SB 849 bars specified surrendered physician license reinstatement
Oct 4, 2026 edition · GC-2026-0232 · Published 2026-10-04 · Version 2 · Final
SB 849 bars reinstatement of a physician certificate surrendered while a board accusation alleging specified patient sexual misconduct was pending. The final text distinguishes that surrender trigger from separate board findings, criminal convictions and other reinstatement pathways.
What happened
California enacted SB 849 on September 27, amending Business and Professions Code section 2307. The board may not reinstate a certificate surrendered while an accusation was pending alleging sexual abuse, misconduct or relations with a patient under section 726, or sexual exploitation under the cited section 729 definition. The revised trigger focuses on surrender during a pending accusation rather than requiring the surrender itself to establish the misconduct. It is therefore important to preserve the distinction between an allegation in a board proceeding and a criminal conviction. The enactment is the event reported here; the applicable commencement of these provisions must be confirmed separately.
The section retains separate bars for a revocation based on a board finding of the listed conduct and specified patient-related convictions or sex-offender registration, with the stated misdemeanor-registration exception. General reinstatement or penalty-modification procedures remain elsewhere in the section, including minimum waiting periods, verified recommendations and review of rehabilitation. Those ordinary petition routes do not remove the specific prohibition in subdivision (i). The provision also retains the separate restrictions on considering petitions while criminal sentences or board accusations are pending.
Scope and timing
- Authority status
- Final
- Applicability
- Potentially applicable
- Audience
- Health systems, Provider networks, Health-tech
- Jurisdiction
- California
Why it matters
A surrendered certificate is not enough information for a credentialing assessment. The timing of surrender and the actual pending accusation can determine whether reinstatement is barred, while the underlying record must still be described accurately.
Recommended action
Confirm the applicable commencement before treating the new provisions as current duties. Prepare the following for implementation at that commencement: Verify license status and obtain the relevant primary-source disciplinary documents for affected applicants. Record the surrender date, accusation status and allegations separately from any adjudicated findings or convictions. Escalate any proposed reinstatement assumption to medical staff leadership and Legal.
Sources
- SB849 enacted final textOfficial · California Legislature · 2026-09-27 · Source review 2026-10-05
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