The Integrated EPPP

Implementation timeline

The transition to the integrated EPPP.

The transition will be a gradual fadeout. Your eligibility to take Part 1 during this period will depend on whether you are a first-time candidate or retaking the exam, as well as approval from your licensing board or provincial college. ASPPB has announced the following transition milestones.^{5, 6}

The March 31, 2028 Part 1 deadline applies only to eligible retake candidates. It does not extend the Part 1 registration deadline for first-time candidates. ASPPB has not announced the precise launch date or the final registration and testing cutoff for first-time candidates.⁵

What is tested on the EPPP

The 6 official domains of the integrated EPPP.

The integrated EPPP organizes knowledge and applied professional skills into 6 areas of practice. These domains do not simply compress Part 1’s 8 knowledge domains into 6 or place the two exams side by side in one sitting. The percentages below are ASPPB’s published domain weights.¹

The foundational areas familiar from Part 1 have not disappeared from the new exam structure. Content from the biological, cognitive-affective, social and cultural, lifespan, psychopathology, and research areas appears within Scientific Orientation to Practice. Assessment, Intervention, Consultation and Supervision, Interpersonal Relationships, and Ethical and Professional Practice each combine their own knowledge requirements with professional application.¹ Most importantly, knowledge is now distributed throughout the 6 integrated domains, each grounded in applied clinical and professional topics. For preparation, this means retaining the depth of knowledge developed for Part 1 while learning to call upon that knowledge in applied clinical reasoning tasks.

The 6 domains are sometimes incorrectly described as a compressed version of Part 1’s 8 knowledge domains. That description misses the central change: ASPPB’s new blueprint brings foundational knowledge and professional application together in an applied clinical and professional reasoning exam.

The integrated exam may therefore test knowledge from several areas of the previous 8 domains within a single scenario or vignette. For example, a question could require a candidate to recall a psychological theory, understand psychometrics, recognize a diagnosis, consider prognosis and psychopharmacology, and then reason through the priority intervention in a clinical or professional situation.

What “integrated” means in practice.

Based on the information ASPPB has released so far, we anticipate that the integrated exam will be structured more like Part 2 than Part 1. Knowledge recall and reasoning will still matter, as they do in Part 1, but that reasoning will now be applied directly to clinical vignettes and professional scenarios. Candidates who take Part 2 have already passed Part 1, so the current Part 2 is written with an established knowledge base in mind while focusing its questions on applied clinical and professional reasoning. On the integrated exam, we expect a similar structure with a much heavier reliance on recognizing, recalling, and applying psychological knowledge to practical dilemmas.

In a clinical or professional decision, foundational knowledge can be the key to unlocking the correct response.

EPPPPrep.ai’s Recall–Analyze–Resolve framework names this three-step approach:

1. Recall. Explicitly recall the relevant psychological knowledge.
2. Analyze. Analyze how that knowledge functions within the specific vignette or scenario.
3. Resolve. Make the decision that best resolves the clinical or professional dilemma.

That is what integrated means in practical terms: identifying the relevant foundational theory, fact, rule, principle, or distinction and reasoning through how it applies to a clinical or professional vignette. Knowledge and applied professional skills are not expected to appear as separate groups; we expect them to work together within the question.

What to expect on the exam

4 published question formats.

ASPPB’s February 2026 specifications identify 4 planned question formats within a single exam designed to assess psychological knowledge and applied professional skills across 6 content domains. The integrated EPPP will include single-best three- or four-option multiple-choice questions, extended multiple-choice questions, scenario-based question sets, and audio and video portions.⁴ The 4 published formats are:

ASPPB has not yet announced how many questions will use each format, how extended multiple-choice will operate, or how many questions may be attached to an integrated-exam scenario. The card descriptions use current Part 2 formats as preparation models; the integrated exam’s complete response instructions and multimedia combinations remain to be confirmed. What we can conclude from what is available is that rather than present every question in the same format, the integrated EPPP will use varying test-question formats: multiple-choice items, linked scenario-based sets, and audio/video portions of the exam.⁴ These formats indicate how vignettes and scenarios may be presented and what kind of information candidates may need to read, track, listen to, or observe before choosing a best answer.

