SB 775 (Ashby) Chapter 787, Statutes of 2025 – Board of Psychology and Board of Behavioral Sciences - Registered Psychological Associate Eligibility - Business & Professions Code 2913

Operative Date of Legislation: January 1, 2026

Attention Board of Psychology (Board) stakeholders:

Senate Bill (SB) 775 (Ashby) was signed by Governor Newsom on October 13, 2025, and becomes operative on January 1, 2026. This bill serves as the Sunset Bill for both the Board of Behavioral Sciences and the Board of Psychology, extending each Board’s statutory authorization to January 1, 2030.

Summary of Changes

SB 775 amends the Registered Psychological Associate eligibility and foreign credential evaluation requirements as follows:

• Clarifies eligibility based on admission to candidacy: Applicants who apply based on admission to candidacy for a qualifying doctoral degree must also have completed at least three years of postgraduate education toward the degree. The prior requirement to pass preliminary doctoral examinations has been removed.
• Harmonizes foreign credential evaluation statutory language: Business & Professions Code Section 2913 now incorporates the same foreign credential evaluation provisions that already existed for Psychologist licensure applicants. While the Board’s authority to require such evaluations was already established, the statute now expressly provides the detailed requirements for Psychological Associate registration applicants trained at the doctoral level outside the United States or Canada, ensuring consistency and clarity across both license and registration types.

Implementation

Effective January 1, 2026:

Applicants qualifying based on admission to candidacy must:

• Have completed at least three years of postgraduate education for the qualifying doctoral degree, and
• Provide proof of admission to candidacy status by requesting the registrar or dean of the academic institution to submit directly to the Board a letter certifying:
  • The date of admission to candidacy and the name of the qualifying doctoral degree, including the field of specialization
  • Completion of three or more years of postgraduate education toward the qualifying doctoral degree

Applicants with a doctoral degree earned outside of the United States or Canada must:

• Continue to have their degree evaluated by a foreign credential service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), or by the National Register of Health Service Psychologists (NRHSP).
  • The NACES member or the NRHSP must submit the evaluation directly to the Board and includes in the evaluation all of the following:
    • A transcript in English, or translated into English by the credential evaluation service, of the degree used to qualify for licensure.
    • An indication that the degree used is verified using primary sources.
    • A determination that the degree is equivalent to one earned from a regionally accredited academic institution in the United States or Canada and qualifies for licensure.