Renewal Information

If your license was issued during your birth month, your initial license will be valid for a full twenty-four (24) month term. If your license was issued in a month other than your birth month, your initial license may be valid for as few as thirteen (13) months or as many as twenty-three (23) months. Subsequent renewal periods will be a full twenty-four (24) month term.

• A renewal reminder will be mailed to the address of record on file approximately four (4) months prior to the expiration date of your license. Visit DCA License Search to check the current address of record on file with the Board.
• You are responsible for renewing your license even if you don’t receive a renewal reminder.
• A delinquency fee of $25 will be assessed if the required renewal fees are not paid within 30 days of the license expiration date.
• There is no grace period. Licenses not renewed by the expiration date are considered "delinquent" and practice is prohibited.

Please visit Address Change to view information regarding updating your address of record.

Failure to Renew

If the status of your license is delinquent, your license has expired and you are prohibited to engage in any practice where a valid and active license issued by the Physician Assistant Board is required. Practicing as a physician assistant without a current license is subject to disciplinary action.

If you fail to renew your license within five years after its expiration, the license will automatically cancel. A canceled license may not be reissued, reinstated, or restored. You must reapply for a new license and meet the current licensure requirements.

Renewal Options

You are eligible to renew your license if:

• The status of your license is current, current/inactive, or delinquent.
• Your license expires within the next 120 days.
• You meet the Board’s continuing medical education (CME) requirement. If your license status is currently inactive or you have been granted a CME waiver, you are in compliance with the Board’s CME requirement and must answer “Yes” to the CME question.

To renew online:

1. Visit BreEZe Online Services.
2. Register or log into your BreEZe account. For assistance with retrieving your user ID or resetting your password, watch the video tutorial What to Do if you Have Forgotten Your Password or User ID. If you receive an error message when logging in, please call the Board at (916) 561-8780 for assistance.
3. Verify that your renewal has been processed by clicking on "Show Details" from the Quick Start menu.
4. Print your payment receipt located on the Quick Start Menu under "Additional Activities".
5. The Board is no longer issuing pocket licenses upon the approval of an initial license or renewal application. Licensees can print the pocket license by logging into their BreEZe account and selecting "Print License Certificate – Physician Assistant Pocket Cert PPAPA" from the drop-down menu under the "Manage Your License Information" section. Once selected, the pocket license certificate will open as a PDF on a separate tab.
6. The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) License Search tool is available to verify a license in real-time, or any time the status is changed. Consumers, employers, or any interested party can verify the license status online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

To renew by mail:

1. Complete the License Renewal Application.
2. Make payment (check, money order, or cashier’s check) payable to the Physician Assistant Board. View the current fee schedule.
3. Mail renewal application and payment to the Board four (4) weeks prior to the license expiration date.
4. Monitor your license details by using DCA’s License Search tool to ensure that your license has renewed.
5. Contact the Board directly to request a payment receipt.
6. The Board is no longer issuing pocket licenses upon the approval of an initial license or renewal application. Licensees can print the pocket license by logging into their BreEZe account and selecting "Print License Certificate – Physician Assistant Pocket Cert PPAPA" from the drop-down menu under the "Manage Your License Information" section. Once selected, the pocket license certificate will open as a PDF on a separate tab.
7. The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) License Search tool is available to verify a license in real-time, or any time the status is changed. Consumers, employers, or any interested party can verify the license status online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The delinquency fee will not be assessed if the renewal application is postmarked prior to the expiration date.

Continuing Medical Education

Requirements

Licensees are required to complete continuing medical education (CME) as a condition of license renewal pursuant to Title 16, California Code of Regulations section 1399.615, unless exempted (renewing as inactive or been granted a CME waiver).

Physician assistants may demonstrate their compliance by:

• Maintaining certification with the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

• Completing 50 hours of approved Category 1 (Preapproved) CME during the current renewal period.

If your license status is currently inactive or you have been granted a CME waiver, you are in compliance with the Board’s CME requirement and must answer “Yes” to the CME question. For additional information regarding CME requirements, visit Continuing Medical Education Information.