For preparation, we view the current Part 2 exam as the clearest available model for understanding how applied questions, linked scenarios, multiple responses, and multimedia may work. The descriptions above draw on Part 2 as a preparation model while distinguishing its current features from the integrated exam’s final specifications, which ASPPB has not yet published.

The 4 formats describe how question stems, vignettes, and answer choices may be presented and how candidates may be asked to respond. They should not be understood as four separate forms of reasoning. A question in any format may require knowledge recall, applied professional judgment, or a combination of both.

How the EPPP Part 2 informs the integrated EPPP question format.

The Part 2 comparison is useful for preparation, but it should not be treated as a preview of the integrated exam’s final design.

Among the formats described in ASPPB’s current Part 2 materials are multiple-choice questions with single responses, multiple-choice questions with multiple responses, and scenarios containing interview descriptions, test protocols, supporting data, animation, audio, or video. A Part 2 scenario may support as many as five related questions.⁷ ASPPB has confirmed that the integrated exam will include scenario-based question sets, but it has not announced how many questions an integrated-exam scenario may contain.⁴

This comparison also helps explain why the 4 integrated formats should not be understood as completely separate categories. A written, audio, or video scenario may provide the foundation for a linked question set, while the individual questions within that set may use different response structures. Candidates may therefore encounter single-response or extended multiple-choice questions independently or as part of a broader scenario.

Part 2’s multiple-response format provides a useful preparation model for extended multiple-choice because it requires candidates to evaluate several options, determine which considerations belong together, and exclude responses that are incomplete, unsupported, or outside the scope of the question. However, ASPPB has not confirmed that extended multiple-choice on the integrated exam will operate exactly like the current Part 2 multiple-response format. Candidates should therefore prepare to evaluate each option carefully without assuming a specific response mechanism until ASPPB publishes the final instructions.

Scenario-based sets add a different demand: candidates must retain the relevant details of a situation while moving through related decisions about assessment, intervention, consultation, supervision, documentation, or ethics. Audio and video may contribute information through speech, behavior, affect, tone, pacing, or interpersonal interaction. Candidates may need to determine which details matter, connect them with the relevant psychological knowledge, and use them to answer one or more related questions.

Part 2 therefore offers a practical model for the kind of sustained attention and applied reasoning the integrated exam may require. The exact mechanics may change, but the preparation principle remains consistent across formats: understand the information presented, identify the knowledge or professional principle it activates, evaluate the available responses, and select the answer best supported by the full context.

Knowledge and professional application on a spectrum.

The 4 formats describe how a question is delivered; they do not determine whether it tests foundational knowledge, applied professional skills, or a combination of both. ASPPB’s published blueprint supports viewing integrated EPPP questions along a spectrum of psychological knowledge and professional application rather than dividing the exam into separate groups of knowledge questions and skills questions.

Foundational knowledge is incorporated differently across all 6 domains. In Assessment, for example, candidates must understand psychometric principles and assessment methods and use that knowledge in differential diagnosis, method selection, interpretation, and recommendations. Ethical and Professional Practice similarly joins knowledge of ethical codes, professional standards, laws, and regulations with decisions about professional conduct and the limits of competence.¹

Individual questions may differ in emphasis. A knowledge-focused question may require careful judgment among close alternatives, while an applied question may depend on identifying the precise concept, diagnosis, rule, principle, or distinction that governs the situation. A single-response item may emphasize either recognition of foundational knowledge or the best decision in a professional vignette. A scenario-based or multimedia item may foreground applied professional judgment while still depending on precise knowledge retrieval.

The balance between knowledge and applied professional skills may vary from one question to another. Some questions may emphasize recognizing or recalling psychological knowledge, while others may foreground applied professional decision-making and use that knowledge as their foundation. Single-response multiple-choice questions, familiar from Part 1, will remain part of the integrated exam. Across all 4 formats, candidates should be prepared to retrieve relevant knowledge, recognize how it applies, and use it in the situation presented. Preparation should therefore work in both directions: from psychological knowledge to its application in a professional context, and from the details of a case to the knowledge needed to resolve it. Candidates should be able to recall the material accurately, recognize its relevance, and use it to reach the best-supported response.

