A. Applications for a license to practice as a licensed behavioral practitioner shall be made to the State Board of Behavioral Health Licensure in writing. Such applications shall be on a form and in a manner prescribed by the Board. The application shall be accompanied by the fee required by the Licensed Behavioral Practitioner Act, which shall be retained by the Board and not returned to the applicant.

B. Each applicant for a license to practice as a licensed behavioral practitioner shall:

1. Pass an examination based on standards promulgated by the Board pursuant to the Licensed Behavioral Practitioner Act;

2. Be at least twenty-one (21) years of age;

3. Not have engaged in, nor be engaged in, any practice or conduct which would be grounds for denying, revoking, or suspending a license pursuant to the Licensed Behavioral Practitioner Act; and

4. Otherwise comply with the rules promulgated by the Board pursuant to the provisions of the Licensed Behavioral Practitioner Act.

C. In addition to the qualifications specified by the provisions of subsection B of this section, an applicant for a license to practice as a licensed behavioral practitioner shall have:

1. Successfully completed at least forty-five (45) graduate semester hours (sixty (60) graduate quarter hours) of behavioral-science-related course work. These forty-five (45) hours shall include at least a master's degree from a program in psychology. All course work and degrees shall be earned from a regionally accredited college or university. The Board shall define what course work qualifies as "behavioral-science-related";

2. On or after January 1, 2008, successfully completed at least sixty (60) graduate semester hours (ninety (90) graduate quarter hours) of behavioral-science-related course work. These sixty (60) hours shall include at least a master's degree from a program in psychology. All courses shall be earned from a regionally accredited college or university.

The Board shall define what course work qualifies as "behavioral-science-related"; and

3. Three (3) years of supervised full-time experience in professional behavioral health services subject to the supervision of a licensed mental health professional pursuant to conditions established by the Board. One (1) or two (2) years of experience may be gained at the rate of one (1) year for each thirty (30) graduate semester hours earned beyond the master's degree, provided that such hours are clearly related to the field of psychology or behavioral sciences and are acceptable to the Board. The applicant shall have no less than one (1) year of supervised full-time experience in behavioral science.

D. Applicants with degrees from schools outside the United States may qualify with Board approval by providing the Board with an acceptable comprehensive evaluation of the degree performed by a foreign credential evaluation service that is acceptable to the Board, and any other requirement the Board deems necessary.

Added by Laws 1999, c. 133, § 6, emerg. eff. April 28, 1999. Amended by Laws 2004, c. 523, § 15, emerg. eff. June 9, 2004; Laws 2007, c. 133, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2007; Laws 2013, c. 229, § 29, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2014, c. 367, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2014; Laws 2019, c. 363, § 66, eff. Nov. 1, 2019.