Alberta registers psychologists at the master's or doctoral level through the College of Alberta Psychologists: credential evaluation, provisional registration, 1,600 hours of supervised practice plus 107 hours of supervision, the EPPP at 500 or higher, and the LEAP jurisprudence and ethics examination, which must be attempted within six months of provisional registration.
Applies in: Alberta
Written November 13, 2026
Apply to the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) first for an evaluation of your academic credentials, then for registration as a registered provisional psychologist. Complete 1,600 hours of supervised (evaluated) practice, pass the EPPP at a scale score of 500 or higher and the LEAP jurisprudence and ethics examination, and clear a final registration review to receive a practice permit for independent practice. The process is set out in CAP's Process to Register as a Psychologist in Alberta (July 2026).
This guide walks the Alberta route only. Alberta's master's-level entry and provisional register are its own design; they are not Ontario's doctoral route or British Columbia's doctoral route with different paperwork.
The first step in the registration process is to apply to CAP for an evaluation of your academic credentials. The degree test is stated in the College's process document: the applicant must have completed a graduate degree (master's or doctoral) with a major in psychology, or a graduate degree with content substantially equivalent to a graduate degree with a major in psychology.
The application is submitted through the MyCAP Login, with academic transcripts from the originating institutions, syllabi and instructor credential forms for applicable courses, and the application fee. Applicants whose credentials come from outside the usual Canadian pattern may also need an IQAS or WES assessment and an IELTS report, where those apply. CAP evaluates the credentials against its published Criteria for Evaluating Academic Credentials, and application deadlines are posted on the CAP website.
Only on notice of academic approval can you move to the next step. Applicants currently registered or licensed with a psychology regulator outside Canada also begin here, with credential evaluation; on approval, those with the required work experience apply as provisional psychologists through the Internationally Trained Psychologist stream in the MyCAP Login.
After academic approval, apply for provisional registration through the MyCAP Login by submitting the online registration application (the Registration Change form) and the Hours of Supervised (Evaluated) Practice form, the HSEP.
The Registration Change form includes personal and work contact information, confirmation of professional liability insurance, and a series of declarations about verification of registration and fitness to practise. Two items travel separately but must be received by the application deadline: the Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Check, and Registration Verification Part II forms where applicable. The criminal record and vulnerable sector checks must be dated within one year before the date the provisional application is reviewed by the Registration Approvals Sub-Committee (RASC), which reviews provisional applications at regularly scheduled meetings. The application fee is paid online, and annual or pro-rated dues as a registered provisional psychologist fall due once the application is approved.
Insurance is not a formality. CAP requires a minimum of $5,000,000 in professional liability insurance, and it must include regulatory legal defence in case of a claim or a professional conduct complaint. Coverage must be active when you apply for provisional registration and must be maintained at all times while on an active register.
The HSEP has three sections, and which ones you complete depends on your history:
Two exclusions are worth knowing before you plan around them: hours completed in a master's practicum or internship do not qualify, and hours completed while practising under another designation or registration within Canada do not qualify. The HSEP is not required from applicants in the Internationally Trained Psychologist stream.
On approval by the RASC or the Registrar, and after payment of the applicable pro-rated practice permit fees, your name is added to the provisional register and you are issued a provisional registration number and a practice permit enabling supervised practice to begin.
From there, the full registration requirements are:
Note one date-sensitive point, because CAP's older process document predicted a change that has not landed the way it forecast. The November 2023 edition said that from January 1, 2026 the EPPP would consist of two parts (Part 1 — Knowledge, and Part 2 — Skills) and that members on the provisional register would be required to take Part 2 as well. CAP's current Examinations page states the position differently: on that page, "EPPP" refers to the EPPP (Part 1 — Knowledge) unless otherwise specified, the EPPP (Part 2 — Skills) is not currently a registration requirement of CAP, and the integrated exam becomes the only version of the EPPP on April 1, 2028. Because this is changing, check CAP's Examinations page when you apply for the version and parts in force at that time.
The last gate is the final registration review. The Final Registration Change Form includes three positive professional references. When full registration is granted, a practice permit for independent practice as a registered psychologist is issued, upon payment of practice permit fees.
Psychologists arriving from another Canadian jurisdiction are handled under the Mutual Recognition Agreement between Canadian psychology regulators, which sets the conditions under which a psychologist licensed to practise without supervision in one jurisdiction has their qualifications recognized in another. CAP assesses applicants against the agreement's five core practice competencies (interpersonal relationships; assessment and evaluation; intervention; research; and ethics and standards) for each professional activity declared.
CAP's process document and FAQ name the fees that exist (credential evaluation, provisional application, pro-rated dues, practice permit fees) but the pages opened for this guide do not state their dollar amounts, so this guide gives none. The pages also do not promise a processing time for credential evaluation or for a RASC review; deadlines and meeting dates are published on the CAP website instead.
The College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). Registration runs in two stages: evaluation of academic credentials, then registration as a registered provisional psychologist, and full registration only after the supervised practice and examinations are complete.
No. The applicant must have completed a graduate degree, master's or doctoral, with a major in psychology, or a graduate degree with content substantially equivalent to a graduate degree with a major in psychology. Alberta is one of the provinces that registers psychologists at the master's level.
A minimum of 1,600 hours of supervised and evaluated practice, plus 107 hours of supervision as specified on the CAP-approved Hours of Supervised (Evaluated) Practice form, for a total minimum of 1,707 hours. Hours completed in a master's practicum or internship do not qualify, and neither do hours completed while practising under another designation or registration within Canada.
Two: the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP), a multiple-choice computerized examination with a passing scale score of 500 or higher; and the Law and Ethics for Alberta Psychologists examination (LEAP), the jurisprudence and ethics examination, which provisional psychologists are required to attempt within six months of their provisional status being granted.
A Criminal Record Check and Vulnerable Sector Check, submitted separately from the main form but received by the application deadline, and dated within one year before the date the provisional application is reviewed. CAP requires a minimum of $5,000,000 in professional liability insurance, including regulatory legal defence, active when you apply and maintained at all times while on an active register.
A final registration review. The Final Registration Change Form includes three positive professional references. Once full registration is approved, a practice permit for independent practice as a registered psychologist is issued, upon payment of practice permit fees.