Assembly BillFailedBusiness and Professions
AB 427: Social workers: interstate compact.
What AB 427 does, verified February 3, 2026
This bill aims to ratify and approve the Social Work Licensure Compact, which allows member states to issue multistate licenses to qualified applicants. The compact grants the holder authorization to practice in other member states and requires the creation of a commission. The bill would require the state's licensing board to comply with the compact's requirements and adopt necessary regulations. It would also update the state's laws to prohibit individuals from styling themselves as licensed clinical social workers unless they hold a valid license under the current act or the compact. The bill would only become operative once the licensing board has voted in favor of joining the compact, as certified by the Director of Consumer Affairs.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
2In CommitteeCurrent
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. (2026-02-02)Alert me
Author and sponsors
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| Feb. 02, 2026 | From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. |
| Jan. 31, 2026 | Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution. |
| May. 23, 2025 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| May. 14, 2025 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file. |
| Apr. 22, 2025 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
Latest bill textAmended version, April 9, 2025 · 596 words
| Amended IN Assembly April 09, 2025 |
| Amended IN Assembly March 24, 2025 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 427
| Introduced by Assembly Member Jackson |
February 05, 2025 |
An act to amend Section 4996 of, and to add Article 6 (commencing with Section 4998.10) to Chapter 14 of Division 2 of, the Business and Professions Code, relating to healing arts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 427, as amended, Jackson. Social workers: interstate compact.
Existing law, the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of clinical social workers by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. Existing law requires the board to issue a clinical social worker license to each applicant who qualifies pursuant to the act and who successfully passes a California law and ethics examination and a clinical examination.
This bill would ratify and approve the Social Work Licensure Compact, which authorizes member states to issue multistate licenses to applicants meeting specified education and experience requirements. Under the compact, a multistate license grants the holder an authorization to practice in other member states. The compact provides for the creation of a commission and requires the board to select a delegate to serve on the commission. This bill would require the board to comply with the requirements of the compact and to adopt regulations necessary to implement that compact.
Existing law prohibits an individual from styling themselves, or holding themselves out to be, a “licensed clinical social worker,” and makes it unlawful to engage in the practice of clinical social work unless they hold a license under the Clinical Social Worker Practice Act.
This bill would instead prohibit those acts unless they hold a license under the act or under the above-described compact.
This bill would become operative only upon certification by the Director of Consumer Affairs that a majority of the board has voted in favor of joining the compact and would require the director to notify the Secretary of State and the Legislative Counsel Bureau of the date of that certification.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 4996 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:4996.
(a) Only individuals who have received a license under this chapter may style themselves as “Licensed Clinical Social Workers.” Every individual who styles themselves or who holds themselves out to be a licensed clinical social worker, or who uses any words or symbols indicating or tending to indicate that they are a licensed clinical social worker, without holding their license in good standing under this article, is guilty of a misdemeanor.(b) It is unlawful for any person to engage in the practice of clinical social work unless at the time of so doing such person holds a valid, unexpired, and unrevoked license under this chapter.
(c) A clinical social worker licensed under this chapter is a licentiate for purposes of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 805, and thus is a health care practitioner subject to the provisions of Section 2290.5 pursuant to subdivision (b) of that section.
(d) (1) A person holds a license under this chapter if they hold satisfy either of the following requirements:
(A) The person holds
a license under this(B) The person holds a
multistate license or multistate authorization to practice under the Social Work Licensure Compact as set forth in Article 6 (commencing with Section 4998.10).(2) This subdivision shall become operative only upon certification by the Director of Consumer Affairs as set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 4998.20.
Text of AB 427 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions