California Business and Professions Code 4980 – (a) (1) Many California families and many individual …
(a) (1) Many California families and many individual Californians are experiencing difficulty and distress and are in need of wise, competent, caring, compassionate, and effective counseling in order to enable them to improve and maintain healthy family relationships.
(2) Healthy individuals and healthy families and healthy relationships are inherently beneficial and crucial to a healthy society and are our most precious and valuable natural resource. Licensed marriage and family therapists provide a crucial support for the well-being of the people and the State of California.
Terms Used In California Business and Professions Code 4980
- Advertise: as used in this chapter , includes, but is not limited to, any public communication, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 651, the issuance of any card, sign, or device to any person, or the causing, permitting, or allowing of any sign or marking on, or in, any building or structure, or in any newspaper or magazine or in any directory, or any printed matter whatsoever, with or without any limiting qualification. See California Business and Professions Code 4980.03
- license: means license, certificate, registration, or other means to engage in a business or profession regulated by this code or referred to in Section 1000 or 3600. See California Business and Professions Code 23.7
- State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Business and Professions Code 21
- Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs, unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Business and Professions Code 15
(b) A person shall not engage in the practice of marriage and family therapy, as defined by Section 4980.02, unless the person holds a valid license as a marriage and family therapist pursuant to this chapter.
(c) Except as provided in subdivision (d), a person shall not do either of the following without a license obtained pursuant to this chapter.
(1) Advertise that the person performs the services of a marriage, family, child, domestic, or marital consultant.
(2) Use the titles listed in paragraph (1) or any similar titles, including the letters “L.M.F.T.,” “M.F.T.,” or “M.F.C.C.,” or another name, word, initial, or symbol in connection with or following the person’s name to imply that the person performs the services suggested by those titles.
(d) (1) A person licensed under Article 4 (commencing with Section 4996) of Chapter 14 or under Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 2900) may engage in the practice of marriage and family therapy and advertise that the person practices marriage and family therapy.
(2) A person described in paragraph (1) shall not advertise that the person holds the marriage and family therapist’s license, including by using the letters “L.M.F.T.,” “M.F.T.,” or “M.F.C.C.,” or another name, word, initial, or symbol in connection with or following the person’s name to imply licensure as a marriage and family therapist, unless the person is licensed pursuant to this chapter.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 640, Sec. 1. (AB 232) Effective January 1, 2024.)