Specialty Specific Requirements 

Before demonstrating education, training, and experience in OBCP, an applicant must first meet the general requirements of the American Board of Professional Psychology. These requirements may be found here. 

Applicants should provide evidence that they have attained the level of competence expected of a candidate for the ABOBCP through specific training in OBCP.

Applicants must provide evidence of the following:

1. Appropriate education or training in OBCP, such as coursework, continuing education, and/or retraining in OBCP;
2. Two (2) total calendar years of relevant postdoctoral experience in OBCP;
3. Three thousand (3,000) hours of relevant experience in OBCP areas.

The 3,000 hours described in Requirement 3 may be accumulated over more than the two calendar years referenced in Requirement 2.

• Example 1: The 3,000 hours may be accumulated over three years, with 1,000 hours from a predoctoral internship, 1,000 hours from a postdoctoral internship, and 1,000 hours from the second year of work experience.
• Example 2: The 3,000 hours of relevant OBCP experience may come from two years of postdoctoral experience, with 1,500 hours in Year 1 and 1,500 hours in Year 2.
• Example 3: The 3,000 hours may include 500 hours from a predoctoral internship, 500 hours from a postdoctoral internship, 1,000 hours from Year 2 of postdoctoral work experience, and 1,000 hours from Year 3 of postdoctoral work experience.

The ABOBCP recognizes that some applicants, especially those from health service provider backgrounds, may not have supervised internship experience in areas directly relevant to ABOBCP. In such cases, applicants should provide evidence in their initial application that they have attained the level of competence expected of a candidate for the ABOBCP through specific training in OBCP.

Additionally, applicants must be licensed in at least one state or jurisdiction in order to apply for and proceed through the review process.