New Hampshire Speech-Language Pathologist Licensure Guide - 2024

New Hampshire Speech-Language Pathologist Licensure Process

In New Hampshire, the Speech-Language Pathology and Hearing Care Providers Governing Board is the regulating body for speech-language pathologists. Licenses for the occupation are issued by the New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure and Certification. The Board requires these licenses to be renewed every two years, along with a host of other rules and regulations licensees must follow.

Education Requirements

New Hampshire requires SLP licensees to hold a master’s degree in speech-language pathology. The master’s program you graduate from must be accredited by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA). You can find an approved program online if traveling to a location in-state doesn’t fit your schedule.

A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 is usually required to be accepted into the masters-level program. An undergraduate degree in communicative sciences and disorders will allow you to begin the program with a foundational knowledge of the discipline. If your degree was in an unrelated subject, there are prerequisite courses you must take before the core courses begin.

Some of those prerequisites include:

• Anatomy and Physiology of Speech
• Science Language
• Topics in Communication Disorders
• Normal Language Development

The core coursework covers the basic biological, linguistic, and physiological components of communicative disorders. Here is a list of several classes you can expect at the masters-level.

• Diagnosis of Speech and Language Disorders
• Dysphagia
• Stuttering Therapy
• Articulatory and Phonological Disorders
• Advanced Language Acquisition

Choose electives based on the specialty you’d like to pursue. For instance, if you want to work with infants or young children a class like Language Disorders Birth to Five would be an excellent elective.

Clinical practicums are also part of your educational journey, which is covered in the next portion of the article.

Experience Required

Clinical experience is an extremely important part of your learning as it is where you will begin to interact with patients directly. While in the SLP program, you will have to complete a clinical practicum consisting of 400 clock hours. The hours are broken down the following way:

• 25 hours of supervised clinical observation – The observation should focus on evaluating and treating children and adults under the supervision of an ASHA-certified SLP.
• 375 hours of supervised clinical practice – This concentration must be on the direct evaluation and treatment of patients.

Upon graduation, your supervisor will submit proof that you successfully completed the practicum directly to the Board. The next step toward licensure is to complete a clinical fellowship (CF). This experience requires 1,260 clock hours of paid clinical work, and you must obtain a provisional license before starting.

You and the supervising mentor for the CF will have to complete a Supervision Form stating where you’ll be employed. If you have any trouble locating a mentor through your university, you can search for a supervisor online.

Within the first four weeks of your postgraduate experience, your supervisor will meet with you to set goals for the time you will be working with them. You will establish a schedule in accordance with the rules set for the CF. Expectations for your performance will be set and there will be periodic assessments completed by the supervisor.

Once the experience comes to an end the supervisor will complete a Speech-Language Pathology Clinical Fellowship (SLPCF) Report and Rating Form for the Board to review. On a scale of 1-5, you’ll need to receive a three in each competency to become licensed.

You can choose to work full or part-time but the CF cannot last more than 72 weeks. Here is an outline of how many hours you are expected to work each week and the duration of your postgraduate experience:

• 30 hours per week for 36 weeks
• 25-29 per week for 48 weeks
• 20-24 hours per week for 60 weeks
• 15-19 hours per week for 72 weeks

Testing Requirement

One of the requirements for licensure is passing a national speech-language pathology exam. In the United States (U.S.) that test is Praxis Exam 5331. The exam is administered by the educational testing service (ETS) and you can register directly on their website. Be sure to have your graduate transcript ready to prove that you’ve completed the clinical fellowship. The following are a few topics that are covered on the exam:

• Assessment procedures
• Foundations of professional practice
• Counseling within SLP
• Factors that impact communication and
• Communication disorders
• Ethics, legislation, and client advocacy
• Etiology

The test consists of 132 multiple-choice questions that require a score of 162 to pass. This test is graded on a scale of 100-200.

Applicants with a busy schedule can choose to take the test at home any day of the week if they live in the U.S., a U.S. territory, or Canada. The computer-based exam can be taken on a desktop or laptop computer using an approved and licensed operating system.

Whether you’re using Windows or a Mac you can download the Secure Test Browser to be sure your browser is up to date. Also, run the Equipment Check and repair any issues before the big day. Find more information on the at-home requirements online.

If you’d rather take the test at an approved location, simply perform a search for a test center near you on the ETS website.

On your scheduled test day you’ll need to provide a valid form of ID whether testing at home or a center. If the ID is deemed insufficient you will not be able to proceed. The Praxis Tests Information Bulletin has all the information you need for what to expect on exam day.

You can retake the test as many times as needed up to two years after the initial scheduled test. The only restriction is you must wait 28 days between scheduling exams. The fee is $146 each time you sit for the exam.

Your scores are sent to any institution you indicated when registering. They will also be available for you to view on your Praxis account.

Background Checks

Since you’ll be working with some of the most vulnerable members of our population, a fingerprint-based criminal background check is required for SLP licensure. Your name will be submitted for a New Hampshire criminal history check and your fingerprints are sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Applicants living in New Hampshire can visit the state’s Department of Safety – Criminal Records Portal to schedule a new appointment. Select the appropriate profession or Board once you visit the site and follow the on-screen prompts. You can pay the $48.25 processing fee online with a credit or debit card.

Out-of-state applicants will need to be fingerprinted at a location in their state. Both inked fingerprint cards and digital Livescan captures are accepted. Having your fingerprints captured digitally is recommended as it has a lower rate of rejection.

Along with your fingerprint captures, you’ll need to submit A Criminal History Record Information Release Authorization Form. The fee for out-of-state applicants is also $48.25 and can be paid by check or money order. Send the required documents to the following address:

If you have any difficulties with the process you can speak to a customer support representative at (603) 271-2152.

Application Process

The first credential you must apply for is a provisional license so you can work directly with patients during your clinical fellowship. Apply online and answer the questions pertaining to your professional character and reliability.

After completing the requirements above, gather the necessary documentation to submit along with your full licensure application. Please note that paper applications are no longer accepted and all documents are to be uploaded through the online portal. Any missing documents will cause a delay in processing your application.

The following information must be submitted directly from the issuing institution:

• Official transcripts should be submitted electronically to oplclicensing3@oplc.nh.gov or mailed to OPLC – Board of Allied Health, 7 Eagle Sq., Concord, NH, 03301.
• Practice exam results
• Verification of the number of clinical and fieldwork hours
• Supervision Form
• Criminal history check

Other information you need to send includes:

• A 2×2 passport-sized photo
• A current resume
• The SLPCF Report and Rating Form must be sent within 4 weeks of the completion date
• $60 application fee
• $110 license fee

To successfully upload documents all file names need an extension (.doc, .docx, .pdf, etc.), the file size must not be bigger than 4 MB, and the document name must be 90 characters or less.