Orange County Professional Licensing Revocation Attorneys
Law Firm to Defend the Career You Worked to Build
A professional license may represent years of education, training, examinations, and work. When a licensing board raises concerns about a criminal record or begins a revocation proceeding, the effects may extend beyond the administrative case. The outcome can influence whether a professional may continue working in the field that supports a family and forms a central part of that person’s identity. The process may also involve unfamiliar documents, hearings, and legal standards separate from any underlying criminal case.
OC Criminal Defense Attorney represents professionals facing license denials, disciplinary investigations, accusations, suspensions, and revocation proceedings. We are a boutique litigation practice that provides focused attention, a collaborative team with expertise in criminal defense and professional licensing matters, and an approach built around detailed factual review, legal analysis, motion practice, and preparation for contested hearings. This combination allows our Orange County professional licensing revocation attorneys to examine both the licensing proceeding and any related criminal allegations in a coordinated defense strategy.
Call OC Criminal Defense Attorney at (949) 779-3799 to discuss a professional licensing revocation issue.
What Information Appears in a Professional Licensing Background Check?
As part of the licensing process, most professionals are required to submit to a formal background check. This background check, more than likely, was conducted through the California Department of Justice (DOJ), which maintains a statewide criminal records repository that is accessed by each of the respective professional licensing agencies or Boards. Sheriff Departments, police departments, probation departments, district attorney offices, and the courts all share their arrest and conviction information with the DOJ. The DOJ then uses this information to collect records of arrests and convictions known as RAP sheets. RAP sheets are compiled and confirmed through fingerprinting along with other identifying information relating to a subject.
Why Do Licensing Agencies Conduct Background Checks?
Licensing agencies must ensure the professionals they place in positions of trust meet each agency’s criteria. Each agency is required to conduct background checks of new and renewing applicants to verify their criminal histories and backgrounds. Failure to do so can expose the agency to unwanted liability.
What Laws Govern Professional License Denial and Revocation?
California law distinguishes between applying for a professional license and holding an existing license. An applicant may face denial before receiving authority to work in a regulated occupation. A current licensee may face probation, restrictions, suspension, or revocation. Many boards follow the California Business and Professions Code, but each profession may also have a separate practice act and regulations. This distinction determines which legal standards and administrative documents apply.
Section 480 of the California Business and Professions Code limits how many licensing boards may use an applicant’s criminal or disciplinary record. A qualifying conviction generally must be sufficiently recent and substantially related to the profession’s qualifications or responsibilities. Boards also face restrictions on older convictions and ordinarily cannot deny an application based only on an arrest that produced no conviction.
California Business and Professions Code Section 490 separately authorizes discipline against an existing license. Under Section 481, boards evaluate the nature and gravity of the offense, the time that has passed, and the duties of the profession. Section 482 requires boards to establish criteria for evaluating rehabilitation in both application and disciplinary cases.
How Does the Background Check Process Work?
The background check process begins with an applicant’s submission of a BCIA 8016 Request for Live Scan Service form. An applicant completes the form, brings it to a live scan operator, and provides necessary identification. In California, fingerprinting must be performed by a certified fingerprint roller or by qualified law enforcement personnel.
The fingerprint is captured electronically and transmitted to the California DOJ database. The applicant is given an applicant transaction identifier (ATI) to verify the transaction. The DOJ will then evaluate the fingerprints against the other fingerprints in its database. If there is a match, a technician reviews the RAP sheet. The applicant agency will then be issued a delay notice response. Once an arrest and corresponding conviction is confirmed, the DOJ technician forwards the agency-specific requested information. The DOJ must make a genuine effort to confirm the outcome of each arrest. The RAP sheet is reviewed; the agency-specific information collated; and the response to the requesting agency is prepared.
If a federal background check is requested, the fingerprint images are turned over to the FBI to perform a fingerprint-based national criminal history database search.
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How Can an Applicant Contest an Inaccurate Criminal History Record?
If an applicant believes there is a discrepancy in either criminal history record, applicants can obtain a copy of their California criminal history record by completing the form BIA 8016RR, Request for Live Scan Service, and send one to the FBI as well for the purpose of verifying and/or contesting an entry or entries on one’s criminal history record. You can visit this site for locations: https://oag.ca.gov/fingerprints/locations
How Can an OC Criminal Defense Attorney Assist With a Licensing Case?
The criminal prosecution and professional licensing proceeding are separate cases, even when both result from the same alleged conduct. A plea, conviction, dismissal, or other criminal-court development may later enter the record considered by the licensing board. The wording and timing of documents in each case may affect questions involving the alleged conduct, the conviction, and its relationship to the licensed profession. That overlap can place a professional’s livelihood at issue in both forums.
At OC Criminal Defense Attorney, we can review the criminal record alongside the board’s accusation, statement of issues, or denial notice. We may assess whether a conviction falls within the governing law, whether it substantially relates to the profession, and how the board’s rehabilitation criteria apply. Our representation may address both the criminal allegations and the administrative consequences affecting continued employment.
Call (949) 779-3799 to schedule a consultation.
