Licensing Agencies in San Diego
Licensing agencies in San Diego are the agencies that license businesses, occupations, and professions and who have authority to deny, suspend, and even revoke a license. In other words, licensing agencies give a person or an entity the permission to practice a profession or trade. They are also responsible for regulating a person’s or entity’s conduct while licensed. California has approximately 50 licensing agencies. Some examples of professional licenses are dental licenses, psychology license, and a nursing home license. Licensing agencies in San Diego also include Commissions, such as the Public Utilities Commission and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, Departments, such as the Department of Insurance and the Department of Real Estate, and dozens of Boards, Committees, and Bureaus operated by the Department of Consumer Affairs, such as the Medical Board of California and the Bureau of Automotive Repair.
The California State Bar is an Example of a Licensing Agency
The California State Bar is the agency that gives lawyers their license to practice law. In order to become a lawyer, a person must take the bar. The bar is the test that the California State Bar administers that people must pass in order to practice law. The California State Bar is also in charge of regulating attorneys once they are licensed. The state bar regulates by investigating complaints of professional misconduct and disciplining appropriately, any lawyer who fails to live up to their obligations as an attorney. The State Bar may suspend and even revoke a license to practice law. The State Bar of California is the only bar in the United States that has its own State Bar Court. This court has judges who specialize in handling professional responsibility cases. Complaints against attorneys are investigated and prosecuted by the State Bar’s Office of the Chief Trial Counsel.
The California Department of Human Affairs Also Acts As a Licensing Agency.
Their mission is to serve the interests of California consumers by upholding a standard of professionalism and promoting informed consumer practices. The Department of Human Affairs currently licenses or certifies people in more than 255 different fields. Right now there are over 2.4 million practitioners licensed by the Department of Human Affairs. Not only does the Department of Human Affairs grant licenses to professionals, but the department also regulates those professionals once they are licensed. The department consists of 40 bureaus, boards, committees, commissions, and other entities that regulate and license professionals. In order to regulate professionals, the department investigates complaints against licensees and disciplines violators.Some boards that come under the umbrella of the California Department of Human Affairs is the California Board of Acupuncture, the California Dental Board, and the Medical Board of California.
Licensing agencies will commence a disciplinary hearing against a licensee based on their misconduct as a professional. For more about such disciplinary actions, please see the Disciplinary Hearing section.
