Sometime this fall, ASPPB publishes the first official sample exam for the 2027 integrated EPPP. It will be the first time anyone outside the exam committees sees what the new scenario sets, extended multiple-choice, and audio/video questions actually look like. If you test in late 2027 or beyond, this is the single most useful document of your prep year.

Here is everything announced so far, with one honesty note up front: some of these details were stated out loud by ASPPB staff at the California Board of Psychology's public meeting on February 13, 2026, rather than published in a document. Where a fact is verbal, I say so, and you can verify all of it yourself in the meeting webcast.

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
• Should you take the EPPP now or wait?

What ASPPB has said about the sample exam

In writing (ASPPB's content-specifications announcement and its February 2026 presentation deck to the California board): the sample exam publishes in Fall 2026, based on the new six-domain blueprint, alongside the call for Spring 2027 beta-test volunteers.

Verbally, at the February 13, 2026 board meeting (webcast linked above): ASPPB's associate executive director of examination services described a sample at roughly half the size of the real exam, around 100 items, following the same blueprint distribution, with every item type represented, so candidates can see exactly what scenario sets and audio/video questions feel like. The real exam is 215 items (175 scored plus 40 pretest), so half-size is consistent with about 100.

On cost, also stated verbally at the February 13, 2026 meeting: ASPPB said sample exams are sold at cost through Pearson. Today's sample exams run about $30 online or $82.50 at a Pearson center, and a California board member pushed ASPPB to make the new one free, citing exactly the equity argument you would expect from a room full of psychologists. ASPPB committed to bringing that feedback back. No price for the new sample has been published. Worth knowing: Minnesota already runs a scholarship that covers sample-exam fees.

The pass-rate data behind taking it

This is the part that should change your behavior. At the February 13, 2026 California Board of Psychology meeting, ASPPB's exam director said that in an internal analysis, candidates who took the official sample exams passed at roughly 10 to 15% higher rates than candidates who did not. His explanation: familiarity with the format and content reduces exam anxiety.

Caveats, because this number deserves them: it was stated verbally at a public meeting, not published; it is correlational (candidates who seek out sample exams likely prepare differently in other ways too); and it describes ASPPB's own sample exams. I go deeper on what the research actually supports in do EPPP practice tests work.

But notice what it means for the 2027 transition. The first integrated-EPPP cohort has no released exams to study from, no pass-rate history, and no senior colleagues who have taken it. The official sample exam is the only format exposure that will exist. The exam maker's own data says format exposure matters. Taking the sample is the closest thing to an unfair advantage the first cohort will get.

The beta test is the other door

Announced in writing: the beta administration runs in Spring 2027, costs $100, and ASPPB calls for candidate volunteers in Fall 2026, with scores returned in late June 2027 (timing per the February 13, 2026 meeting). The beta is how ASPPB sets the passing standard, and no licensure credit for beta results has been announced, so treat it as a full-length preview, not a shortcut. If you are eligible and testing in the integrated window anyway, a $100 full dress rehearsal of an exam nobody has seen is a serious bargain.

What to do now, by where you are

• Testing in 2026 or early 2027: the sample exam is not for you. You are taking the current format; the now-or-wait guide covers your actual decision.
• Current interns and anyone testing late 2027 onward: put "ASPPB sample exam release" on your calendar for this fall, take it when it drops, and treat the results as a diagnostic of the new item types, not a verdict on you. The cut score for the real exam will not even exist until after the beta.
• Everyone: the method that survives the format change is the same one that works now, volume of realistic practice plus targeting weak areas. Start with our free EPPP practice questions today, and when the official sample drops this fall, I will publish a full walkthrough the same week.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the integrated EPPP sample exam come out?

Fall 2026, alongside the call for Spring 2027 beta-test volunteers. That timing is in writing, in ASPPB's content-specifications announcement and its February 2026 presentation to the California board.

How many questions are on the sample exam?

Roughly 100 items, about half the size of the real 215-item exam, following the same blueprint distribution with every item type represented. This was stated verbally by ASPPB staff at the February 13, 2026 California Board of Psychology meeting.

How much does the sample exam cost?

No price has been published. ASPPB says sample exams are sold at cost through Pearson; today's sample exams run about $30 online or $82.50 at a Pearson center, and a California board member has pushed for the new one to be free.

Does taking the sample exam actually help you pass?

ASPPB's exam director said an internal analysis found candidates who took the official sample exams passed at roughly 10 to 15% higher rates, which he attributed to format familiarity reducing exam anxiety. The number is verbal and correlational, but for the first integrated cohort the sample will be the only format exposure that exists.

The bottom line

Fall 2026: official sample exam (about 100 items, every new question type, price not yet announced) plus the beta volunteer call. Spring 2027: the $100 beta. Fall 2027: the integrated EPPP goes live. ASPPB's own data says the people who take the sample pass more often, and for the first integrated cohort it will be the only preview in existence. Take it.

Try thePsychology.ai free for 7 days: adaptive practice and full exam simulations built around exactly that method.

Sources

• ASPPB, content specifications announcement: https://asppb.net/news/asppb-announces-content-specifications-for-the-examination-for-professional-practice-in-psychology-eppp-operational-in-fall-of-2027/
• ASPPB, "Updates & Open Conversation about the EPPP," presentation to the California Board of Psychology, February 13, 2026: https://psychology.ca.gov/about_us/meetings/materials/20260213_hc_4.pdf
• California Board of Psychology, February 13, 2026 meeting webcast (verbal statements on sample size, cost, and the sample-taker pass-rate analysis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RicQN_H8qQ
• California Board of Psychology, February 13, 2026 meeting minutes: https://www.psychology.ca.gov/about_us/meetings/minutes/20260213_minutes.pdf