EPPP Exam Dates: Take It Now, Try the Beta, or Wait?

There are no fixed EPPP exam dates. The EPPP is given continuously at Pearson VUE test centers, so once your board approves you, you pick your own day inside your approval window. The dates that actually matter are the 2027 transition dates: the Beta Test window (March 1 to April 30, 2027), the Fall 2027 launch of the new integrated exam, and the March 31, 2028 cutoff for repeaters.

My answer to "now or wait": if you can be genuinely ready and board-approved before Fall 2027, take the current EPPP. It is a stable format with mature prep materials and decades of pass rate data. If your first attempt lands in spring 2027, you now have a third option, the Beta Test, and it is worth a real look.

I passed the current EPPP with a 588 after opening my prep with a 19% diagnostic, so I know the distance between "planning to be ready" and ready. The transition punishes fuzzy timelines.

This is part of my series on the 2027 EPPP changes:

• EPPP Changes 2027: the complete guide
• The new format: six domains and question types
• How much the new EPPP costs
• The new eligibility recommendations

When can you take the EPPP?

Any time your approval is active. Here is how the calendar works, per the ASPPB Candidate Handbook (January 2026):

1. Your board approves you. Each licensing board sets its own eligibility rules and approval timeline.
2. You register and pay. You then get an Authorization to Test. It covers one appointment and can be valid for up to one year, though your board can set an earlier expiration.
3. You book a seat. Pearson VUE runs more than 275 test centers in the US and Canada, and the exam is offered continuously. You choose the date and center, online or by phone (800-513-6910).
4. You test inside your window. Your eligibility period comes from your board, not from ASPPB, so ask your board for the exact end date.

The handbook also says not to pay or schedule until you are ready to sit. Fees are non-refundable, and cancelling within 24 hours of your start time forfeits them. If you want help picking the day itself, I wrote a separate guide on how to pick your EPPP exam date.

The four dates that matter now

Date	What happens
Fall 2026 to April 2027	First-time candidates in participating jurisdictions can register for the Beta Test. Integrated sample exams are due in Fall 2026 through your board's Clarus account.
March 1 to April 30, 2027	Beta Test window. Approved first-time candidates can choose the current EPPP or the Beta.
Fall 2027	The integrated EPPP goes live. First-time candidates must take it.
March 31, 2028	Last day repeaters can retake the current EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) or Part 2-Skills. From April 1, 2028, only the integrated exam exists.

The decision, by situation

Your situation	What to do
Eligible and can be ready in 2026	Test on the current exam. Best-mapped format, mature prep.
Eligible, ready by early or mid 2027	Test on the current exam before the Fall 2027 launch, with buffer. Or, if your board participates, weigh the Beta (below).
First attempt lands March or April 2027	You may be able to choose the current exam or the Beta. Ask your board first.
First attempt lands Fall 2027 or later	You are taking the integrated exam. Build scenario-heavy prep around the new blueprint.
Failed the current EPPP recently	You may retake the current format until March 31, 2028. The Beta is for first-time candidates only.

Why take the EPPP before Fall 2027?

The format is a known quantity. 225 questions, 4 hours 15 minutes, eight domains with published weights, scaled scoring with the 500 cut in most states. Every detail is documented, down to how the scoring works and which domains carry the most weight.

Prep materials are mature. Every major prep company has spent years tuning to the current blueprint. My own prep comparison is built on it. For the integrated exam, everyone is starting fresh.

Pass rates are known. You can see historical pass rates and calibrate your risk. The integrated exam has no history, and its passing score will not exist until standard setting finishes after the Beta.

First cohorts pay the adjustment tax. When licensing exams change format, the first waves face untuned prep and unfamiliar item types at the same time. Someone has to absorb that. It does not have to be you.

One warning, because I refuse to sell urgency: "before Fall 2027" is only the right move if you can be actually ready. An unready attempt costs $691.88 in exam and sitting fees, a failed attempt on your record, and a chunk of confidence. Test early only if your practice scores say you are there. A free practice exam will tell you honestly.

The Beta Test: a new option for spring 2027

ASPPB published the Beta details on October 1, 2026. The short version:

• Who: first-time EPPP candidates approved by a board or college that participates in the Beta. Repeaters cannot take it.
• When: March 1 to April 30, 2027. Registration opens Fall 2026 and runs through April 2027.
• Cost: $100 exam fee plus the $91.88 Pearson VUE sitting fee.
• What it is: the first run of the integrated exam. 175 scored questions, 40 unscored pretest questions, up to 5 hours, an optional 30-minute break, at Pearson VUE centers.
• Scores: not given on test day. ASPPB expects them in late June 2027, after the passing score is set.

The part that changes the math: ASPPB recommends that participating boards accept a passing Beta score as meeting the EPPP requirement, and not count a failed Beta toward your attempt history. If you do not pass, you get one discounted sitting of the current EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) for $100 plus the sitting fee.

Those are recommendations, not rules. Each board makes the final call on whether it participates, whether it accepts the score, and how it counts attempts. Get your board's answer in writing before you pick the Beta.

