50-State Emergency Teletherapy Practice Rules Survey for Counselors, MFTs, Psychologists, and Clinical Social Workers

As you navigate the legal-ethical vicissitudes of teletherapy during COVID-19, you may have clients leave your state of licensure. When that happens, you will want to answer the question of whether it is permissible for you to work with that client in that state.

Quite a few states have created provisions for temporary permission to practice by providers without a local license. This is done to support access to, and continuity of, care during the COVID-19 crisis. In addition, many state licensing boards already had temporary practice provisions before the coronavirus hit!

This tool is a collection of temporary practice provision declarations made by states and licensing boards, as well as existent (pre-COVID-19) provisions and prohibitions. This collection is not exhaustive. We will update it as and when we are made aware of new declarations or rule amendments.

This Thing Ain’t Perfect… Yet

It is pretty hard to make a list of rules for 4 professions across 51 states without missing some items.

If you know of a declaration or rule amendment that is not reflected in this collection, please share it with us at info@personcenteredtech.com, and we will gladly add it to this resource list!
Blank map of the United States Alabama /* The scale of Alaska is 39% that of the contiguous United States, so its area is reduced to about 15.2%. The uninhabited Rat Islands and Near Islands are not shown. */ Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia /* Hawaii is shown in the same scale as the contiguous United States. The uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are not shown. */ Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming District of Columbia
Select state:

Alaska

Updated 5/1/2020

Statewide Guidance on Telehealth & Licensing During COVID-19
These are links to any statewide declarations which impact mental health practice in the state — or if we could find no such declaration, it says so.
ProfessionTemporary Practice or Reciprocal License?Special Requirements?
CounselorsNoN/A
Marriage & Family TherapistsNoN/A
Social WorkersNoN/A
PsychologistsYesYes
This table shows what kind of temporary practice rules the state has for each profession. This reflects rules from before COVID-19. This table is about long-term rules and not emergency rules. See our course on cross-border practice for information on how this works.

Counselors

Board Statement on COVID-19

N/A

If a specific profession’s board has put out a statement on the emergency, and we found it, we linked to it here.

Temporary Practice Permitted?

No

A repeat of information from the temporary practice rules table. This reflects rules from before COVID-19. This table is about long-term rules and not emergency rules. See our course on cross-border practice for information on how this works.

Special conditions/requirements?

N/A

A repeat of information from the temporary practice rules table. This reflects rules from before COVID-19. This table is about long-term rules and not emergency rules. See our course on cross-border practice for information on how this works.

Telemental Health Rules Source

https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/cbpl/ProfessionalLicensing/ProfessionalCounselors/DistanceCounseling.aspx

Where to find rules regarding telemental health for this profession — assuming we could find any. Otherwise, we sometimes use this field to link to rules about licensure requirements (so you can find where the state defines what the rules are for practice from out-of-state professionals).

Marriage & Family Therapists

Board Statement on COVID-19

N/A

If a specific profession’s board has put out a statement on the emergency, and we found it, we linked to it here.

Temporary Practice Permitted?

No

A repeat of information from the temporary practice rules table. This reflects rules from before COVID-19. This table is about long-term rules and not emergency rules. See our course on cross-border practice for information on how this works.

Special conditions/requirements?

N/A

A repeat of information from the temporary practice rules table. This reflects rules from before COVID-19. This table is about long-term rules and not emergency rules. See our course on cross-border practice for information on how this works.

Telemental Health Rules Source

https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/portals/5/pub/MFTStatutes.pdf

Where to find rules regarding telemental health for this profession — assuming we could find any. Otherwise, we sometimes use this field to link to rules about licensure requirements (so you can find where the state defines what the rules are for practice from out-of-state professionals).

Social Workers

Board Statement on COVID-19

N/A

If a specific profession’s board has put out a statement on the emergency, and we found it, we linked to it here.

Temporary Practice Permitted?

No

A repeat of information from the temporary practice rules table. This reflects rules from before COVID-19. This table is about long-term rules and not emergency rules. See our course on cross-border practice for information on how this works.

Special conditions/requirements?

N/A

A repeat of information from the temporary practice rules table. This reflects rules from before COVID-19. This table is about long-term rules and not emergency rules. See our course on cross-border practice for information on how this works.

Telemental Health Rules Source

https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/Portals/5/pub/SocialWorkStatutes.pdf

Where to find rules regarding telemental health for this profession — assuming we could find any. Otherwise, we sometimes use this field to link to rules about licensure requirements (so you can find where the state defines what the rules are for practice from out-of-state professionals).

Psychologists

Board Statement on COVID-19

Statement on Telehealth & Licensing during COVID-19 that applies to psychologists obtaining "courtesy" licenses

If a specific profession’s board has put out a statement on the emergency, and we found it, we linked to it here.

Temporary Practice Permitted?

Yes

A repeat of information from the temporary practice rules table. This reflects rules from before COVID-19. This table is about long-term rules and not emergency rules. See our course on cross-border practice for information on how this works.

Special conditions/requirements?

Yes. Courtesy license application/registration must be submitted. Additionally, businesses engaged in the practice of telemedicine are required to register for placement on the Telemedicine Business Registry (TBR) through the Professional Licensing Section.

A repeat of information from the temporary practice rules table. This reflects rules from before COVID-19. This table is about long-term rules and not emergency rules. See our course on cross-border practice for information on how this works.

Telemental Health Rules Source

https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/portals/5/pub/PsychologistStatutes.pdf

Where to find rules regarding telemental health for this profession — assuming we could find any. Otherwise, we sometimes use this field to link to rules about licensure requirements (so you can find where the state defines what the rules are for practice from out-of-state professionals).

This survey does not constitute legal advice. It is incumbent upon all practitioners to perform their responsibility of due diligence in order to determine legal permission to practice under the regulations of the relevant jurisdictional authority prior to undertaking such practice. Users of this survey should independently verify the information contained herein and/or consult with independent legal counsel if the user intends to act upon or otherwise rely on such information. The law and regulations are continuously changing, and because Person Centered Tech utilized other sources to compile the contents of the survey, PCT cannot guarantee the completeness, currency or accuracy of this survey's contents. This survey is intended purely as an informational resource to help facilitate the beginning of your due diligence process.