Georgia Licensing Requirements for Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists

The information below is collected from state licensure boards or regulatory agencies responsible for regulating the professions of speech-language pathology and/or audiology. The information is reviewed on an annual basis. Please be advised that laws, regulations and policies may change at any time, so always check with your state for the most up-to-date information.

Initial Licensure

Audiology

Doctoral degree in audiology or completed the academic requirement of a doctoral degree program with a major emphasis in audiology from an institution of higher learning that is, or at the time the applicant was enrolled and graduated, was accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or its successor organization
Clinical practicum: must evidence completion of a post-baccalaureated directly-supervised clinical practicum with cases representative of a wide spectrum of ages and communicative disorders within the first three years of doctoral degree program. Completion of a clinical externship satisfies the requirement of a Required Professional Experience.
Completed the requirement of full-time professional experience that is equivalent to 12 months full-time supervised clinical practicum. Must be obtained with an accredited program.
Passage of a Board of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology-approved national exam
Demonstrated recency of study through 2 CEUs within 2 years preceding application.

Note: Audiologists may dispense hearing aids under an audiology license.

Speech-Language Pathology

Master's or higher degree with a major emphasis in speech-language pathology from an accredited program, which incorporates the academic coursework of 75 semester hours, 36 of which must be earned at the graduate level
Complete a supervised clinical practicum with experience working with adults and children, in a variety of settings and a variety of communication problems. The experience must be obtained within an accredited program and amount to 375 clock hours of direct supervision and 25 clock hours of observation. At least 325 of the 400 hours must be obtained at the graduate level.
Complete a required professional experience of no less than nine months of full-time or 18 months of part-time paid clinical experience
Passage of a national examination approved by the Board
Recency of study must be demonstrated via two CEUs within two years preceding application.

Exemptions

Speech-language pathologists certified by the Department of Education or Professional Standards Commission while an employee of an educational institution, provided that no fees are charged for the services except for Medicaid
Students, interns, or clinical fellows
Hearing aid dealers
Physicians or physician-supervised persons from conducting hearing testing provided that the physician is on premises when such acts are performed
Persons performing nondiagnostic infant hearing screening, provided that the individual completes a specific training program under a licensed audiologist; the screening equipment is fully automated; results are determined automatically as "pass or fail;" the licensed audiologist is responsible for training, protocol, administration, and periodic monitoring; and the non-licensed individual may only record patient information; apply earphones, electrodes, or other devices; the initiation of the test; recording of results; and arrangement of referral.

Reciprocity

The Board may grant a license without examination to:

Applicants who hold current licensure in another state with equivalent requirements
Applicants with a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) or American Board of Audiology certification, provided that the applicant otherwise meets the other eligibility requirements

Applicants from foreign countries must have their credentials evaluated by an independent foreign credential evaluations service including a course-by-course evaluation and an indication of the equivalent highest level of education and must submit it to the Board for verification and comparison to Georgia laws and rules.

Interim Practice

A temporary license is required for the Paid Clinical Experience/Required Professional Experience Fellowship. Supervisors must be Georgia-licensed or equivalent while holding a CCC and may supervise only 2 fellows at a time. The license is valid for 1 year and may be renewed once.

Continuing Education

Twenty clock hours or 2.0 CEUs are required per biennium. Dual license holders must complete 2.0 CEUs per biennium in each field.

Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact

Georgia is a member state of the Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact. Information on the current status of the ASLP-IC can be found on the ASLP-IC website.