American Board of Professional Psychology

What American Board of Professional Psychology does

The American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) is a private, non-profit credentialing organization founded in 1947 and originally established by the American Psychological Association before becoming independent. ABPP's core function is to examine and certify professional psychologists across 16 specialty boards, including Clinical Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology, Forensic Psychology, School Psychology, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Couple and Family Psychology, Geropsychology, Group Psychology, Organizational and Business Psychology, Police and Public Safety Psychology, Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Psychology, Rehabilitation Psychology, Serious Mental Illness Psychology, Addiction Psychology, and Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology. The certification process combines credential review, practice sample submission, and (for most boards) written and oral examinations, typically spanning 18-24 months per candidate.

ABPP generates revenue primarily through one-time board certification fees (application, practice sample review, written and oral examinations) and recurring annual specialist attestation fees; Maintenance of Certification participation itself carries no fee but recurs on a 10-year cycle. Training Directors at APA/CPA accredited programs receive application fee waivers, and scholarships are administered via the ABPP Foundation. Distribution is direct-to-individual through the ABPP website and specialty board portals, supported by a public Specialist Directory, an APA-approved Continuing Education program, ethics education and consultation services, and an annual Workforce Survey.

The organization operates with 1-10 employees out of Lawrence, Kansas, and serves primarily U.S.-licensed psychologists, with international presence across Canada and Australia for select specialties. ABPP's competitive position is reinforced by recognition in 40 states for license transferability, U.S. Veterans Administration recognition for salary increases, and a 60+ year brand history anchored in the APA. Recent strategic activity has centered on AI governance (ABFP AI Policy, AITF) rather than technology product development, consistent with ABPP's role as a credentialing monopoly rather than a technology company.

Name

American Board of Professional Psychology

Legal name

American Board of Professional Psychology

Website

https://abpp.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ABPP is a 1947-founded, non-profit credentialing body that examines and certifies professional psychologists across 16 specialty boards, generating revenue from certification fees and recurring annual attestations, with recognition in 40 U.S. states for license transferability.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Psychology Certification

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Credentialing, Certification Prep & Exam Training (BPACANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Behavioral Health & Counseling (Social Work, Psychology, Substance Use CE) (EDAAALAD)

Keywords

• Professional psychology certification
• Board certification psychology
• Specialty board credentialing
• Psychologist specialty examination
• Professional credentialing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lawrence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Board Certification Fees: ABPP charges fees for the board certification process including application fees, written examination fees, practice sample review fees, and oral examination fees. Training directors at APA/CPA accredited programs receive application fee waivers.
2. Annual Specialist Attestation: ABPP specialists pay annual attestation fees to maintain their certification. Retired specialists pay a reduced rate while active specialists pay standard rates.
3. Maintenance of Certification (MOC): No fee for MOC participation. MOC is required every 10 years for specialists certified after January 1, 2015.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ABPP administers a multi-step specialty board certification process for professional psychologists, comprising credential review, practice sample submission, written examination (for select boards), and oral examination across 16 specialty areas. Certification is maintained through a 10-year Maintenance of Certification (MOC) cycle and supported by a public Specialist Directory, APA-approved Continuing Education programs, and Foundation scholarships.

Product overview

The American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) is a non-profit credentialing organization that serves the public by promoting quality psychological services through examination and certification of professional psychologists in specialty practice. ABPP operates as a unified credentialing body overseeing 16 specialty boards (Addiction Psychology, Behavioral & Cognitive Psychology, Clinical Child & Adolescent, Clinical Health Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology with Pediatric subspecialty, Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Couple & Family, Forensic Psychology, Geropsychology, Group Psychology, Organizational & Business Psychology, Police & Public Safety Psychology, Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Psychology, Rehabilitation Psychology, School Psychology, and Serious Mental Illness Psychology). The core offering is the Board Certification Process comprising credential review, practice samples, written examinations (for select boards), and oral examinations, supplemented by Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requiring 10-year renewal, a public Specialist Directory for verification, APA-approved Continuing Education programs, Ethics Education and Consultation services, and Foundation Scholarships to support certification costs. ABPP also conducts annual Workforce Surveys and has recently introduced an AI Policy for the Forensic Psychology specialty board.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Board Certification Process A multi-step credentialing process including credential review, practice sample submission, written examination (for select boards), and oral examination that certifies professional psychologists in 16 specialty areas.
• Maintenance of Certification (MOC) A 10-year recertification cycle requiring certified psychologists to complete self-examination and documentation of professional activities to maintain board certification; takes approximately 75-90 minutes for most specialists and awards 2 CE credits.
• Specialist Directory A publicly accessible online directory that allows the public, courts, healthcare systems, and individuals to search for and verify ABPP board-certified psychology specialists by specialty area.
• Specialty Boards (16 specialty areas) ABPP oversees 16 specialty boards covering Addiction Psychology, Behavioral & Cognitive Psychology, Clinical Child & Adolescent, Clinical Health Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology (with Pediatric subspecialty), Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, Couple & Family, Forensic Psychology, Geropsychology, Group Psychology, Organizational & Business Psychology, Police & Public Safety Psychology, Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Psychology, Rehabilitation Psychology, School Psychology, and Serious Mental Illness Psychology.
• Continuing Education (CE) Programs APA-approved and New York State-recognized continuing education programs for psychologists, offered through ABPP's CE sponsor status (#PSY-0198).
• Ethics Education and Consultation Resources and consultation services provided by the ABPP Ethics Committee to support specialists with ethical considerations in professional practice.
• ABPP Foundation Scholarships and Awards Foundation-funded scholarships including Early Career Psychologist Scholarship, Kaslow Family Fund Scholarship, Walter Katkovsky Scholarship, Training Director Scholarship, Dr. Eileen M. Gupton Memorial Scholarship, and ABSMIP Scholarship to support board certification costs.
• Specialist Workforce Survey Annual workforce survey conducted by ABPP to gather data on the specialist workforce for research, planning, and policy purposes.