When the Beta makes sense: your first attempt naturally lands in March or April 2027, your board participates and follows ASPPB's recommendations, and you can live with waiting until late June for a result.

When it does not: you need a score fast for a job or license deadline, your board has not confirmed its policy, or you are already well prepared for the current exam and would rather test on the format your prep was built for.

Repeaters: March 31, 2028 is your real deadline

The rule, precisely: candidates who fail the EPPP (Part 1-Knowledge) or EPPP (Part 2-Skills) by the integrated exam's release date may retake that exam until March 31, 2028. After that, the integrated EPPP is the only exam anyone can take.

If you have a failed attempt behind you, this is the most important date in this series. Everything you learned for the current exam stays fully relevant for a retake through March 2028. After the cutoff, your next attempt is a different exam with six domains and new item types.

My advice for repeaters: do not drift into the deadline. A retake in 2026 or early 2027 leaves room for one more cycle on the old format if it goes badly. The handbook caps you at four attempts in any 12 months and recommends about 90 days between attempts, so a first retake in early 2028 leaves very little room. I wrote about rebuilding in what to do after failing the EPPP and the retaker prep guide, and the logistics are in the retake policy post.

The case for waiting for the integrated exam

Waiting is not automatically the weak choice. It is right when:

• Your training timeline decides for you. If coursework or supervised hours will not be done before Fall 2027, especially given ASPPB's new eligibility recommendations, the integrated exam is your exam. Prepare for it on purpose.
• You would be rushing. An honest 4 to 6 months of prep that starts too late to land safely before the transition is an argument for retargeting, not sprinting.
• You think the new exam fits you better. A quarter of the new exam covers Supervision and Consultation (10%) and Interpersonal Relationships (15%). If applied clinical judgment is your strength, the integrated format may play toward it, with the honest caveat that nobody has pass rate data yet.

What to do this month

1. Get your dates. Board approval timeline, coursework end, hours completion. Write them next to March 2027, Fall 2027, and March 31, 2028.
2. Ask your board two questions. Does it participate in the Beta? Does it accept a passing Beta score and leave a failed Beta off your attempt count?
3. Take a practice exam. A free 100-question practice exam turns "am I close" from a feeling into a number.
4. Pick your exam. Current format with a real ready-by date, the Beta if your board is in, or integrated with a plan built around the new blueprint.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there set EPPP exam dates?

No. The EPPP is offered continuously at Pearson VUE test centers. Once you are approved and registered, you book any open date inside the eligibility period your board sets.

When can you take the EPPP?

After your licensing board approves you and you register. Your Authorization to Test can be valid for up to one year, but your board may set an earlier end date, so confirm it with them.

Should I take the EPPP before it changes in 2027?

If you can be genuinely ready and eligible before Fall 2027, yes. If readiness would require rushing, retarget to the Beta (if you qualify) or the integrated exam instead of spending $691.88 on a thin attempt.

Can I choose which EPPP to take in 2027?

Partly. From March 1 to April 30, 2027, approved first-time candidates in participating jurisdictions can choose the current EPPP or the Beta Test. After the Fall 2027 launch, first-time candidates must take the integrated exam, and only repeaters may use the old format, until March 31, 2028.

Does a failed Beta Test count as a failed EPPP?

ASPPB recommends that participating boards not count it. Your board makes the final decision, so ask before you register.

Will my EPPP prep materials still work after the change?

For a retake of the old format through March 2028, yes, fully. For the integrated exam, the knowledge core (assessment, intervention, ethics, psychopathology) transfers, but the blueprint, weights, and question types differ enough that you will want materials built for the new six-domain format.

Does a passed EPPP expire when the new exam launches?

The exam change itself does not invalidate a passing result. How long a passing score stays usable for licensure is set by each board, so confirm your jurisdiction's rule.

The bottom line

There is no EPPP calendar to wait for. Ready and eligible before Fall 2027: take the current exam, with margin. First attempt in spring 2027: ask your board about the Beta. Repeater: March 31, 2028 is your deadline, and drifting toward it is the mistake.

Whichever exam you target, you do not have to bet your prep on the format staying put. thePsychology.ai has a Format-Proof Guarantee: if the EPPP format changes before you pass, integrated-exam prep is included at no extra cost while your subscription stays active. Try everything free for 7 days, no card, and make this decision with a number instead of a hunch.

Sources

• ASPPB, What You Need to Know About the Upcoming EPPP Beta Test (October 1, 2026): https://asppb.net/insights-advocacy/what-know-about-eppp-beta-test/
• ASPPB, EPPP Candidate Handbook, January 2026 (PDF): https://asppb.net/wp-content/uploads/EPPP-Candidate-Handbook_01.2026.pdf
• ASPPB, EPPP blueprint launch timelines (PDF): https://asppb.net/wp-content/uploads/EPPP-BLUEPRINT-LAUNCH-TIMELINES-1.pdf
• ASPPB, content specifications announcement (operational Fall 2027): https://asppb.net/insights-advocacy/asppb-announces-2027-eppp-content-specifications/