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Blog / How to Request EPPP Accommodations (US and Canada)

How to Request EPPP Accommodations (US and Canada)

Anders Chan, Psy.D.
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Here is the part of requesting accommodations that candidates actually fear, so let me name it once and move on. You submit documentation about the most personal thing in your file, to an office you cannot see, with no named contact, no posted timeline, and your exam window creeping closer while you wait. The process feels opaque because nobody has laid it out in one place.

It is documented, though. ASPPB (the association that owns the EPPP) publishes the mechanics across its candidate handbook, its accommodations page, and, as of August 2026, a new YouTube video series that opens with a two-and-a-half-minute video called Five Things to Know When Requesting EPPP Accommodations. This guide pulls those pieces into one walkthrough: who qualifies, the exact request pathway, the documentation, the timing, and what to do if the answer is no.

Who qualifies

Accommodations exist for candidates with documented disabilities. In the United States, the legal backbone is the Americans with Disabilities Act, which specifically covers licensing exams for professional purposes (42 U.S.C. § 12189, implemented by 28 C.F.R. § 36.309). For Canadian candidates, ASPPB's materials cite the Accessible Canada Act; in practice your provincial college and your province's human rights legislation govern how requests are handled, so check with your college directly.

Common qualifying situations include ADHD, learning disabilities, anxiety and other psychiatric conditions, chronic medical conditions, and physical or sensory disabilities. What matters is not the label but the documentation: a qualified professional verifying the condition and connecting it to what you need at the testing center.

One thing that is not a disability accommodation: California grants time-and-a-half to qualifying ESL candidates as its own separate pathway. If that might be you, read the California ESL rule before you do anything else.

The five things ASPPB wants you to know

ASPPB published the same five points as text in May 2026 before turning them into the video. In their words, lightly condensed:

  1. Candidates with a documented disability who want to test under nonstandard conditions "must request accommodations directly from the licensing authority where they are seeking licensure." Not from ASPPB, not from Pearson VUE. Your board or college.
  2. "Documentation from the appropriate professionals/physicians verifying and supporting the need for the accommodation(s) requested must be submitted to the licensing authority for review."
  3. Your licensing authority reviews and approves the request. "If warranted, the licensing authority will collaborate with the ASPPB for a final review and implementation planning."
  4. The full process involves medical documentation, review, correspondence about which accommodations are available and approved, an implementation plan, and communication with the exam vendor.
  5. All of that has to finish before you can schedule the exam, so the gap between requesting an accommodation and booking a seat "may take several weeks."

That last point is the one to build your calendar around.

The actual pathway, step by step

Pulling the handbook and the accommodations page together, the mechanics look like this:

  1. Start with your licensing board, before you register. One honest caveat: ASPPB's own documents differ on sequence. The prep checklist says to request and receive approval from your licensing authority before registering, while the handbook describes marking an accommodations box during registration. The move that satisfies both is to open the conversation with your board early, before you touch the registration, because some boards have their own forms, deadlines, and documentation rules.
  2. Mark the Special Accommodations box when you register for the EPPP. Per the candidate handbook, this checkbox during registration is how the request enters the system. Accommodations cannot be added to an exam after it is scheduled.
  3. Submit your documentation to the licensing authority. This is the package from your evaluating professional (more on it below).
  4. Your board approves or denies the request inside the registration portal. The board is the decision-maker at this stage.
  5. ASPPB does a final review and builds the implementation plan with Pearson VUE. The handbook says this step alone can take 10 to 15 business days after your board's approval.
  6. Then you schedule. Not before.

Because approval gates scheduling, fold this into your exam timeline from day one. If you have not built that timeline yet, how to pick your EPPP exam date walks through it, and the paperwork-lag step there is exactly where this process lives.

Your documentation checklist

ASPPB does not publish a universal documentation standard, because each licensing authority reviews its own requests. But between ASPPB's guidance and the Department of Justice's ADA testing accommodations requirements, a strong package contains:

  • A letter from the appropriate professional (physician, psychologist, or other qualified evaluator) verifying the diagnosis.
  • The functional link: what the condition does to you under standard testing conditions, in concrete terms.
  • The specific accommodations requested, each tied to that functional impact. Extended time, a separate room, extra breaks, a reader, whatever your evaluator supports.
  • Any board-specific forms, which is why step one above is a phone call or email to your board.

Two useful things from the DOJ guidance: testing entities' documentation demands must be reasonable and limited to what the request actually needs, and they should defer to documentation from a qualified professional. If a full evaluation is what you are missing, that is a solvable problem; a proper evaluation produces exactly the kind of documentation licensing boards accept, which is one of the reasons to get tested rather than diagnosed by interview alone.

If the answer is no

Denials come back through the same portal as approvals. There is no published appeal process for EPPP accommodations, so I will not pretend one exists. What you can actually do:

  • Ask what would change the decision. The process ASPPB describes includes correspondence about available and approved accommodations, and it can involve back and forth. California board staff said at a February 2026 public meeting that the accommodation offered may differ from the one requested, which tells you the door is not binary.
  • Submit a revised request with stronger or more current documentation, especially if your evaluation is old or the functional link was thin.
  • Know your legal reference point. In the US, that is the DOJ's testing accommodations guidance under the ADA. In Canada, your provincial human rights body. Most disputes never need to go there, but knowing the floor exists changes the conversation.

And do it all early. Every round of back and forth costs weeks you would rather spend studying, not refreshing a portal. If the waiting itself is spiking your stress, the test anxiety playbook is the companion read.

Will this change with the 2027 exam?

The EPPP becomes a single integrated exam in 2027. ASPPB staff have said publicly that the existing accommodations process is expected to carry over, but details like how timing accommodations interact with the new item types have not been published. The full picture of what is changing is in EPPP changes 2027; watch ASPPB's accommodations page as the transition gets closer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does ADHD qualify for EPPP accommodations?

ADHD is one of the most common bases for testing accommodations, and it can qualify when it is properly documented: a diagnosis from a qualified professional plus evidence of how it impairs you under standard testing conditions. If you suspect ADHD but were never evaluated, what adult ADHD actually looks like covers the evaluation route and the documentation it produces.

Does test anxiety count as a disability?

Ordinary exam nerves do not qualify. A diagnosed anxiety disorder, documented by a qualified professional and tied to functional impairment, can. Either way, the psychological side of test day is trainable; start with managing EPPP test anxiety.

Will my score report show I tested with accommodations?

Under DOJ guidance, flagging scores earned with accommodations is prohibited for ADA-covered exams. Your accommodation is between you, your board, and the testing vendor.

Can I add accommodations after I schedule my exam?

No. Per the candidate handbook, accommodations cannot be added to an already-scheduled exam. The request has to be approved and implemented before you book the seat, which is why it belongs at the front of your timeline.

How long does the whole process take?

ASPPB says the span between requesting accommodations and being able to schedule may take several weeks, and the final ASPPB-and-Pearson implementation step alone can run 10 to 15 business days after board approval. Add your board's own review time on top. Starting three months before you want to test is not overkill.

Final Thoughts

The accommodations process is slower than it should be and less transparent than it should be, but it is navigable, and the exam is fairer with your accommodation than without it. Extra time or a separate room does not water down your license. It lets the exam measure your psychology knowledge instead of your symptoms.

Get the request moving, then get back to the part you control. You can try thePsychology.ai free for 7 days, or start with the free EPPP practice questions today and let the paperwork run in the background.

Sources

Anders Chan, Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist and the founder of thePsychology.ai. He passed the EPPP on his first attempt with a score of 588 after starting from a 19% diagnostic.

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