California Board of Behavioral Sciences

I got desperate so I drove to Sacramento for 9 hours to speak to a live person and find out why, 3 months after my check for the Law & Ethics Exam was cashed, I still didn’t receive permission to schedule. I was told that my application «got lost in the shuffle» (translation: it was not uploaded to PSI) and that there is «only one of me and my 8 hours and 50,000 of you.» When I asked why no one answers phones or emails, I was told that they stopped answering due to the volume of inquiries. When I asked why the approvals take so long and information is so misleading, I was told the delay is due to the new software they are working on implementing to make the process more efficient. Finally, a week and a half after my trip, I was able to schedule wit PSI. I passed. Now I’m preparing myself for months of waiting to be permitted to register for ASWB (and another 9 hour drive, each way).
PS. Huge thank you to a random, compassionate Unilocal reader who messaged me after my first review and recommended I go to the BBS in person! If it wasn’t for that, I’d be still burning phone lines and radio waves of Wi-​Fi trying to contact a stone monolith, with my application consigned to a dark, forgotten cellar, possibly forever.

I am an MFT intern in a similar position as the rest of you — hours approved in December, Law and Ethics exam passed in January, still waiting for approval to take the MFT Clinical Exam. My anxiety has increased since I found out people in the same position and roughly the same timing as me finally got their approval notices 3 weeks ago, while I’ve still heard nothing.
I was wondering if anyone out there has tried filling out and submitting the Complaint/​Comment form at
and if so, what were the results? Or does anyone have any tips on getting through to a live person and successfully having their specific case looked at? I called CAMFT and they suggested I try sending a fax, but I don’t hold out hope that will be effective if my calls and emails are never answered. They said I should wait a week for a response and if none comes, then «try and find» the direct emails of either Executive Officer Kim Madsen or Assistant Executive Office Steve Sodergren and see if they will intervene.
If anyone has found an effective way to get things moving, please share your secret! Also, if those of you who posted eventually DID get either a response or the approval you were seeking, please update your post and give the rest of us hope!

Like everyone else here, I am disgusted. They cashed my checks immediately, but have twice now failed to transfer this information to PSI so that I can take my exam. No one answers their phones or responds to emails. Can I take them to small claims for taking my money and not providing the service? I plan to send a certified letter of demand if another week goes by and I still can’t take my exam because I don’t know what else to do. Who is in charge of this clown house of an organization?

Other reviewers summed it up – the BBS is the worst of the worst. I gave them a simple suggestion: post updates on your website regarding wait times for different processes (e.g., how long does it take to get our information to ASWB, how long does it take the BBS to issue our license after we pass our exam). The response from the annoyed BBS rep? Angry people will bombard us with emails and phone calls regardless of whether we give them up-​to-​date information. The DMV is like Google compared to these bone heads.

I sent my application to the Board of Behavioral Sciences for the LCSW Laws & Ethics Exam on 2÷22÷16.
My check was cashed by the BBS on 3÷8÷2016, which I have proof of through my bank account.
I emailed
on 4÷19÷16 asking why my application had not been approved yet, as it had been beyond the 30 business days it states on the BBS website it will take to process your application.
The BBS information team emailed me back the same day, on 4÷19÷16, stating that I would be approved soon and could call PSI exams on 4÷22÷16 to register for the test.
I called PSI exams and was told I was not approved that day, and emailed the BBS back on 4÷26÷16 asking what had happened, but never received a reply.
I called the BBS main line on 4÷29÷16, spoke with a representative that stated that my application had not been sent out yet, but that she would be sending over my eligibility that day and that I could register for the test on 5÷3÷16.
I called PSI exams on 5÷3÷16 and I was not approved.
I called BBS once again on 5÷4÷16, spoke with a representative that was rude to me, stating that my application had just been processed and that my check had just been cashed this past Friday 4÷29÷16 and that I can’t call PSI to schedule the LCSW L&E exam until May 27^th. When I attempted to explain that my check had been cashed back in March, the representative got snappy with my, stating that ‘No, that is not what it says here. You are going to have to wait till May 27. I don’t know what else to tell you”.
I called one last time today, 5÷5÷16, and I spoke with Mary, another representative, that was rude to me, and pretty much did not want to speak to me about my experience, showing no empathy, and in a rush to hang up on me, even though it took me over 30 minutes to find someone to speak to at the BBS.
I am trying not to lose my patience here, but I have full documentation of the steps I took to ensure that I would be approved to take this test in a timely manner, but this has not happened.
I have been studying since January of this year and I am so disappointed in the lack of organization I have felt from the BBS. I have been lied to and treated unfairly. The least they could do was tell me that they didn’t process my application, their backed up, and they are sorry for their lack of organization. But if anything all the BBS representatives I have spoken to have been disrespectful towards me and it is upsetting that they have no empathy for those of us that are trying to work hard to gain a license. Nevertheless, reading other people’s experiences here has helped me to feel not so alone in the stress and frustration I am currently experiencing with the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS).

Very poorly run organization. Very inefficient when it comes to transferring eligibilities to testing sites and approving hours. Takes months to get something done. And if you try calling once this is what you will hear:
The owner of the mailbox at BBS is full and is not accepting messages and due to the number of high calls we cannot answer your call. Ridiculous!
**Tip: A good software program could help run things more smoothly instead of doing everything manually. There should be a class lawsuit against this organization.

The inefficiency of this organization has cost me thousands in lost income. Not only did it take 7 months for them to review my application, they have now suspended testing into mid-​January (if not longer). I have done everything they have asked of me up until now and all of that effort has been met with unanswered phone calls and un-​returned e-​mails. Every check I have written to the BBS has been cashed within a matter of days, yet it has taken almost 1 year since the time I have complete all of my requirements for them to fully process my paperwork. Why has nobody sued them yet? This has to be the most inefficient licencing board in the United States. To the person who attempted to defend them by saying that they are always sympathetic, I would ask, «When have you even ever spoken to someone at the BBS to know whether they are sympathetic or not?»

HOLD THE BUS!!! Recanting!!! They have been working on this process for months. They even suspended all testing for the entire month of December in preparation for this new «Testing Restructuring» and they still could not get it right! WTH! Below is what they posted on their website. Those of us ready to test must wait for the BBS to get it together.
January 4, 2016:
The Board is currently experiencing delays transferring exam eligibilities for the following exams:
LMFT Law & Ethics
LMFT Clinical
LCSW Law & Ethics
LCSW Clinical ASWB)
The Board appreciates your continued patience during this exam transition. Updates regarding the status of eligibilities will be posted here, as soon as exam eligibilities are transferred to test vendors.

I realize that this organization is probably cash strapped and running on limited resources. But the amount of time or took them to process my application and answer emails seemed or of proportion to what is necessary. It took me almost seven months to get my application processed, and they refused to give me status updates though the process. Some of the people I talked to on the phone were rude. The sad thing is that Californians applying for licences have no choice than to interact with this inefficient beaurocracy that is a perfect example example of government ineffectiveness.