Board of Behavioral Sciences adopts advertising rule amendments after public comments on ‘full name’ and former-name permission

The Board of Behavioral Sciences on May 8 adopted amendments to Title 16, section 1811 of the California Code of Regulations that clarify advertising requirements for licensed and registered behavioral-health providers and allow—under specified conditions—the optional use of a nickname or former legal name in advertising.

The regulation change requires that any advertising include the licensee’s “full name” as filed with the board; at the meeting staff and legal counsel clarified the board’s reading of “full name” to include first name, last name and any middle name or suffix as filed on the license or registration. The adopted language also permits a licensee or registrant to use a nickname or former legal name in advertising provided the advertisement also displays the full board‑filed name and the alternate name is not “false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive.”

The board heard a short public hearing portion and four written comments summarized by staff. Shanti Ezerin, state government affairs associate for the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, urged clarification of whether “full name” includes middle names and requested guidance and sample advertising formats. Board regulations counsel Christie Shields told the board the staff recommendation is to define full name as the name on file (first, last and any middle name or suffix) and pointed members to the board’s license-lookup feature for verification of the exact name on file.

Other commenters, including Natalie Chen, LMFT, and representatives of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, urged the board to avoid requirements that could expose transgender licensees to unintended “dead‑naming” or online searches that could threaten safety or privacy. Those commenters asked the board either to remove the allowance for former names or to add protections; staff and legal counsel responded that subsection g of the proposal permits—but does not require—use of a former legal name or nickname, and that state law already allows a licensee to request removal of former names from online publication when the statutory evidentiary requirements for a legal name or gender change are met (citing the business and professions code provision described at the hearing).

Board staff recommended keeping the permission to use nicknames or former names but clarified that the full board‑filed name must always appear in advertising so the public can verify licensure. Staff also agreed to update the board’s advertising fact sheet after regulations are final and to add a disclaimer that the examples on the fact sheet are not the only acceptable formats.

After discussing the written comments and hearing no additional public testimony, the board voted to (1) direct staff to file the recommended responses to comments and (2) adopt the modified regulatory text shown in the meeting attachments. Both motions carried with recorded “yes” votes from the members present. The adopted action directs staff to complete the rulemaking steps, including a potential 15‑day notice if non‑substantive changes are required, and authorizes the executive officer to make non‑substantive edits needed to finalize the rulemaking file.

Board members and staff repeatedly emphasized that the change is intended to balance consumer protection—so the public can verify a provider’s license—with limited and controlled flexibility for how a licensee may identify themselves in public‑facing materials. Final responses to comments and the board’s rulemaking file will be posted on the board’s website and filed with the Office of Administrative Law per standard rulemaking procedures.

Votes at a glance

- Motion: Direct staff to provide the responses to comments as indicated in the staff-recommended responses — Outcome: Approved (recorded yes votes from Doctor Annette Walker; Susan Friedman; Kelly Ranasinghe; Wendy Strack; Christopher Jones; John Sobek; Abigail Ortega; Eleanor Uribe; Justin Heft).

- Motion: Adopt the proposed modified regulatory text for CCR section 16, §1811 as set forth in Attachment A and direct staff to complete the rulemaking process — Outcome: Approved (recorded yes votes from the same members listed above).