Reference · the Commission’s leaflets · read 7 September 2026
A school job runs on a credential the Board of Behavioral Sciences does not issue.
The Pupil Personnel Services credential comes from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and it has four authorizations: school counseling, school social work, school psychology, and an added authorization in child welfare and attendance. None of them is called marriage and family therapy. That is the fact worth knowing before a student picks a program on the assumption that the license and the credential travel together — they are issued by two agencies, on two sets of requirements, and the credential route runs through a Commission-approved program that recommends the applicant.
What the credential authorizes →What the credential authorizes
Four authorizations, and a practicum with school-aged children in every one.
The Commission’s leaflet is the source for all of it, and its own reference line points at Education Code §44266 and Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, sections 80049–80049.1 and 80632–80632.5. A baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution satisfies both the degree requirement and the Basic Skills Requirement, the leaflet says, beginning 6/29/2024.
| Specialization | The minimum | What the Commission says it authorizes |
|---|---|---|
| School counseling | 48 semester units | Develop, plan, implement and evaluate a school counseling and guidance program; advocate for academic achievement and social development; provide schoolwide prevention and intervention strategies and counseling; consult and train teachers and parents; supervise a district-approved advisory program under Education Code §49600. |
| School social work | 45 semester units | Assess home, school, personal and community factors affecting learning; provide intervention including counseling, case management and crisis intervention; consult with school staff on social and emotional needs; coordinate family, school and community resources. |
| School psychology | 60 semester units | Services that enhance academic performance; strategies and programs for problems of adjustment; consultation with educators and parents; psycho-educational assessment for identifying special needs; psychological counseling for individuals, groups and families; crisis intervention coordination. |
| Child welfare and attendance (added) | 150 clock hours of supervised field experience | An added authorization, not a standalone one: it requires a program in school counseling, school social work or school psychology first, then a CWA program whose supervised school-based field experience covers attendance, enrollment and discipline, educational records, parent engagement, and legal and ethical compliance. |
From leaflet CL-606C, for people prepared in California. Each unit minimum is post-baccalaureate study in a Commission-approved professional preparation program in that specialization, including a practicum with school-aged children.
Two agencies, two documents
The Board of Behavioral Sciences registers associates and licenses LMFTs, LCSWs and LPCCs. The Commission on Teacher Credentialing issues the PPS credential. Holding one has never conferred the other, and the leaflets do not describe an equivalence route from a BBS license to a PPS credential. Whether a district may employ or contract with a licensed or registered clinician for services that do not require the credential is a district and Education Code question that these leaflets do not answer, and this page does not answer it either.
How it is earned
The recommendation is the route, and the institution submits it.
Not any graduate program: one the Commission has approved to prepare people in school counseling, school social work or school psychology. The Commission publishes the list of approved institutions and programs, and that list — the approved-programs dashboard — is where a reader checks their own school before enrolling rather than after.
Named in every specialization in CL-606C. Clinical hours with adults, however many, are not this.
“Obtain the formal recommendation of a California college or university with a Commission-approved Pupil Personnel Services program”. The institution submits it online; the applicant is then notified by email that the application awaits payment. The applicant does not send the recommendation.
Form 41-LS for California residents; two FD-258 cards and a $49.00 fee for applicants outside California. The application fee is paid after the recommendation arrives, not before.
CL-606 sets the out-of-state clear credential for school counseling at a minimum of 30 semester units plus supervised field experience with school-age children, with CACREP accreditation accepted as verification of that experience. The same leaflet records that on 6 October 2025 the Governor signed Assembly Bill 606, establishing a new Preliminary Pupil Personnel Services credential for people prepared out of state in school counseling, school social work or school psychology. The bill number is the Commission’s own.
A holder of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification in Early Childhood to Young Adulthood — School Counseling may apply directly for the clear credential, exempt from the other credential requirements. It is a narrow door, and the leaflet describes it in a paragraph.
What it costs
The Commission’s published fees, as of the leaflet read this week.
| What | Fee | The Commission’s note |
|---|---|---|
| Initial application | $100.00 | The basic nonrefundable fee for any credential, certificate or permit, and for adding an authorization |
| Clear credential renewal or reissuance | $125.00 | The Commission’s leaflet records the increase “as of July 1, 2026” |
| Certificate of Clearance | $50.00 | A fitness review only; the leaflet is explicit that it authorizes no instruction or services |
| Online service fee | $2.65 | Added to every online transaction, effective 22 November 2022 |
| Fingerprint cards, outside California | $49.00 | Two FD-258 cards, one fee; California residents use Live Scan and pay the operator |
From leaflet CL-659, which cites Education Code §44235 and 5 CCR §80487 as the authority for the fees. Fees are earned on receipt and are not refunded.
The fingerprint step is the one an applicant may already have behind them: California residents complete Live Scan and pay the operator directly, which is the same mechanism the Board uses for its own applicants — the Live Scan guide covers how that transaction works and what it costs there. The two clearances are separate submissions to separate agencies.
Then what
The pages around this one.
The license side
The California license paths
What the Board registers and licenses, and in what order.
Where every figure came from
Sources.
The Commission’s leaflets
- Commission on Teacher Credentialing, CL-606C: Pupil Personnel Services Credential for Individuals Prepared in California, dated July 2022; read 7 September 2026
- Commission on Teacher Credentialing, CL-606: Pupil Personnel Services Credential for Individuals Prepared Out-of-State; read 7 September 2026
- Commission on Teacher Credentialing, CL-659: Fee Schedule Information; read 7 September 2026
- Commission on Teacher Credentialing, approved institutions and programs
- Commission on Teacher Credentialing
The law the leaflets cite
Every unit count, clock-hour figure and fee on this page is quoted from the Commission’s own leaflet as read on 7 September 2026; the leaflets carry revision dates and the fee schedule changes, so the linked leaflet governs over this page. Title 5 regulations are cited as the leaflets cite them and are not published on leginfo. Whether a school may employ a clinician who does not hold this credential is not addressed by these sources and is not addressed here.