Planning Your EPPP Exam in 2027

A practical study plan for the integrated EPPP.

The integrated EPPP brings foundational knowledge and applied professional skills into one exam. The core methods of EPPP preparation still apply: learn the material accurately, reason carefully among plausible answers, and select the best-supported response. The practical change is that candidates must be prepared to recognize relevant knowledge within a professional or clinical scenario, understand what it means for that situation, and use it to make a sound decision.

Preparation can follow the same progression: learn the foundational material, recognize what the scenario requires, apply clinical and professional reasoning, and practice across question formats. EPPPPrep.ai organizes this progression through Study Mode and Integrated Practice.

The 4 approaches to integrated EPPP preparation reflect how EPPPPrep.ai organizes its curriculum across two complementary learning modes: Study Mode and Integrated Practice. Through focused study, unlimited practice questions^*, immediate feedback, and detailed explanations, candidates learn by actively reasoning through questions and applying what they know. Practice is part of learning, rather than simply a test of what was retained.

In Study Mode, EPPPPrep.ai’s Knowledge Study Guide supports its 11 knowledge domains through study-guide modules and topic-specific practice quizzes covering psychological theories, research, assessment principles, diagnoses, interventions, and ethical and professional standards. Questions, feedback, and explanations help candidates build precise knowledge and address gaps in understanding as they study.

In Integrated Practice, candidates learn to apply that knowledge while developing clinical skills and professional judgment. EPPPPrep.ai’s 7 clinical and professional skills domains, supported by dedicated modules in its Clinical Skills and Professional Judgment Study Guide and targeted quizzes, provide the foundation for this learning. They address assessment, intervention, consultation, supervision, documentation, ethics, and other professional practice matters involving judgment and decision making.

Integrated quizzes bring these skills and knowledge together in mixed clinical and professional questions without the topic cues provided in Study Mode. Candidates practice distinguishing crucial details from background information; recognizing when a theory, diagnosis, assessment result, research finding, ethical rule, legal requirement, or professional principle matters; and using that understanding to make the best-supported decision in context. Feedback and detailed explanations help candidates understand the reasoning behind each answer and refine how they approach subsequent questions.

Progress is tracked in Metrics across Study Mode and Integrated Practice, reflecting both understanding of the material and performance on questions requiring its application. Together, these modes support a continuous learning cycle: build knowledge, practice applying it, revisit areas that need further study, and bring the corrected understanding into a new context. As ASPPB releases final instructions and examples, EPPPPrep.ai will expand practice across the confirmed formats.

The announced format does not, by itself, establish that the integrated EPPP will be harder. The practical shift is toward preparing to use knowledge in clinical and professional decisions: knowing the material precisely, recognizing when it matters, and applying it across changing situations and formats.

EPPP eligibility and ASPPB updates.

Licensing boards and provincial colleges determine whether an applicant is eligible to take the EPPP. ASPPB recommends that candidates have completed the coursework of a doctoral program acceptable to their licensing board or college and all or most of the supervised experience required by that jurisdiction. These are ASPPB recommendations; the candidate’s licensing authority makes the eligibility decision.⁵

ASPPB announced a transition from Certemy to its Clarus candidate-registration portal, scheduled for September 29, 2026. Candidates should follow ASPPB’s account-invitation instructions and continue applying for exam eligibility through their licensing jurisdiction. Pearson VUE remains responsible for exam scheduling and delivery.⁹

The currently published test-site appointment fee for the existing EPPP is $91.88.⁸ ASPPB has not yet said whether a separate appointment fee will apply to the integrated examination. ASPPB states: “The Board of Directors will consider biannual increases informed by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), starting April 1, 2030.”⁵

Candidates should continue checking ASPPB’s integrated EPPP communications and rely on their licensing board or provincial college for jurisdiction-specific eligibility requirements.

^* Daily usage limits may apply. Unlimited practice means you can continue practicing over time; depending on use, access to additional questions or Psi messages may pause until your daily allowance resets.