receive at least one hour of in‑person or approved telehealth supervision per week.
• The supervisee must spend at least 25% of supervised time in direct clinical services (i.e., direct patient or client contact).
• No more than 6 months (800 hours) of the supervised experience may consist of research or teaching rather than clinical service.

These hour‑based requirements apply to the regular Montana psychologist license, not to the Senior licensed‑by‑experience category. They simply indicate what Montana considers an acceptable supervised training structure.

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4. Examination requirement for the Senior license

Examination requirements differ sharply between the standard and Senior routes:

• Standard Psychologist License

  • Must pass the national written examination (EPPP) and
  • Must complete the Montana Board of Psychologists jurisdictional course (jurisprudence). (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

• Psychologist Licensed by Experience (Senior)

  • Only the Montana jurisdictional course is required; there is no additional national written exam listed for this category on the Board’s summary page. (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

In other words, as a Senior licensed‑by‑experience applicant, you are tested only on Montana‑specific laws and rules, not re‑examined via the EPPP.

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5. Fees, renewal, and continuing obligations

5.1 Application fee

For Psychologist and Psychologist Licensed by Experience (Senior), the Board shows an application fee of $175. (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

(There is also a separate $25 postdoctoral supervision application fee shown on the same page, but that applies to those seeking supervised postdoctoral status, not to Senior applicants.)

5.2 Renewal cycle and fees

Once licensed (whether by experience or standard route), all Montana psychologists follow the same renewal schedule: (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

• Renewal window: November 1 – December 31 each year.
• Late renewal: Online late renewal allowed until February 14 (45 days after December 31).
• Renewal fee:
  • Standard active renewal: $600.
  • Late renewal: an additional $600 penalty, for a total of $1,200.

These amounts apply to psychologists generally, including those licensed under the Senior experience pathway.

5.3 Continuing education (CE)

Montana’s continuing‑education rule for psychologists (ARM 24.189.2110) establishes: (regulations.justia.com)

• 40 hours of CE every 2 years,
• Of which 2 hours must be in ethics and 1 hour in suicide prevention.
• CE is reported on a two‑year cycle that ends on the renewal date in odd‑numbered years.

Psychologists must keep CE records for at least 3 years after each reporting period and produce them if the Board requests an audit.

These CE requirements apply equally to Senior licensees.

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6. Step‑by‑step application outline for the Senior “Licensed by Experience” path

Based on the Board’s information and the Montana licensure‑by‑experience statute, an applicant for the Psychologist Licensed by Experience (Senior) credential would typically proceed as follows: (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

1. Confirm basic eligibility

   • You hold an acceptable doctoral degree in psychology.
   • You have been licensed as a psychologist in a U.S. or Canadian jurisdiction for at least 20 years.
   • In the last 15 years, you have at least 10 years of clinical experience.
   • You have actively practiced for 5 of the last 7 years before applying.
   • You have no disciplinary actions at any point during your licensure, and no recent criminal/administrative charges or discipline for unprofessional conduct or impairment.

2. Obtain the official checklist and application forms

   • From the Board’s “Psychologist and Psychologist by Experience” page, download the Psychologist by Experience Application Form and the corresponding checklist, which provide the granular filing requirements (e.g., exact documentation formats, notarization, reference forms). (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

3. Arrange verification of your out‑of‑state (or Canadian) license

   • Ask your current and prior licensing boards to send verification of licensure and disciplinary history directly to the Montana Board, in the manner they specify (often via secure electronic verification or sealed original forms).

4. Prepare proof of experience

   • Compile documentation showing:
     • Your total licensure duration (20+ years), and
     • Your clinical practice of at least 10 years in the last 15, plus evidence that you have actively practiced for 5 of the last 7 years.
   • The Board’s checklist usually specifies acceptable forms of proof (e.g., employment verification letters, practice affidavits, CVs with corroborating letters).

5. Submit application and fee

   • File the completed Psychologist by Experience (Senior) application with the $175 application fee to the Montana Board of Psychologists. (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

6. Complete the Montana jurisdictional course

   • Once the application is accepted as complete, you will be scheduled for or given access to the jurisdictional (jurisprudence) course that covers Montana statutes and rules governing psychology practice.
   • Successful completion of this course is the only examination component listed for Senior licensure.

7. Receive license and move into regular renewal/CE cycle

   • After Board approval and completion of the jurisdictional requirement, you are issued the PSY Psychologist Licensed by Experience (Senior) license.
   • From that point, you follow the standard psychologist renewal and CE rules (annual renewal window, biennial 40‑hour CE requirement with ethics and suicide‑prevention components).

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7. Key distinctions from early‑career, hour‑based licensure

To directly address the type of hours you asked about:

• The standard Montana psychologist route is explicitly hour‑based:

  • 3,200 total supervised hours over at least two calendar years,
  • With 1,600 postdoctoral hours minimum,
  • At least 25% of all supervised time in direct clinical services,
  • A cap of 800 hours on research/teaching activities, and
  • Weekly in‑person or telehealth supervision. (regulations.justia.com)

• The Psychologist Licensed by Experience (Senior) route does not break down practice into a set number of direct vs. supervised hours. Instead, it hinges on:

  • 20+ years of licensed practice in a qualifying jurisdiction,
  • 10 years of clinical work in the last 15 years,
  • 5 of the last 7 years in active practice, and
  • A completely clean disciplinary record for the entire licensure period. (boards.bsd.dli.mt.gov)

If you are looking for a numerical split like “1,500 hours of direct experience and 1,500 hours of supervised experience,” Montana only uses that level of granularity for initial licensure pathways, not for the Senior Licensed by Experience category.