N.Y. Education Law Section 7605
Exempt persons

Nothing in this article shall be construed to affect or prevent: * 1. The activities, services, and use of the title of psychologist, or any derivation thereof, on the part of a person in the employ of a federal, state, county or municipal agency, or other political subdivision, or a chartered elementary or secondary school or degree-granting educational institution insofar as such activities and services are a part of the duties of such salaried position; or on the part of a person in the employ as a certified school psychologist on a full-time or part-time salary basis, which may include on an hourly, weekly, or monthly basis, or on a fee for evaluation services basis provided that such person employed as a certified school psychologist is employed by and under the dominion and control of a preschool special education program approved pursuant to paragraph b of subdivision nine or subdivision nine-a of § 4410 (Special education services and programs for preschool children with disabilities)section forty-four hundred ten of this chapter to provide activities, services and to use the title “certified school psychologist”, so long as this shall not be construed to permit the use of the title “licensed psychologist”, to students enrolled in such approved program or to conduct a multidisciplinary evaluation of a preschool child having or suspected of having a disability, where each such preschool special education program is authorized by paragraph a of subdivision six of § 6503-B (Waiver for certain special education schools and early intervention agencies)section sixty-five hundred three-b of this title in the course of their employment. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to authorize a certified school psychologist or group of such school psychologists to engage in independent practice or practice outside of an employment relationship. * NB Effective until June 30, 2026 * 1. The activities, services, and use of the title of psychologist, or any derivation thereof, on the part of a person in the employ of a federal, state, county or municipal agency, or other political subdivision, or a chartered elementary or secondary school or degree-granting educational institution insofar as such activities and services are a part of the duties of his salaried position. * NB Effective June 30, 2026 2. The activities and services required of a student, intern, or resident in psychology, pursuing a course of study leading to a doctoral degree in psychology in an institution approved by the department, provided that such activities and services constitute a part of his supervised course of study in psychology. Such persons shall be designated by title as “psychological intern”, “psychological trainee” or other such title which clearly indicates his training status.

3.

The practice, conduct, activities or services by any person licensed or otherwise authorized to practice medicine within the state pursuant to article 131 (Medicine)article one hundred thirty-one of this title or by any person registered to perform services as a physician assistant within the state pursuant to article 131-B (Physician Assistants)article one hundred thirty-one-B of this title.

4.

The practice, conduct, activities, or services by any person licensed or otherwise authorized to practice nursing as a registered professional nurse or nurse practitioner within the state pursuant to article 139 (Nursing)article one hundred thirty-nine of this title or by any person licensed or otherwise authorized to practice social work within the state pursuant to article 154 (Social Work)article one hundred fifty-four of this title, or by any person licensed or otherwise authorized to practice mental health counseling, marriage and family therapy, creative arts therapy, or psychoanalysis within the state pursuant to article 163 (Mental Health Practitioners)article one hundred sixty-three of this title, or any person licensed or otherwise authorized to practice applied behavior analysis within the state pursuant to article 167 (Applied Behavior Analysis)article one hundred sixty-seven of this title or any individual who is credentialed under any law, including attorneys, rape crisis counselors, certified alcoholism counselors, and certified substance abuse counselors from providing mental health services within their respective established authorities.

5.

The conduct, activities, or services of any member of the clergy or Christian Science practitioner, in the provision of pastoral counseling services within the context of his or her ministerial charge or obligation.

6.

The conduct, activities, or services of individuals, churches, schools, teachers, organizations, or not-for-profit businesses in providing instruction, advice, support, encouragement, or information to individuals, families, and relational groups.

7.

The practice, conduct, activities, or services of an occupational therapist from performing work consistent with article 156 (Occupational Therapy)article one hundred fifty-six of this title.

8.

The representation as a psychologist and the rendering of services as such in this state for a temporary period of a person who resides outside the state of New York and who engages in practice as a psychologist and conducts the major part of his practice as such outside this state, provided such person has filed with the department evidence that he has been licensed or certified in another state or has been admitted to the examination in this state pursuant to § 7603 (Requirements for a professional license)section seventy-six hundred three of this article. Such temporary period shall not exceed ten consecutive business days in any period of ninety consecutive days or in the aggregate exceed more than fifteen business days in any such ninety-day period.

9.

