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 Marriage and Family Therapists) asked for clarity about whether "full name" includes a middle name or suffix and requested updated sample advertising formats. Christy Shields, regulations counsel for the board, said the board will clarify that "full name" means the full name as filed with the board (which may be first and last only if that is what was submitted) and will update the board’s advertising fact sheet after the regulation is finalized.

Several commenters, including Natalie Chen, LMFT, and representatives of the Los Angeles LGBT Center (Robert Gamboa, MPP, and Joey Espinosa Hernandez), urged the board not to permit publication of former legal names or nicknames because of safety and privacy risks for transgender clinicians and disproportionate impacts on married women. The board declined to change the rule, saying subsection (g) permits but does not require use of a former legal name or nickname and that the law already allows licensees to request removal of former names from the board’s published records under Business and Professions Code section 27.5.

Staff and legal rationale Christy Shields (regulations counsel) and staff argued the requirement that advertising include the "full name as filed with the board" provides a consistent, verifiable identifier so consumers can use the board’s "verify a license" lookup. Shields cited Business and Professions Code Section 4990.13 (authority to rely on board website information) and Board staff cited Business and Professions Code section 27.5 for the board’s process to replace former names when requested with appropriate legal documentation.

Board action and vote The board first voted to direct staff to proceed with the recommended responses to the public comments. The board then voted to adopt the posted modified text (attachment A) and authorized staff to take the remaining steps to complete the rulemaking, including a potential 15‑day notice if non‑substantive changes are made.

Votes at a glance - Motion to direct staff to proceed with recommended responses to comments: motion carried (recorded roll call: Annette Walker—yes; Susan Friedman—yes; Kelly Ranasinghe—yes; Wendy Strack—yes; Christopher Jones—yes; John Sobek—yes; Abigail Ortega—yes; Eleanor Uribe—yes; Justin Huff—yes). - Motion to adopt modified regulatory text for CCR §18.11 and complete the rulemaking process: motion carried (recorded roll call mirrored the prior vote; the board authorized the executive officer to make non‑substantive edits if needed).

What the rule does and limits - Requires advertisements to include the licensee/registrant’s full name as filed with the board (first/last/middle/suffix as submitted) so the public can match an ad to the license verification tool. - Permits (does not require) use of a nickname or former legal name in advertising only if the full board‑filed name is also included and none of the names are false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive. - Requires registrants to indicate in advertising that they are supervised by a licensed person.

Next steps Staff will update the board’s advertising fact sheet to add a disclaimer that sample formats are illustrative, not mandatory, and will take the steps required to finalize rulemaking, including publishing the final statement of reasons and the rulemaking file.

Board members and staff cautioned that the regulation does not force disclosure of prior names for licensees who have used the board’s legal‑name change process to replace a former name; the law allows removal of former names from the board’s online publication when the statutory criteria are met.

Ending note The board closed the hearing after receiving no additional public testimony and recorded the unanimous votes to proceed and to adopt the regulatory amendments. Final responses to written comments will be posted with the rulemaking file when the process is completed.