New Mexico Statutes
Article 9 - Psychologists
Section 61-9-11 - Licensure; examination. (Repealed effective July 1, 2028.)

A. The board shall issue a license as a psychologist to an applicant who files an application upon a form and in such manner as the board prescribes and, except as provided in Section 61-1-34 NMSA 1978, pays any fee required by the Professional Psychologist Act, and who furnishes evidence to the board that the applicant:
(1) has reached the age of majority;
(2) is not in violation of any of the provisions of the Professional Psychologist Act and the rules adopted pursuant to that act;
(3) is a graduate of:
(a) a doctoral program that is designated as a doctoral program in psychology by a nationally recognized designation system or that is accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation body and holds a degree with a major in clinical, counseling or school psychology from a university offering a full-time course of study in psychology; or
(b) a doctoral program outside the United States or Canada that is equivalent to a program in Subparagraph (a) of this paragraph and holds a degree with a major in clinical, counseling or school psychology from a university offering a full-time course of study in psychology; the board shall promulgate by rule a list of board-approved credential inspection and verification services to appraise foreign degree programs;
(4) has had at least two years of supervised experience in psychological work; provided that:
(a) up to one year of the supervised experience may be obtained in predoctoral practicum hours overseen by a graduate training program and consistent with the guidelines on practicum experience for licensure promulgated by the association of state and provincial psychology boards;
(b) up to one year of the supervised experience may be obtained in a predoctoral internship approved by the American psychological association;
(c) up to one-half year of the supervised experience may be obtained in a predoctoral internship that is not approved by the American psychological association; and
(d) any portion of the required supervised experience not satisfied pursuant to Subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this paragraph shall be obtained in postdoctoral psychological work;
(5) demonstrates professional competence by passing the examination for professional practice in psychology promulgated by the association of state and provincial psychology boards with a total raw score of 140 (seventy percent), before January 1, 1993 or, if after January 1, 1993, a score equal to or greater than the passing score recommended by the association of state and provincial psychology boards;
(6) demonstrates an awareness and knowledge of New Mexico cultures to the board; and
(7) passes such jurisprudence examination as may be given by the board through an online testing and scoring mechanism.
B. Upon investigation of the application and other evidence submitted, including a criminal background check, the board shall, not less than thirty days prior to the examination, notify each applicant that the application and evidence submitted for licensure are satisfactory and accepted or unsatisfactory and rejected. If rejected, the notice shall state the reasons for rejection.
C. The place of examination shall be designated in advance by the board, and examinations shall be given at such time and place and under such supervision as the board may determine.
D. In the event an applicant fails to receive a passing grade, the applicant may apply for reexamination and shall be allowed to take a subsequent examination upon payment of the fee required by the Professional Psychologist Act.
E. The board shall keep a record of all examinations, and the grade assigned to each, as part of its records for at least two years subsequent to the date of examination.
History: 1953 Comp., § 67-30-10, enacted by Laws 1963, ch. 92, § 10; 1983, ch. 334, § 3; 1989, ch. 41, § 11; 1996, ch. 54, § 6; 1999, ch. 106, § 2; 2006, ch. 6, § 3; 2009, ch. 51, § 2; 2011, ch. 135, § 1; 2020, ch. 6. § 23; 2021, ch. 93, § 4.
Delayed repeals. — For delayed repeal of this section, see 61-9-19 NMSA 1978.
The 2021 amendment, effective June 18, 2021, revised the qualifications for an applicant for licensure as a psychologist; in Subsection A, after "evidence", deleted "satisfactory", deleted former Paragraph A(2), which required the applicant to furnish evidence that the applicant is of good moral character, and redesignated former Paragraphs A(3) through A(8) as Paragraphs A(2) through A(7), respectively, in Paragraph A(4), after "psychological work", deleted "of a type satisfactory to the board", and in Paragraph A(6), after "cultures", deleted "as determined by" and added "to".
The 2020 amendment, effective July 1, 2020, provided an exception to the licensure fee for qualified military service members, their spouses and dependent children, and for certain veterans, and made certain technical amendments; and in Subsection A, after "the board prescribes", deleted "accompanied by the" and added "and, except as provided in Section 61-1-34 NMSA 1978, pays any".
The 2011 amendment, effective July 1, 2011, required supervised experience in postdoctoral practicum hours and internship or postdoctoral psychological work.
The 2009 amendment, effective July 1, 2009, deleted former Paragraph (4) of Subsection A that required an applicant to be a graduate of a doctoral program that is designated as a doctoral program in psychology by a nationally recognized accreditation body and hold a degree in psychology from a university offering a full-time course of study in psychology; added Paragraph (4) of Subsection A; added Subparagraph (b) of Paragraph (5) of Subsection A; and in Subsection B, added "including a criminal background check".
The 2006 amendment, effective May 17, 2006, deleted former Paragraphs (4) and (5), which provided that applicants hold a doctoral degree based in part on a psychological dissertation and have had an internship and one year of experience after receiving a doctoral degree and at least two years of supervised experience in psychological work; required in Paragraph (4) that applicants graduate from a doctoral program in psychology and hold a degree with a major in clinical, counseling or school psychology; required in Subparagraphs (a) and (b) of Paragraph (5) that applicants have had a predoctoral internship and one year of supervised professional training after receiving the doctoral degree and at least two years of supervised experience in psychological work; added Paragraph (7) to require applicants to demonstrate an awareness and knowledge of New Mexico cultures; and added Paragraph (8) to require applicants to pass a jurisprudence examination.
The 1999 amendment, effective, June 18, 1999, in Subsection A deleted "and regulations" following "the rules" in Paragraph (3), substituted the language beginning "a total" to the end for "a minimum score equivalent to or greater than the statistical mean as reported by the association of state and provincial psychology boards for all doctoral-level candidates taking the examination on that occasion; and" in Subparagraph (6)(a); and made a minor stylistic change in Subsection D.
The 1996 amendment, effective May 15, 1996, deleted "as defined in the Professional Psychologist Act" at the end of Paragraph A(4), inserted "supervised" in Paragraph A(5), inserted "and provincial" twice in Subparagraph A(6)(a), deleted "of his area of practice" at the end of the first sentence in Subparagraph A(6)(b), and rewrote Subsections C and D.
The 1989 amendment, effective June 16, 1989, substituted "Licensure" for "Certification" in the section heading and "license" for "certification" in the introductory paragraph of Subsection A; substituted the present language of Subsection A(1) for "complies with the requirements of Subsections A, B and C of Section 61-9-9 NMSA 1978"; added present Subsections A(2) and A(3), redesignated former Subsection A(2) as present Subsection A(4); substituted Subsection A(5) for former Subsection A(3) which read "has had, after receiving the doctoral degree, at least two years of experience in psychological work of a type satisfactory to the board"; redesignated former Subsection A(4) as present Subsection A(6), while substituting all of present language of Subparagraph (a) thereof beginning with "equivalent" for "of seventy-five percent correct"; and in Subsection B substituted "licensure" for "certification" in the first sentence.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 61 Am. Jur. 2d Physicians, Surgeons and Other Healers §§ 51 to 61.
Validity of legislation regulating, licensing or prescribing for certification of psychologists, 81 A.L.R.2d 791.
70 C.J.S. Physicians, Surgeons, and Other Health-Care Providers §§ 19, 20.