Article 4 - Revenue

California Business and Professions Code — §§ 3520-3526

Sections (10)

Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 511, Sec. 16. (SB 1495) Effective January 1, 2023.

Within 10 days after the beginning of each calendar month, the board shall report to the Controller the amount and source of all collections made under this chapter and at the same time pay all those sums into the State Treasury, where they shall be credited to the Physician Assistant Fund, which fund is hereby created. All money in the fund shall be available, upon appropriation of the Legislature, to carry out the purpose of this chapter.

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 194, Sec. 16. (AB 1501) Effective January 1, 2026.

The fees to be paid by physician assistants are to be set by the board as follows:

(a)An application fee charged to each physician assistant applicant shall be sixty dollars ($60) and may be increased to not more than eighty dollars ($80).
(b)An initial license fee charged to each physician assistant to whom a license is issued shall be two hundred fifty dollars ($250) and may be increased to not more than five hundred dollars ($500).
(c)A biennial license renewal fee charged to each physician assistant who holds a license shall be three hundred dollars ($300) and may be increased to not more than five hundred dollars ($500).
(d)The delinquency fee is seventy-five dollars ($75).
(e)The duplicate license fee is ten dollars ($10).
(f)The fee for a letter of endorsement, letter of good standing, or letter of verification of licensure shall be fifty dollars ($50).

Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 332, Sec. 54. (SB 1236) Effective January 1, 2013.

(a)The board may establish, by regulation, a system for the placement of a license on a retired status, upon application, for a physician assistant who is not actively engaged in practice as a physician assistant or any activity that requires them to be licensed by the board.
(b)No licensee with a license on a retired status shall engage in any activity for which a license is required.
(c)The board shall deny an applicant’s application for a retired status license if the license is canceled or if the license is suspended, revoked, or otherwise punitively restricted by the board or subject to disciplinary action under this chapter.
(d)Beginning one year from the effective date of the regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (a), if an applicant’s license is delinquent, the board shall deny an applicant’s application for a retired status license.
(e)The board shall establish minimum qualifications for a retired status license.
(f)The board may exempt the holder of a retired status license from the renewal requirements described in Section 3524.5.
(g)The board shall establish minimum qualifications for the restoration of a license in a retired status to an active status. These minimum qualifications shall include, but are not limited to, continuing education and payment of a fee as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 3521.1.

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 194, Sec. 18. (AB 1501) Effective January 1, 2026.

All physician assistant licenses shall expire at 12 midnight of the last day of the birth month of the licensee during the second year of a two-year term if not renewed.

The board shall establish by regulation procedures for the administration of a birthdate renewal program, including, but not limited to, the establishment of a system of staggered license expiration dates and a pro rata formula for the payment of renewal fees by physician assistants affected by the implementation of the program.

To renew an unexpired license, the licensee shall, on or before the date of expiration of the license, apply for renewal on an electronic form, or other form, provided by the board, accompanied by the prescribed renewal fee. Each application form shall contain a legal

verification by the applicant certifying under penalty of perjury that the information provided by the applicant is true and correct.

Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 649, Sec. 40. (SB 806) Effective January 1, 2022.

A license or approval that has expired may be renewed at any time within five years after its expiration by filing an application for renewal on a form prescribed by the board and payment of all accrued and unpaid renewal fees. If the license or approval is not renewed within 30 days after its expiration, the licensed physician assistant and approved supervising physician, as a condition precedent to renewal, shall also pay the prescribed delinquency fee, if any. Renewal under this section shall be effective on the date on which the application is filed, on the date on which all renewal fees are paid, or on the date on which the delinquency fee, if any, is paid, whichever occurs last. If so renewed, the license shall continue in effect through the expiration date provided in Section 3522 or 3523 which next occurs after the effective date of the

renewal, when it shall expire, if it is not again renewed.

Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 836, Sec. 3.5. (AB 2581) Effective January 1, 2025.

(a)The board may require a licensee to complete continuing education as a condition of license renewal under Section 3523 or 3524. The board shall not require more than 50 hours of continuing education every two years. The board shall, as it deems appropriate, accept certification by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), or another qualified certifying body, as determined by the board, as evidence of compliance with continuing education requirements.
(b)(1) The board shall adopt regulations to require that, on and after January 1, 2022, all continuing education courses for licensees under this chapter contain curriculum that includes the understanding of implicit bias.
(2)Beginning January 1, 2023, continuing education providers shall ensure compliance with paragraph (1).
(3)Beginning January 1, 2023, the board shall audit continuing education providers at least once every five years to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements, and shall withhold or rescind approval from any provider that is in violation of the regulatory requirements.
(c)Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (b), a continuing education course dedicated solely to research or other issues that does not include a direct patient care component is not required to contain curriculum that includes implicit bias in the practice of physician assistants.
(d)In order to satisfy the requirements of subdivision (a), continuing education courses shall

address at least one or a combination of the following:

(1)Examples of how implicit bias affects perceptions and treatment decisions of physician assistants, leading to disparities in health outcomes.
(2)Strategies to address how unintended biases in decisionmaking may contribute to health care disparities by shaping behavior and producing differences in medical treatment along lines of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics.
(e)(1) In determining its continuing education requirements, the board shall consider including a course in menopausal mental or physical health.
(2)In

determining its continuing education requirements, the board shall consider including a course in maternal mental health.

Added by Stats. 2024, Ch. 336, Sec. 3. (SB 639) Effective January 1, 2025.

A physician assistant who provides primary care to a patient population of which over 25 percent are 65 years of age or older shall complete at least 20 percent of all mandatory continuing education hours in a course in the field of geriatric medicine, the special care needs of patients with dementia, or the care of older patients.

Added by Stats. 2024, Ch. 433, Sec. 4. (AB 3119) Effective January 1, 2025.

In determining its continuing education requirements, the board shall consider including a course in infection-associated chronic conditions, including, but not limited to, long COVID, as defined by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, myalgic encephalomyelitis, and dysautonomia.

Amended by Stats. 1988, Ch. 1448, Sec. 1.7.

A suspended license is subject to expiration and shall be renewed as provided in this chapter. However, such renewal does not entitle such holder, to practice or otherwise violate the order or judgment by which the license was suspended.

A revoked license is subject to expiration as provided in this chapter. If the license is reinstated after expiration, the license holder, as a condition to reinstatement, shall pay a reinstatement fee in an amount equal to the renewal fee in effect on the last preceding regular renewal date before the date on which it is reinstated.

Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 497, Sec. 18. (SB 1526) Effective January 1, 2025.

A person who fails to renew their license or approval within five years after its expiration may not renew it, and it may not be reissued, reinstated, or restored after that time has elapsed, but that person may apply for and obtain a new license or approval if they:

(a)Have not committed any acts or crimes constituting grounds for denial of licensure under Division 1.5 (commencing with Section 475).
(b)Take and pass the examination, if any, that would be required of them if application for licensure was being made for the first time, or otherwise establishes to the satisfaction of the board that, with due regard for the public interest,

they are qualified to practice as a physician assistant.

(c)Pay all of the fees that would be required as if application for licensure was being made for the first time.