The provision of psychotherapy as defined in subdivision two of § 8401 (Definitions)section eighty-four hundred one of this title to the extent permissible within the scope of practice of psychology, by any not-for-profit corporation or education corporation providing services within the state of New York and operating under a waiver pursuant to § 6503-A (Waiver for entities providing certain professional services)section sixty-five hundred three-a of this title, provided that such entities offering psychology services shall only provide such services through an individual appropriately licensed or otherwise authorized to provide such services or a professional entity authorized by law to provide such services.

10.

(a) A person without a license from: performing assessments including but not limited to basic information collection, gathering of demographic data, and informal observations, screening and referral used for general eligibility for a program or service and determining the functional status of an individual for the purpose of determining need for services; advising individuals regarding the appropriateness of benefits they are eligible for; providing general advice and guidance and assisting individuals or groups with difficult day to day problems such as finding employment, locating sources of assistance, and organizing community groups to work on a specific problem; providing peer services; selecting for suitability and providing substance abuse treatment services or group re-entry services to incarcerated individuals in state correctional facilities; or providing substance abuse treatment services or re-entry services to incarcerated individuals in local correctional facilities.

(b)

A person without a license from creating, developing or implementing a service plan or recovery plan that is not a behavioral health diagnosis or treatment plan. Such service or recovery plans shall include, but are not limited to, coordinating, evaluating or determining the need for, or the provision of the following services: job training and employability; housing; homeless services and shelters for homeless individuals and families; refugee services; residential, day or community habilitation services; general public assistance; in home services and supports or home-delivered meals; recovery supports; adult or child protective services including investigations; detention as defined in Executive Law § 502 (Definitions)section five hundred two of the executive law; prevention and residential services for victims of domestic violence; services for runaway and homeless youth; foster care, adoption, preventive services or services in accordance with an approved plan pursuant to Social Services Law § 404 (Juvenile justice services close to home initiative)section four hundred four of the social services law, including, adoption and foster home studies and assessments, family service plans, transition plans, permanency planning activities, and case planning or case management as such terms are defined in the regulations of the office of children and family services; residential rehabilitation; home and community based services; and de-escalation techniques, peer services or skill development.

(c)

(i) A person without a license from participating as a member of a multi-disciplinary team to assist in the development of or implementation of a behavioral health services or treatment plan; provided that such team shall include one or more professionals licensed under this article or articles one hundred thirty-one, one hundred thirty-nine, one hundred fifty-four or one hundred sixty-three of this chapter; and provided, further, that the activities performed by members of the team shall be consistent with the scope of practice for each team member licensed or authorized under title VIII of this chapter, and those who are not so authorized may not engage in the following restricted practices: the diagnosis of mental, emotional, behavioral, addictive and developmental disorders and disabilities; patient assessment and evaluating; the provision of psychotherapeutic treatment; the provision of treatment other than psychotherapeutic treatment; or independently developing and implementing assessment-based treatment plans as defined in § 7701 (Definitions)section seventy-seven hundred one of this title.

(ii)

For the purposes of this paragraph, “assist” shall include, but not be limited to, the provision or performance of the following tasks, services, or functions by an individual who has obtained the training and experience required by the applicable state oversight agency to perform such task, service or function in facilities or programs operating pursuant to article nineteen-G of the executive law; articles seven, sixteen, thirty-one or thirty-two of the mental hygiene law; or title three of article seven of the social services law: (1) helping an individual with the completion of forms or questionnaires; (2) reviewing existing case records and collecting background information about an individual which may be used by the licensed professional or multi-disciplinary team; (3) gathering and reporting information about previous behavioral health interventions, hospitalizations, documented diagnosis, or prior treatment for review by the licensed professional and multi-disciplinary team; (4) discussing with the individual his or her situation, needs, concerns, and thoughts in order to help identify services that support the individual’s goals, independence, and quality of life; (5) providing advice, information, and assistance to individuals and family members to identify needs and available resources in the community to help meet the needs of the individual or family member; (6) engaging in immediate and long-term problem solving, engaging in the development of social skills, or providing general help in areas including, but not limited to, housing, employment, child care, parenting, community based services, and finances; (7) distributing paper copies of self-administered tests for the individual to complete when such tests do not require the observation and judgment of a licensed professional; (8) monitoring treatment by the collection of written and/or observational data in accordance with the treatment plan and providing verbal or written reports to the multi-disciplinary team; (9) identifying gaps in services and coordinating access to or arranging services for individuals such as home care, community based services, housing, employment, transportation, child care, vocational training, or health care; (10) offering education programs that provide information about disease identification and recommended treatments that may be provided, and how to access such treatment; (11) reporting on behavior, actions, and responses to treatment by collecting written and/or observational data as part of a multi-disciplinary team; (12) using de-escalation techniques consistent with appropriate training; (13) performing assessments using standardized, structured interview tools or instruments; (14) directly delivering services outlined in the service plan that are not clinical in nature but have been tailored to an individual based on any diagnoses such individual may have received from a licensed professional; and (15) advocating with educational, judicial or other systems to protect an individual’s rights and access to appropriate services.

