Skip to content

Transverse Registration Update

The Professional Board for Psychology in November 2022 opened the application process for Transverse Registration (TR), the Board wishes to communicate the following amendments to TR requirements.

Transverse Registration will only apply to any psychologist registered in the category of Educational, Clinical or Counselling prior to the promulgation of the 2011 Scope of Practice regulations (R704). Following the regulations being published in 2011, the Professional Board ensured that all training programmes were compliant with new regulations. Therefore, all practitioners trained after this period would have trained in accordance with the new regulation and acquired the competencies for their specific category of registration.

  1. Practitioners who wish to apply for the TR must be currently registered and have been active in continuous practice. ‘Practice’ means any role, whether remunerated or not, in which applicants use their skills and knowledge as registered psychologists in the profession. Practice is not restricted to the provision of direct clinical care. It also includes using your professional knowledge in a direct non- clinical relationship with clients, when working in management, administration, education, research, advisory, regulatory or policy development roles, and any other roles that impact the safe, effective delivery of services in the profession. Applicants should provide a detailed history of their practice since registration, including any periods when not active, and according to the format described below.
  2. Applicants should provide proof that they are compliant with Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and sign a declaration that they are in good standing.
  3. The window period for application for TR is two years from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024 (no new or still incomplete applications after 31 December 2024 will be considered). The reasons for a specified window period are as follows: This is a longstanding problem in the profession that should be remedied as a matter of urgency, and to minimise the confusion with the public and referring practitioners.
  4. Practitioners who wish to apply for TR must choose one registration category (the transverse category) that best suits their competencies and clearly state the category to which they wish to convert.
  5. Practitioners who are successful with their application will give up their current registered category for the new one. (This does not apply to any additional categories other than clinical, counselling and educational psychology).
  6. Applications will only be reviewed once all the necessary documentation has been submitted.
  7. The evaluation of the evidence will be undertaken by the Education, Training and Registration Committee of the Professional Board. Necessary evidence is to the satisfaction of the Professional Board.
  8. The practitioner applying for TR will be required to complete full-time 12 months internship at an accredited institution/psychiatric hospital for Clinical Psychology. For Educational Psychology and Counselling Psychology tailored internship programmes will be permitted.
  9. All approved applicants will be required to write the Board examinations in the transverse category applied for after completion of all requirements prescribed by the Professional Board. The normal National Board Examination policy and rules will apply.
  10. At the end of the internship, an intern duty certificate, letter from the Education, Training and Registration Committee confirming approval to transverse and a letter confirming passing of National Board Examination should be submitted to the Registration Division to proceed with transverse registration.
  11. Unsuccessful applicants may appeal the outcome.
  12. Successful applicants for transverse registration into Clinical Psychology will not be required to do Community Service.
  13. Application must include (1) the prescribed form, (2) a CV in the prescribed format and a (3) portfolio of evidence, as detailed below.
  14. A complete application must include the following:
    a. Applicants must complete and submit the form Application for Transverse Registration.
    b. Applicants must submit a Curriculum Vitae in the format prescribed below.
    c. Applicants must submit a portfolio of evidence in the format prescribed below. The portfolio of evidence must state each of the competencies from the relevant Minimum Standards Document and then provide details of evidence that the competency has been acquired. In cases where one or more competencies have not been acquired, the applicant should indicate this.
    d. The application should be collated into a single PDF file.
  15. Additional documentation required:
    a. A copy of the course booklet for the first year of the directed master’s programme.
    b. A CPD compliance certificate.
    c. Only relevant certificates of training.

The completed forms are to be returned to The Registrar, Health Professions Council of South Africa, 572 Madiba St, Arcadia, Pretoria, 0002.

Practitioners in need of further information can email portiak@hpcsa.co.za.

Kind regards 

Professional Board for Psychology


Last Updated on 13 September 2023 by HPCSA Corporate Affairs