BBS Announces Increases For Licensure Fees Beginning January 1st, 2021

From the California Board of Behavioral Sciences:

Pursuant to AB 3330 (Chapter 359, Statutes of 2020), the Board’s fees for each of its license types will increase on January 1, 2021.

Reason for the Fee Increases
The Board has not increased its fees for marriage and family therapists, educational psychologists, or clinical social workers in over 20 years. (The professional clinical counselor license was established by the Legislature in 2009, and at that time its fees were established at somewhat higher rates).

In 2018, the Board contracted with CPS HR Consulting (CPS), an independent firm, to provide performance auditing and consulting services. CPS conducted a review of the Board’s fee structure and staff workload to determine if fee levels were appropriate for the recovery of the actual cost of conducting its programs.

The report reviewed 25 main fees that represent approximately 90 percent of the Board’s fee revenue: applications for registrations, licenses, examination and renewals. It found that during the previous four years, while revenues increased by almost 39 percent, expenditures increased by approximately 42 percent. This means that there is a structural imbalance; licensing fees are no longer sufficient to recover operating costs.

The imbalance is due to factors such as a steady increase in application volume and registrant/licensee population, as well as increasing costs over the years in areas such as staff salary, health insurance, Attorney General costs, and other overhead costs. Therefore, the Board must increase its licensing, registration, and examination fees in order to remain solvent.

A PDF Version of the full announcement, along with frequently asked questions is available here: https://bbs.ca.gov/pdf/bbs_fee_increase_2021.pdf