Failed the EPPP? Board Approval, the Four-in-12-Months Limit and the March 2028 Part 1 Cutoff

EPPP retake rules: ASPPB's layer and your board's

Two sets of rules apply at once, and you must satisfy both. From ASPPB's EPPP Candidate Handbook (September 2026) and its Retake Process page:

The handbook's phrasing is that boards vary in how many times and how often they allow candidates to take the EPPP, and that ASPPB's four-in-12-months cap applies regardless of what the board allows. Your board's rules are the ones to check first.

What to do after a failed EPPP, step by step

1. Keep your score report. You receive it at the test center when you finish. ASPPB's prep checklist says it can't be duplicated, and below 500 it includes your performance feedback by domain.
2. Ask for approval. The handbook says you request a retake by contacting your board directly where it requires that, or within your Clarus account. ASPPB's Retake Process page still mentions the old Certemy portal; the handbook confirms Clarus replaced it on September 29, 2026.
3. Wait for the new Authorization to Test. Once your board assigns it in Clarus, you can register for the retake.
4. Pay and schedule. You pay the exam fee and sitting fee again and book with Pearson VUE, inside the testing window your board sets.

What an EPPP retake costs

There's no retake discount on Part 1. Every attempt costs $600 plus the $91.88 Pearson VUE sitting fee, $691.88, so two attempts total $1,383.76 before any board fees. All fees are non-refundable, and missing or arriving late to the retake forfeits the whole amount, so book a date you can keep. The registration guide lists the rescheduling fees.

The one exception involves the 2027 beta test, covered below.

Reading your EPPP domain feedback

Anyone who scores below ASPPB's recommended 500 automatically gets performance feedback by domain as part of the score report, in the form of a bar graph, at no charge. A practical way to use it:

1. Rank the areas by weight times weakness. A low bar in a 16% area (assessment and diagnosis, or ethics) costs more points than the same bar in research methods and statistics at 7%.
2. Compare with the national picture. ASPPB's 2026 report shows first-time candidates from accredited programs averaged under 66% correct in growth and lifespan development and in research methods and statistics. If those are your low bars too, you're in common company, and they're worth direct work. The EPPP difficulty guide has every area's average.
3. Ask what else went wrong. Content isn't the only cause of a miss. Did you run short of time? Guess on many questions in one block? Change answers late? Those call for timed practice, not more reading.

Turning that ranking into weekly work is where you'd rebuild weak domains with the planned EPPP domain practice once full prep opens.

A 90-day EPPP retake plan

ASPPB's recommended gap of about 90 days is roughly 13 weeks. One way to use it:

Change the method, not only the hours: if you mostly reread notes last time, shift to questions and error review; if you ran out of time, rehearse full-length sittings. Two full sittings before the retake are where full-length timed practice with the planned EPPP mock exam fits. The free EPPP retake planner builds a week-by-week version from your own date and weak areas, and the EPPP study plan has the full content sequence if you're starting over.

How the 2027 switch affects EPPP retakes

ASPPB is replacing Part 1 and Part 2 with an integrated EPPP in fall 2027, and it has set a specific rule for repeaters. Its May 8, 2026 update, beta-test article and October 21, 2026 timeline agree:

• Failed Part 1 before the integrated EPPP's launch: you may retake Part 1 through March 31, 2028.
• From April 1, 2028: only the integrated EPPP is available, with a $650 exam fee.
• Part 2: the same rule applies to candidates who failed Part 2 before the launch.

Board approval and the four-in-12-months cap still apply inside that window. If you fail Part 1 shortly before the launch, count backward from March 31, 2028: with ASPPB's suggested 90-day gap, a fail in mid-September 2027 leaves room for one retake around mid-December and, at most, one more before the cutoff. If you still haven't passed by March 31, 2028, your next attempt will be on the integrated exam. ASPPB hasn't said how boards will count earlier Part 1 attempts toward their own limits after that; ask yours.

If you took the beta test. For first-time candidates who sit the integrated EPPP beta in March or April 2027 and don't pass, ASPPB has recommended that participating boards not count the attempt toward attempt history or limits, and it offers one discounted administration of Part 1 for $100 plus the sitting fee. ASPPB says individual boards make the final decisions on score acceptance and testing policies. The EPPP 2027 guide explains the beta in full.

Failed the EPPP twice, three or four times

Repeated failures are discouraging, but the rules are the same each time: board approval, a new Authorization to Test, a new fee, and no more than four attempts in any 12 months. ASPPB doesn't publish a lifetime limit; some boards set their own maximums or add requirements, so ask yours before you register again. After two or more attempts, the most useful change is usually in method: find out whether the problem is a few areas, pacing, or test-day conditions, and work on that specifically. If your timeline for the next attempt is around three months, a planned 90-day access period that lines up with ASPPB's suggested retake gap is the closest fit, though checkout isn't open yet.