North Carolina

In This Section

The Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) credential is accepted for a continuing professional license issued through the SEA to practice school psychology in NC 

SEA Credential:

School Psychologist (Professional Educator's License - School Psychology)

Minimum Requirements:

  • Advanced degree in school psychology
  • Completion of program in school psychology (minimum 60 graduate semester hours, including internship [specialist minimum 1200 hours; doctoral minimum 1500 hours]). At least 600 hours of the internship experience must be in a school setting
  • Qualifying score of 147 or higher on the Praxis School Psychologist exam

Eligibility for Provisional Licensing:
Provisional licenses are issued only at the request of the employing LEA (public school unit). To be eligible for a provisional license, the individual must be assigned in the license area. Specific eligibility requirements for provisional licensing include:

  • completion of all program requirements at the advanced level except for the thesis or internship
  • written confirmation from the college/university at which the individual has matriculated concurring with the individual's employment

Follow the step-by-step instructions to submit an application through the NCDPI Online Licensure System.

Continuing Education Requirements:

Renewal occurs every 5 years and requires the accrual of 8 Continuing Education Units (80 hours of continuing professional development); 3 (30 hours) of which need to be content specific to the professional discipline area. Find out more about renewal requirements.

Scope of Practice:
The NC State Board of Education approved NC Professional School Psychology Standards and School Psychologist Evaluation Process are based on a comprehensive program of school psychological services derived from the NASP Practice Model.  In NC, practice outside of the public school setting (including private schools) requires a license issued through the NC Psychology Board.

SEA main website: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/
SEA School Psychology Website: https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/classroom-resources/academic-standards/programs-and-initiatives/nc-healthy-schools
SEA School Psychology Position Openings: https://northcarolina.schoolspring.com/ 
SEA contact:  Megan Cardin, School Psychology Consultant; Megan.Cardin@dpi.nc.gov