(d)

Provided, further, that nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as requiring a license for any particular activity or function based solely on the fact that the activity or function is not listed in this subdivision.

11.

The conduct, activities or services of a technician to administer and score standardized objective (non-projective) psychological or neuropsychological tests which have specific predetermined and manualized administrative procedures which entail observing and describing test behavior and test responses, and which do not require evaluation, interpretation or other judgments; provided, however, that such technician shall:

(i)

hold no less than a Bachelor’s degree in psychology or a related field;

(ii)

undergo a process of regular training by a licensed psychologist, which shall include, but not be limited to a minimum of eighty total hours of (a) professional ethics, (b) studying and mastering information from test manuals, and

(c)

direct observation of a licensed psychologist or trained technician administering and scoring tests, in addition to a minimum of forty total hours of administering and scoring tests in the presence of a licensed psychologist or trained technician, provided such interaction with the licensed psychologist equals or exceeds fifty percent of the total training time;

(iii)

be under the direct and ongoing supervision of a licensed psychologist in no greater than a 3:1 ratio or the part time equivalent thereto;

(iv)

not be employed within a school setting and (v) not select tests, analyze patient data or communicate results to patients. The supervising licensed psychologist must submit, pursuant to a form to be prescribed and developed within ninety days of the effective date of this subdivision by the department, a sworn statement detailing compliance with the above requirements. The licensed psychologist’s use of such individual pursuant to the terms of this subdivision shall be undertaken only with special care and professional judgment in order to ensure the safety and well-being of the patient considering the severity of the symptoms, the age of the patient and the length of the examination process, and shall include appropriate ongoing contact with the licensed psychologist at appropriate intervals. Such use shall be subject to the full disciplinary and regulatory authority of the board of regents and the department pursuant to this title. The licensed psychologist must notify the patient or designated health care surrogate that the licensed psychologist may utilize the services of a technician to administer certain exams, and must provide the patient or designated health care surrogate the opportunity to object to the licensed psychologist’s plan to utilize a technician.

12.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit or limit the activities or services provided under this article by any person who is employed or who commences employment in a program or service operated, regulated, funded, or approved by the department of mental hygiene, the office of children and family services, or a local governmental unit as that term is defined in section 41.03 of the mental hygiene law or a social services district as defined in Social Services Law § 61 (Social services districts)section sixty-one of the social services law on or before two years from the date that the regulations issued in accordance with section six of part Y of chapter fifty-seven of the laws of two thousand eighteen appear in the state register or are adopted, whichever is later. Such prohibitions or limitations shall not apply to such employees for as long as they remain employed by such programs or services and whether they remain employed by the same or other employers providing such programs or services. Provided, however, that any person who commences employment in such program or service after such date and performs services that are restricted under this article shall be appropriately licensed or authorized under this article. Each state oversight agency shall create and maintain a process to verify employment history of individuals exempt under this subdivision.

13.

The activities or services provided by a person with a master’s level degree in psychology or its equivalent, working under the supervision of a licensed psychologist in a program or service operated, regulated, funded, or approved by the department of mental hygiene, the office of children and family services, or a local government unit as that term is defined in section 41.03 of the mental hygiene law or a social services district as defined in Social Services Law § 61 (Social services districts)section sixty-one of the social services law.

Source: Section 7605 — Exempt persons, https://www.­nysenate.­gov/legislation/laws/EDN/7605 (updated Apr. 4, 2025; accessed Apr. 19, 2025).

Green check means up to date. Up to date

Accessed:
Apr. 19, 2025

Last modified:
Apr. 4, 2025

§ 7605’s source at nysenate​.gov

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