Board of Behavioral Sciences adopts changes to advertising rule requiring full board‑filed name, permits optional nicknames

The Board of Behavioral Sciences on May 8 adopted amendments to California Code of Regulations, title 16, section 18.11, requiring licensees and registrants to include the full name they filed with the board in any advertising and permitting — but not requiring — the use of a nickname or former legal name if the full board‑filed name also appears.

The changes, which the board noticed and circulated for public comment, remove references to "registered referral service" and the registered MFT referral service and add a requirement that advertising state when an individual is supervised by a licensed person. Staff and the board said the rules are intended to ensure consumers can verify a provider’s identity in the board’s license lookup tool.

Why it matters: the amendment clarifies how practitioners must identify themselves in listings and advertisements, and it addresses safety concerns raised by LGBTQ+ groups about the publication of former legal names. Supporters said clarity helps consumers confirm a clinician’s licensing status; opponents said optional publication of former names may risk exposing transgender practitioners or harm people who have changed names after marriage.

What commenters said Shanti Esran (state government affairs associate, California Association of…