Research and Student Research Psychoanalysts
A Research Psychoanalyst is an individual who has graduated from an approved psychoanalytic institution and is registered with the Board. Research Psychoanalysts may engage in psychoanalysis as an adjunct to teaching, training, or research.
Resources for Maintaining your Research/Student Psychoanalyst Registration
Name Change
All licensees/registrants are required to professionally use the name they are licensed/registered with the Medical Board of California (Board). Using any other name may confuse or mislead the public and may be considered, by the Board, unprofessional conduct.
Any licensee/registrant who wishes to change the professional name under which they practice must complete and submit a Notification of Name Change form to the Board along with required supporting legal documentation.
California law requires each licensee/registrant to report name changes to the Board within 30 days of the name change.
Note: You cannot practice under your middle name when your license is issued with your first, middle, and last name.
No fee is required to process a name change; however, there is a fee to request a duplicate wall certificate with the new name. A new wallet license may be generated by utilizing the Wallet License Generator; there is no fee for this service.
Note: If a licensee/registrant also holds a professional license/registration issued by any of the California Boards and Bureaus listed below, you only need to submit one Notification of Name Change Form to any of the Boards or Bureaus listed. One form will create a name change at each of the Boards and Bureaus listed in which you hold a license/registration.
- Board of Podiatric Medicine
- Board of Registered Nursing
- California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology
- California Board of Behavioral Science
- California Board of Psychology
- Naturopathic Medicine Committee
- Osteopathic Medical Board of California
- Physician Assistant Board
- Respiratory Care Board
- Dental Board of California
- Dental Hygiene Board of California
- Veterinary Medical Board
- Physical Therapy Board
- Board of Optometry
- Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians
- Board of Occupational Therapy
- Bureau of Security and Investigative Services
If you hold a license/registration with any other California Board or Bureau not listed above, you will need to submit a separate name change form directly to that Board or Bureau.
A wall certificate reflecting the name change will NOT automatically be issued. If you desire a duplicate wall certificate with your new name, you must complete an Application for Duplicate Certificate and submit the appropriate fees. A new wallet license may be generated by utilizing the Wallet License Generator; there is no fee for this service.
At your next renewal, your renewal notice will automatically print with your new name.
Required Documentation:
A current government-issued photographic identification card (e.g., driver license, alien registration, passport, etc.) AND one of the following legal documents as proof of name change:
- Certified Court Order;
- Marriage Certificate, or
- Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce)
Original documents are not required, photocopies will be accepted. If original documents are mailed, they will be returned by certified mail.
Name and Gender Change Notification and Request for Confidentiality (SB 372, 2023)
Effective January 1, 2024, under Business and Professions Code section 27.5, licensees may notify the licensing board or bureau within the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) of a name and/or gender change and request confidentiality of the previous name or gender information, when meeting certain specified requirements. For more information and to make a request, click here.
Change of Address / Email Address
California law requires all licensees/registrants to report each and every change of address/email within 30 days after each change. The request to change or update the address/email must be submitted in writing with the following information: name, license/registration number, old and new address, signature, and date.
You may submit a change of address/email by one of the following methods:
Medical Board of California
2005 Evergreen Street, Suite 1200
Sacramento, CA 95815
(916) 263-2944
If the new address is a post office box, the licensee/registrant is required by law to provide the Board with a separate street address which will be kept confidential and not publicly disclosed. The street address of a private mailbox service may not be used as a confidential street address. Even if a licensee/registrant provides a street address as their address of record, they may provide a second street address that will remain confidential.
Note: California law requires the Board to provide, upon written or verbal request, the address of record of any licensee or registrant. The address of record will be released to any individual or entity who inquires and is also available to the public on the Board's website. Each licensee/registrant should carefully consider the address of record provided to the Board, and may wish to use an office, employer's address, or a post office box as the address of record.
The Board uses the address of record to mail all licenses, renewal notices, and all other official correspondence, therefore, the licensee/registrant is responsible for all communications sent to their address of record.
Business and Professions Code 2021Request a Duplicate Wall Certificate
Any licensee/registrant can request a duplicate wall certificate to replace one that has been lost, stolen, destroyed, or where there has been a name change.
If the request is for a name change, or the wall certificate has been destroyed, the original wall certificate issued must be surrendered to the Board.
The fees for a duplicate wall certificate are as follows:
| Physician & Surgeon | $50 |
| Midwife | $25 |
| Research Psychoanalyst or Research Psychoanalyst Student | $25 |
Please allow 4-6 weeks for receipt of the new wall certificate.
Generate Wallet License
Any licensee/registrant with a Current license status may generate a Wallet License at their convenience by accessing the Wallet License Generator.
The Wallet License includes a License Specific QR Code that allows interested parties to instantly view the DCA Search License Profile page with real-time license status information from any QR Code capable device and is generated as an electronic PDF file that can be sent to others as needed.
There is no fee for this service.
Certification Letters
Certification letters provide written verification of licensure to any requesting party with the exception of other state licensing agencies. If a letter is being requested for the purpose of licensure in another state please see the following:
Each certification letter includes the license number, license issue and expiration date, and current license status.
To request a certification letter, submit a written request, including the name and license number of the licensee to be certified, along with a check for $10 payable to the Medical Board of California. Mail the request to:
Medical Board of California
2005 Evergreen Street, Suite 1200
Sacramento, CA 95815
Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for processing.
Midwife, Polysomnography, or Psychoanalyst License/Registration Verification (formerly known as Letters of Good Standing)
License/Registration Verifications are letters sent to other state and/or country medical boards to verify the status of a license/registration. These letters are required by other boards to assist them in determining if there is any reason to prohibit or delay licensure by alerting boards of past or pending disciplinary action.
Please note the process takes approximately 4 to 6 weeks from receipt of the required information and fee:
- Written communication requesting the Medical Board of California produce a license verification letter(s);
- Contact information (phone number, email address) of the individual requesting the license verification letter(s);
- Complete name and California license/registration number of each individual for whom the license verification letter is being requested;
- Complete name and address of the other state and/or country licensing board(s) where each letter will be sent via U.S. Mail; and
- A check made out to the Medical Board of California for each license verification letter requested at the rate of $10.00 per license verification letter. Currently, no credit card payments are accepted for this service.
The required information and fee listed above must be sent to:
Licensing Program
Medical Board of California
2005 Evergreen Street, Suite 1200
Sacramento, CA 95815
Contact the Board's Consumer Information Unit with questions at:
- Toll-Free: 800-633-2322
- Phone: 916-263-2382
Obtaining Enforcement Documents
Learn how to obtain enforcement documents:
Enforcement Program/Investigations
Learn more about the complaint review and enforcement process:
Deceased Research Psychoanalysts
When informing the Medical Board of the death of a research psychoanalyst registrant, you must provide a copy of the Certificate of Death or a notarized statement attesting to the registrant's death. When possible, please include the individual's registration number.