AB 1598 is law from 1 January 2027. SB 903 was vetoed.

The rule that made an associate attempt the California Law and Ethics Exam in each renewal cycle until passing it is gone: §4980.398 is repealed and §4980.399 rewritten. What stays is the continuing education: §4980.399(e), “a minimum of three hours of continuing education on the subject of California law and ethics during each renewal period.” In place of the yearly attempt, §4980.399(a) says the exam must be passed “no more than seven years prior to the board’s receipt of the application for initial license issuance,” and the same applies to a subsequent registration number. That seven-year age limit waits: under §4980.399(d) it does not apply to any application received by the Board on or before 1 January 2030.

§4984.01(d): the registration “may be renewed a maximum of six times. No registration shall be renewed or reinstated beyond seven years from the last day of the month during which it was issued.”

§4980.43(c)(7): hours “shall not have been gained more than seven years prior to the date the application for licensure was received by the board,” and up to 500 hours from the graduate practicum stay outside the window altogether.

§4980.43(c)(5) still allows “a maximum of 750 hours of counseling and direct supervisor contact prior to the award date of the qualifying master’s or doctoral degree.” The bill rewrites the section around it and leaves the number alone.

§4980.44, repealed and added: before starting services, tell each client that you are unlicensed and under the supervision of a licensed professional, and give “the name of their employer or, if not employed, the name of the entity for which they volunteer.” §4980.48 does the same for trainees, and a trainee’s advertisement must carry the trainee’s name, status, employer and supervision. The social-work and counseling versions are §4996.18(g) and §4999.46.1.

§4980.40(d): each examination “shall be passed no more than seven years prior to the board’s receipt of the application for initial license issuance.” The old rule counted seven years from the first attempt.

Amended §4984.7 no longer lists a rescoring fee. This is separate from the Board’s temporary fee reduction that began on 1 July 2026; the bill does not change the other amounts.

§4984.01(f): an associate applying for or holding a subsequent registration number may ask for a “one-time, two-consecutive-year hardship extension” to work or volunteer at one named private practice or professional corporation. It needs the Board’s approval before work starts, an application signed under penalty of perjury by associate, supervisor and employer, and good cause — the text names extended medical leave, family caregiving, difficulty finding employment, and circumstances beyond the applicant’s control.

§4980.01(c): a priest, rabbi, imam, minister or other religious official is exempt when counseling “solely under the direct auspices” of an established faith-based entity, for no separate fee, without a title using “psychosocial,” “psychotherapy” or “marriage and family therapist,” and only where the services “do not involve the diagnosis or treatment of mental health disorders.” §4980.01(b) adds attorneys and physicians who counsel as part of their practice.

Telling the client that AI would be used and “the specific purpose” of the tool, with consent that could be revoked. Accepting broad terms of use would not have counted.

No offering of psychotherapy “provided through the use of companion chatbots.”

With the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act named over it. Enforcement would have sat with the licensing boards, by injunction and restraining order; the enrolled bill set no dollar penalty.