As of mid-2026, PSYPACT® has 42 full participating jurisdictions: 40 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
That number moves, and the way it moves is the point of this article. Before the list, the distinction that actually matters.
Four tiers, only one of which authorizes anything
Participating. The Commission recognizes the jurisdiction, and it is live in both directions: an APIT® reaches clients located there, and a license issued there can serve as your declared home state.
Enacted but not yet effective. The legislature passed a bill and the governor signed it. Implementation is incomplete and the Commission has not recognized the state. This authorizes nothing. A psychologist practising into such a state on the strength of a news article about the signing is practising without authority.
Introduced. A bill exists. Bills are introduced far more often than they pass. This authorizes nothing and predicts little.
No activity. Nothing filed.
The gap between tier one and tier two is where people get hurt, because both look like good news in a headline. "State X joins PSYPACT" is a perfectly accurate description of an enactment that will not be operative for another year.
Participating jurisdictions
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Not participating
Ten states sit outside, in various postures. Montana has enacted legislation without a confirmed effective date. Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, and New York have seen bills introduced. Alaska, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oregon have no active legislation, as do Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Two names on that list carry disproportionate weight. California and New York are the largest psychology markets in the country, and their absence shapes the compact's practical value more than the presence of several participating states combined.
Why absence cuts both ways
The obvious consequence is inbound: an APIT® does not authorize telepsychology to a client located in California or New York. You need that state's license.
The less obvious consequence is outbound, and it is the one that surprises people. Because the E.Passport requires an active doctoral-level license in at least one participating jurisdiction, a license in a non-participating state cannot serve as your compact home state. A psychologist licensed only in California has no route into PSYPACT® anywhere — not reduced access, none — until they add a license in a participating state.
Given how much telehealth hiring now assumes compact access, that is a structural gap for a large share of the profession. We wrote about the mechanics separately in the home-state rule.
Watching the pipeline sensibly
Enactments in 2025 and 2026 have made the roster genuinely volatile, and aggregator sites disagree with each other — we found sources in conflict about Montana, Iowa, and Alaska while researching this piece. That disagreement is itself informative: if the trackers cannot agree, do not rely on any of them for a practice decision.
Three habits worth adopting:
Verify against the Commission before you rely on it. The PSYPACT® Commission's own map is authoritative. Everything else, including this article, is a summary with a date on it.
Treat "signed into law" as a planning signal, not a permission. When a state you care about enacts, that is the moment to start the state licensure application if you need coverage now — not the moment to start practising there.
Re-check annually at minimum. Participation can move in both directions; the compact includes mechanisms for suspension and withdrawal, and a psychologist whose home state withdrew would have a serious problem discovered late.
The practical read
For a psychologist already licensed in a participating state, 42 jurisdictions is a genuinely large footprint and the compact is straightforwardly worth the $440. For a psychologist licensed only in California, New York, Oregon, or Massachusetts, the headline number is irrelevant until a prior problem is solved. Which of those two situations you are in is worth establishing before you read another word about fees.
Status as verified 8 August 2026. Participation changes with legislative sessions and Commission votes — confirm current status with the PSYPACT® Commission before making a practice decision.
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