Waivers

Title 16, California Code of Regulations section 1399.618 exempts a licensee from the continuing medical education requirements (CME) for a renewal cycle, if the licensee cannot meet those requirements for reasons of health, military service, or undue hardship. A licensee may request a waiver for one (1) renewal cycle of the CME requirement. If the Board denies a licensee’s application for a CME waiver, the licensee shall be ineligible to renew their license unless the licensee complies with the CME requirements of Section 1399.615. To request a CME waiver, please complete and submit an Application for Continuing Medical Education Waiver form (PDF) to the Board 30 days prior to the expiration date of the license.

Mandatory Conviction and License Discipline Disclosure

You are required to disclose all convictions including convictions that have been set aside, dismissed or expunged, or where a stay of execution has been issued.

You must respond “yes” to the conviction and license discipline disclosure questions if, during the renewal period, you have:

• Had any license denied or disciplined by another licensing authority of this state, of another state, of any agency of the federal government, or other country; or,
• Been convicted of any violation of the law in this or any other state, the United States, or any territory of the United States, or other country. Omit traffic infractions under $500 not involving alcohol, dangerous drugs, or controlled substances.

For each conviction or disciplinary action, please submit any documents listed below when submitting your renewal application:

• A detailed written explanation describing he circumstances and events that led to your license discipline, arrest(s), and/or conviction(s).
• Documents relating to your license discipline or disciplinary actions taken against any other license by a government agency or disciplinary body.
• Certified copies of the police report, citation, and/or ticket.
• Certified copies of any and all court documents.
• Relating mitigating evidence or evidence of rehabilitation.

Upon receipt and review of pertinent documentation, the Board will determine what, if any, action will be taken against your license.

Controlled Substance Education Course

Effective January 1, 2020, physician assistants who hold an active license, who are authorized through a practice agreement to furnish Schedule II controlled substance, and who are registered with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and who have not successfully completed a one-time controlled substance education course in compliance with Title 16, California Code of Regulations sections 1399.610 and 1399.612 shall, as part of their continuing education requirements, complete a course that covers Schedule II controlled substances, and the risks of addiction associated with their use, based on the standards developed by the Board. Until the course is completed Section 3502.1(d)(2) of the Code requires a patient-specific order approved by the treating supervising physician and surgeon in order to prescribe Schedule II controlled substances. Once the course is completed, you are required to send a copy of the certificate of completion to the Board. To verify submission of your controlled substance course certificate, visit DCA License Search. For additional information, visit Controlled Substance Education Course Requirements.

Active Duty Military Personnel

Beginning January 1, 2013, the Physician Assistant Board must waive renewal requirements for military personnel when they are called to active duty. Renewal requirements waived for military personnel called to active duty include renewal fees, continuing education requirements, and any other requirements as determined by the Board.

To qualify for a waiver, the licensee must:

• Possess a current and valid license when called to active duty; and
• Provide written documentation that substantiates the licensee’s call to active duty.

“Called to active duty” means full-time duty in the active military of the United States, including training and attendance at a service school. Active duty will also include individuals who are on active duty in the California National Guard, whether due to proclamation of a state of insurrection, a proclamation of a state extreme emergency, or when the California National Guard is otherwise on active duty.

Renewal requirements are only waived for the period during which the licensee is on active duty service, and the licensee must notify the Board receipt of a notice of discharge date within 60 days of receiving such a notice.

All private practice is prohibited under the waiver. A licensee may not return to private practice until after they have complied with renewal requirements pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 114.3.

For further information on the renewal fee waiver for active-duty military personnel, please call (916) 561-8780.

Healthcare Workforce Survey

Legislation requires the Board to collect certain demographic data related to our licensees at the time of licensure and renewal and report this data to the Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI), formerly the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD). Completion of this survey will help the State analyze and report gaps in the health care work force in California to the California Legislature. You are required to complete a short survey to comply with this legislation at the time of renewal.

Inactive License Status

Title 16, California Code of Regulations section 1399.619 permits a licensee who is not engaged in any activity for which a license is required, to request that their license be placed in an inactive status. Inactivating a license does not change the expiration date. Licensees must renew the license by the expiration date, or the license status will change to delinquent. Licensees are required to pay the renewal fee of $300; the CURES fee is waived. Please complete and submit a Request for Inactive Status form (PDF) to change your license status to inactive.

Restoring an Inactive License

To restore an inactive license to active status you must:

• Pay all renewal fees.
• Provide evidence of completing the required CMEs for the current renewal period or submit evidence of current certification with the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

Reactivating your inactive license does not impact the expiration date of your license.

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