2023 California Code
Business and Professions Code - BPC
DIVISION 1 - DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 1 - The Department
Section 115.6.

115.6. (a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (j), a board within the department shall, after appropriate investigation, issue a temporary license to practice a profession or vocation to an applicant who meets the requirements set forth in subdivisions (c) and (d).

(2) Revenues from fees for temporary licenses issued by the California Board of Accountancy shall be credited to the Accountancy Fund in accordance with Section 5132.

(b) The board may conduct an investigation of an applicant for purposes of denying or revoking a temporary license issued pursuant to this section. This investigation may include a criminal background check.

(c) An applicant seeking a temporary license pursuant to this section shall meet the following requirements:

(1) The applicant shall supply evidence satisfactory to the board that the applicant is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is assigned to a duty station in this state under official active duty military orders.

(2) The applicant shall hold a current, active, and unrestricted license that confers upon the applicant the authority to practice, in another state, district, or territory of the United States, the profession or vocation within the same scope for which the applicant seeks a temporary license from the board.

(3) The applicant shall submit an application to the board that shall include a signed affidavit attesting to the fact that the applicant meets all of the requirements for the temporary license, and that the information submitted in the application is accurate, to the best of the applicant’s knowledge. The application shall also include written verification from the applicant’s original licensing jurisdiction stating that the applicant’s license is in good standing in that jurisdiction.

(4) The applicant shall not have committed an act in any jurisdiction that would have constituted grounds for denial, suspension, or revocation of the license under this code at the time the act was committed. A violation of this paragraph may be grounds for the denial or revocation of a temporary license issued by the board.

(5) The applicant shall not have been disciplined by a licensing entity in another jurisdiction and shall not be the subject of an unresolved complaint, review procedure, or disciplinary proceeding conducted by a licensing entity in another jurisdiction.

(6) (A) The applicant shall, upon request by a board, furnish a full set of fingerprints for purposes of conducting a criminal background check.

(B) The board shall request a fingerprint-based criminal history information check from the Department of Justice in accordance with subdivision (u) of Section 11105 of the Penal Code and the Department of Justice shall furnish state or federal criminal history information in accordance with subdivision (p) of Section 11105 of the Penal Code.

(d) The applicant shall pass a California law and ethics examination if otherwise required by the board for the profession or vocation for which the applicant seeks licensure.

(e) Except as specified in subdivision (g), a board shall issue a temporary license pursuant to this section within 30 days of receiving documentation that the applicant has met the requirements specified in subdivisions (c) and (d) if the results of the criminal background check do not show grounds for denial.

(f) (1) A temporary license issued pursuant to this section may be immediately terminated upon a finding that the temporary licenseholder failed to meet any of the requirements described in subdivision (c) or (d) or provided substantively inaccurate information that would affect the person’s eligibility for temporary licensure. Upon termination of the temporary license, the board shall issue a notice of termination that shall require the temporary licenseholder to immediately cease the practice of the licensed profession upon receipt.

(2) Notwithstanding any other law, if, after notice and an opportunity to be heard, a board finds that a temporary licenseholder engaged in unprofessional conduct or any other act that is a cause for discipline by the board, the board shall revoke the temporary license.

(g) An applicant seeking a temporary license as a civil engineer, geotechnical engineer, structural engineer, land surveyor, professional geologist, professional geophysicist, certified engineering geologist, or certified hydrogeologist pursuant to this section shall successfully pass the appropriate California-specific examination or examinations required for licensure in those respective professions by the Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists. The board shall issue a temporary license pursuant to this subdivision within 30 days of receiving documentation that the applicant has met the requirements specified in this subdivision and subdivisions (c) and (d) if the results of the criminal background check do not show grounds for denial.

(h) A temporary license issued pursuant to this section is nonrenewable and shall expire 12 months after issuance, upon issuance or denial of a standard license, upon issuance or denial of a license by endorsement, or upon issuance or denial of an expedited license pursuant to Section 115.5, whichever occurs first.

(i) A board shall submit to the department for approval, if necessary to implement this section, draft regulations necessary to administer this section. These regulations shall be adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

(j) (1) This section shall not apply to a board that has a process in place by which an out-of-state licensed applicant in good standing who is married to, or in a domestic partnership or other legal union with, an active duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States is able to receive expedited, temporary authorization to practice while meeting state-specific requirements for a period of at least one year or is able to receive an expedited license by endorsement with no additional requirements superseding those described in subdivisions (c) and (d).

(2) This section shall apply only to the extent that it does not amend an initiative or violate constitutional requirements.

(k) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2023.

(Repealed (in Sec. 1) and added by Stats. 2021, Ch. 693, Sec. 2. (AB 107) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative July 1, 2023, by its own provisions.)