Quantifiable outcome

• ABPP specialists receive 10 CE credits for completing the board certification process
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• American Academy of Forensic Psychology (AAFP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAAFP is the member organization for those board certified in forensic psychology by ABPP. Provides high-quality continuing education workshops, access to mentors, grants, and exceptional learning opportunities connecting candidates with experts in the field. AAFP mentorship program supports candidates who have passed the written examination.
• American Psychological Association (APA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAPA is recognized by ABPP for CE approvals. Started ABPP in 1947 and later spun off. APA Division 18 (Psychologists in Public Service) partners with ABSMIP through grant funding. APA Div40 (Society for Clinical Neuropsychology) supports ABCN.
• American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerABCN is a specialty board of ABPP that manages certification process for clinical neuropsychologists. Governed by board elected by AACN membership. As of 2020, there were 1,399 board certified Clinical Neuropsychologists.
• American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology (AACN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAACN is a membership organization for clinical neuropsychologists who have successfully completed ABCN certification. Supports board certification process and advances profession through educational and public policy initiatives. Provides BRAIN portal for peer support.
• 15 ABPP Specialty BoardscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorABCN, ABFP, ABSP, ABCP, ABCCAP, ABCHP, ABCoP, ABGP, ABOBCP, ABPPSP, ABAPPP, ABRP, ABSMIP, ABAP, ABBCP manage specialty-specific certification. Each operates with its own examination process, manuals, and specialty requirements.
• APA Division 18 (Psychologists in Public Service)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners with ABSMIP through grant funding to support specialty certification in Serious Mental Illness Psychology. Provides Early Career & Diversity Grant.
• New York State Education Department Board of PsychologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecognizes ABPP as approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists (#PSY-0198)
• American Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerASPPB/NR designation recognized for doctoral program accreditation equivalent to APA/CPA accredited programs in professional psychology.
• Houston Conference Guidelines EndorsersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganizations endorsing Houston Conference training guidelines for clinical neuropsychology, which ABCN uses for evolving candidacy criteria. Includes ABCN, AACN, NAN, INS, and APA Div40.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA): Certifies physician assistants through a national exam and continuing certification program. Comparable business model (exam-based credentialing with maintenance of certification), though in an adjacent healthcare profession rather than psychology.
• American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC): Largest US credentialing body for nurses, offering specialty certification across many practice areas. Comparable to ABPP because it uses board exams, specialty certifications, and ongoing maintenance/recertification cycles, but at much greater scale and within nursing rather than psychology.

Direct peers

• National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Certifies professional counselors, including the National Certified Counselor credential. Closely comparable to ABPP because it provides specialty credentialing for an adjacent mental-health profession with similar CE, recertification, and specialty-area structures.
• American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS): Umbrella specialty board certifying body for physicians. Closest direct peer to ABPP because it uses the same multi-specialty board, peer-review and exam-based credentialing model that ABPP mirrors for psychology.
• American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN): Specialty board certifying psychiatrists and neurologists through examination and practice review. Directly comparable to ABPP's specialty boards (e.g., ABFP, ABCN) because it serves overlapping mental/behavioral health clinician populations with a similar certification structure.

Others

• National Council of State Boards of Psychology (NCSBB / ASPPB): Coordinates US and Canadian psychology licensing boards and administers the EPPP licensing exam. Comparable because it sits at the licensing/credentialing layer adjacent to ABPP, and its ASPPB/NR designation is explicitly recognized by ABPP for doctoral program equivalence.
• National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS): Certifies accomplished teachers through portfolio and assessment-based certification. Comparable as a non-profit, profession-level credentialing body with assessment rigor, though operating in education rather than psychology.
• Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP): Accredits allied health education programs. Comparable as an adjacent profession-level quality assurance body, though focused on program accreditation rather than individual practitioner certification like ABPP.

Emerging players

• Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT): Interstate compact for psychology practice across participating states. Comparable to ABPP because both address multi-state practice mobility for psychologists, but PSYPACT is a regulatory compact rather than a credentialing body, making it a partial substitute for some of ABPP's mobility value proposition.
• American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN): Specialty board under ABPP for clinical neuropsychology. Listed separately because it represents a focused, single-specialty credentialing competitor model that could in principle be spun out or replicated independently in narrower niches.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ABPPBoards
• Facebookfacebook.com/getABPP
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-board-of-professional-psychology
• Instagraminstagram.com/getabpp
• Xx.com/getabpp

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about American Board of Professional Psychology