Title BPC — California Bus. & Prof. Code

A person engages in the practice of professional clinical counseling when he or she performs or offers to perform or holds himself or herself out as able to perform this service for remuneration in any form, including donations.

The board shall do all of the following: (a) Communicate information about its activities, the requirements and qualifications for licensure, and the practice of professional clinical counseling to the relevant educational institutions, supervisors, professional associations, app…

(a) (1) “Professional clinical counseling” means the application of counseling interventions and psychotherapeutic techniques to identify and remediate cognitive, mental, and emotional issues, including personal growth, adjustment to disability, crisis intervention, and psychosoc…

(a) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent qualified persons from doing work of a psychosocial nature consistent with the standards and ethics of their respective professions. However, these qualified persons shall not hold themselves out to the public by any title or description …

(a) Notwithstanding Section 4999.30, a person who holds a license in another jurisdiction of the United States as a professional clinical counselor may provide professional clinical counseling services in this state for a period not to exceed 30 consecutive days in any calendar y…

The settings described in Section 4999.22 are exempt settings and do not fall under the jurisdiction of this chapter or the board except as specified in Section 4999.22, and with the following exceptions: (a) Any individual working or volunteering in an exempt setting who is lice…

(a) For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply: (1) “Nonexempt setting” means a setting that does not qualify as an exempt setting, as specified in Section 4999.22. (2) “Private practice” means a type of nonexempt setting that meets all of the following cri…

(a) Nothing in this chapter shall restrict or prevent activities of a psychotherapeutic or counseling nature on the part of persons employed by accredited or state-approved academic institutions, public schools, government agencies, or nonprofit institutions who train graduate st…

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a person shall not practice or advertise the performance of professional clinical counseling services without a license issued by the board, and shall pay the license fee required by this chapter.

(a) This section shall apply to applicants for licensure or registration who began graduate study before August 1, 2012, and completed that study on or before December 31, 2018. Those applicants may alternatively qualify under paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 4999.33. …

(a) This section shall apply to the following: (1) Applicants for licensure or registration who begin graduate study before August 1, 2012, and do not complete that study on or before December 31, 2018. (2) Applicants for licensure or registration who begin graduate study before …

(a) A clinical counselor trainee may perform activities and services provided that the activities and services constitute part of the clinical counselor trainee’s supervised course of study and that the person is designated by the title “clinical counselor trainee.” (b) All pract…

(a) Each educational institution preparing applicants to qualify for licensure shall notify each of its students by means of its public documents or otherwise in writing that its degree program is designed to meet the requirements of Section 4999.32 or 4999.33 and shall certify t…

(a) An applicant shall meet all of the following qualifications to qualify for registration as an associate: (1) Earned a master’s or doctoral degree as specified in Section 4999.32 or 4999.33, as applicable. An applicant whose education qualifies the applicant under Section 4999…

The board may audit the records of any supervisor to verify the completion of the supervisor qualifications specified by this chapter and by regulation. A supervisor shall maintain records of completion of the required supervisor qualifications for seven years after termination o…

The board shall adopt regulations regarding the supervision of associates that may include, but not be limited to, the following: (a) Supervisor qualifications. (b) Continuing education requirements of supervisors. (c) Registration or licensing of supervisors, or both. (d) Genera…

(a) The board may issue a professional clinical counselor license to any person who meets all of the following requirements: (1) He or she has received a master’s or doctoral degree described in Section 4999.32 or 4999.33, as applicable. (2) He or she has completed at least 3,000…

An applicant for licensure as a professional clinical counselor or registration as an associate shall satisfy the following qualifications: (a) Not be subject to denial of licensure pursuant to Section 480. (b) (1) Not have been convicted of a crime in this or another state or in…

(a) Every applicant for a license as a professional clinical counselor shall take one or more examinations, as determined by the board, to ascertain their knowledge, professional skills, and judgment in the utilization of appropriate techniques and methods of professional clinica…

(a) Effective January 1, 2016, a registrant or an applicant for licensure as a professional clinical counselor shall pass the following examinations as prescribed by the board: (1) A California law and ethics examination. (2) A clinical examination administered by the board, or t…

(a) Each applicant and registrant shall obtain a passing score on a board-administered California law and ethics examination in order to qualify for licensure. (b) A registrant shall take a board-administered California law and ethics examination before their registration renewal…

(a) The board may issue a license to a person who, at the time of submitting an application for a license pursuant to this chapter, holds a license in another jurisdiction of the United States as a professional clinical counselor at the highest level for independent clinical prac…

(a) This section applies to persons with education gained from an out-of-state school or experience gained outside of California who apply for licensure or registration who do not qualify for a license under Section 4999.60. (b) The board shall accept education gained from an out…

(a) This section applies to persons with education gained from an out-of-state school who apply for licensure or registration and who do not qualify for a license under Section 4999.60. (b) For purposes of Section 4999.61, education is substantially equivalent if all of the follo…

(a) Effective January 1, 2016, an applicant who fails the examination specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 4999.53 may, within one year from the notification date of that failure, retake the examination as regularly scheduled without further application upon p…

(a) On or after January 1, 2021, an applicant for licensure as a professional clinical counselor shall show, as part of the application, that they have completed a minimum of six hours of coursework or applied experience under supervision in suicide risk assessment and interventi…

(a) On or after July 1, 2023, an applicant for licensure as a professional clinical counselor shall show, as part of the application, that they have completed a minimum of three hours of training or coursework in the provision of mental health services via telehealth, which shall…

A licensee shall display their license in a conspicuous place in the licensee’s primary place of practice when rendering professional clinical services in person.

(a) A licensee or registrant shall provide a client with a notice written in at least 12-point type prior to initiating psychotherapy services, or as soon as practicably possible thereafter, that reads as follows: NOTICE TO CLIENTS The Board of Behavioral Sciences receives and re…

Any licensed professional clinical counselor who owns a business using a fictitious business name shall not use any name that is false, misleading, or deceptive, and shall inform the patient, prior to the commencement of treatment, of the name and license designation of the owner…

Licensed professional clinical counselors shall provide to each client accurate information about the counseling relationship and the counseling process.

(a) A licensed professional clinical counselor shall retain a client’s or patient’s health service records for a minimum of seven years from the date therapy is terminated. If the client or patient is a minor, the client’s or patient’s health service records shall be retained for…

(a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (d), the board shall not renew any license pursuant to this chapter unless the applicant certifies to the board, on a form prescribed by the board, that the applicant has completed not less than 36 hours of approved continuing education i…

In order to carry out the provisions of this chapter, the board shall do all of the following: (a) Enforce laws designed to protect the public from incompetent, unethical, or unprofessional practitioners. (b) Investigate complaints concerning the conduct of any licensed professio…

It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any of the following acts: (a) Engage in the practice of professional clinical counseling, as defined in Section 4999.20, without first having complied with the provisions of this chapter and without holding a valid license as requ…

It is the intent of the Legislature that any communication made by a person to a licensed professional clinical counselor in the course of professional services shall be deemed a privileged communication.

Any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by both that fine and imprisonment.

In addition to other proceedings provided in this chapter, whenever any person has engaged, or is about to engage, in any acts or practices that constitute, or will constitute, an offense against this chapter, the superior court in and for the county wherein the acts or practices…

The board may refuse to issue any registration or license, or may suspend or revoke the registration or license of any associate or licensed professional clinical counselor, if the applicant, licensee, or registrant has been guilty of unprofessional conduct. Unprofessional conduc…

The board may deny any application, or may suspend or revoke any license or registration issued under this chapter, for any of the following: (a) Denial of licensure, revocation, suspension, restriction, or any other disciplinary action imposed by this state or another state or t…

(a) The Board of Behavioral Sciences shall require an applicant for professional clinical counselor licensure or registration as an associate professional clinical counselor, as defined in Sections 4999.12, 4999.20, and 4999.30, to undergo a fingerprint-based state and national c…