Psi Chi chapters are established and maintained in four-year colleges and universities that offer baccalaureate or advanced degrees. The institution must be fully accredited as a four-year institution by its national or regional accrediting agency and its program must meet uniform criteria as determined by the Psi Chi National Council. The institution must have received a determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service approving exemption from Federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) showing that the school is a non-profit entity. A group desiring a charter for a collegiate chapter must petition the National Council. The petitioning group must be an active organized group that has been in existence for at least one year, such as a psychology club or similar organization within the department. The petitioning group must show that a minimum of eight students will be eligible for Psi Chi membership each year.

The department supporting the petition must have a minimum of two faculty members holding the doctoral degree in psychology. To request a charter, the petitioning group must send the National Office the psychology department's address and the faculty member's name within the department who is willing to serve as the Psi Chi faculty advisor should a charter be granted. The faculty member agreeing to serve as the faculty advisor must also hold a doctoral degree in psychology. Eligibility requirements of the petitioning group will be determined by the National Council, with the qualifications of each petitioning group being examined by the National Council during the charter application process. The National Council currently grants chapters to four-year, degree-granting, 501(c)(3) institutions using a traditional (i.e., classroom) method of instruction. Only one chapter will be chartered on each institution's campus for both undergraduate and graduate students.

For further information on the charter application process and to request a charter application, please email the Psi Chi National Office (charter@psichi.org) the name of the faculty member, the psychology department address, and the contact telephone number (or, call Psi Chi at 423-756-2044). Psi Chi will mail the charter application packet to the faculty member willing to serve as the faculty advisor at the school's department address. Psi Chi does not accept online submissions for charter applications out of privacy to students' grades and in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (commonly referred to as The Buckley Amendment).

Once again, some of the basic requirements for starting a chapter include the following: