California administrative hearing procedures are the formal rules, set out in Government Code sections 11500 through 11529, that govern how state agencies resolve disputes over professional licenses, benefits eligibility, and regulatory violations outside the regular court system. An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), usually supplied by the Office of Administrative Hearings, presides. The process is more streamlined than a trial, but the deadlines are strict and one of them, the 15-day Notice of Defense, can end your case before it starts.
How Your Case Starts
A case begins one of two ways: someone files a complaint with the agency, or the agency opens an enforcement action after its own investigation. If the agency decides to move forward, it files a formal accusation against you.
Under Government Code section 11503, the accusation must be a written statement describing the specific acts or failures you are alleged to have committed, in language plain enough for you to prepare a defense. It has to identify the statutes or rules said to have been violated, and it cannot simply quote those statutes back at you.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 11503 – Administrative Adjudication Formal Hearing Read the accusation carefully when it arrives. Everything that follows keys off of it.
The 15-Day Notice of Defense
This is the single most important deadline in the process. You have 15 days from service of the accusation to file a Notice of Defense with the agency.2California Legislative Information. California Government Code 11506 – Administrative Adjudication Formal Hearing In that notice you can:
- Request a hearing on the merits
- Object that the accusation is too vague or fails to state proper grounds
- Admit some or all of the charges
- Raise new defenses not addressed in the accusation
Filing acts as a denial of every charge you do not expressly admit. Miss the deadline and you waive your right to a hearing entirely. The agency can then issue a default decision without you. The agency has discretion to grant a hearing anyway, but you should not count on it. Treat the 15-day window as absolute.
Discovery You Can Request
Administrative discovery is narrower than what civil litigation allows, but you have real rights. Under Government Code section 11507.6, either party can send a written request to the other for:
- Names and addresses of known witnesses, including those the other party plans to call
- Written or recorded statements from anyone whose conduct is at issue or who has personal knowledge of the events
- Any writings or materials the party intends to introduce at the hearing
- Agency investigation reports, to the extent they contain witness names, observations, or attached statements
The timing rule is tight. Discovery requests must be made within 30 days after the agency serves the initial pleading, or within 15 days after any additional pleading is served.3California Legislative Information. California Government Code 11507-6 – Administrative Adjudication Formal Hearing Privileged materials and attorney work product stay protected. Electronic discovery is allowed when the ALJ permits it, which has become routine.
Representation and Burden of Proof
You have the right to be represented by an attorney, but at your own expense. The state will not appoint one. You can also represent yourself. Whether to hire counsel depends on what is at stake. A professional license case, where the outcome can end a career, carries real risk without representation. Simpler regulatory disputes are more manageable on your own.
In most enforcement proceedings, the agency carries the burden of proving its case by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning it must show it is more likely than not that you committed the violations. You do not have to prove innocence. That standard is much lower than the criminal “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard, which is worth keeping in mind if you’re used to a criminal frame of reference. Some professional license revocations involving fundamental vested rights may apply a heightened standard, but preponderance is the default.
Notice of Hearing and Continuances
Once a case is set, the agency must deliver or mail a notice of hearing to all parties at least 10 days before the hearing date.4California Legislative Information. California Government Code 11509 – Administrative Adjudication Formal Hearing The notice identifies the time, date, location, and issues, and reminds you of your right to present evidence, call witnesses, and have an attorney.
Continuances are available but not automatic. The ALJ or presiding judge at the appropriate OAH regional office can grant one for good cause. If you need a delay, apply within 10 working days of discovering whatever created the need. Miss that window and the ALJ can still grant it, but only if you were not responsible for the delay and made a good faith effort to avoid it.5California Legislative Information. California Government Code 11524 – Administrative Adjudication Formal Hearing If your continuance request is denied, you have 10 working days to seek relief in superior court or you lose the right to challenge the denial.
What Happens at the Hearing
Hearings are less formal than a trial but still structured. The agency goes first, introducing documents and witness testimony to support the accusation. You then cross-examine the agency’s witnesses, challenge the evidence, and present your own case with documents and testimony. Both sides may give opening and closing statements.
All oral testimony is under oath.6California Legislative Information. California Government Code 11513 – Administrative Adjudication Formal Hearing The ALJ can exclude evidence when its value is substantially outweighed by the time it would consume, a rule that mirrors court practice but runs more loosely.
Hearsay is admissible, which surprises many people. But hearsay alone cannot support a finding unless it would also be admissible in civil court. In practice, it can supplement or explain other evidence and cannot serve as the only foundation for a decision. Hearings are typically recorded, and you can request verbatim transcripts if you’re considering an appeal.
The ALJ and Disqualification for Bias
The ALJ controls the proceeding, rules on evidence, and issues a proposed or final decision. OAH ALJs are independent of the agencies whose cases they hear, a structural safeguard against bias. ALJs cannot impose criminal penalties, but they can recommend discipline, fines, license conditions, and other administrative remedies.
Under Government Code section 11425.40, an ALJ can be disqualified for bias, prejudice, or a personal interest in the outcome. The bar is not low. Expertise in the subject area, expressed views on a legal or policy issue, or membership in a group involved in the proceeding does not, by itself, count as bias. Agencies that adjudicate cases must provide a procedure for peremptory challenge of an ALJ, with exceptions for high-volume agencies that instead offer a reconsideration process when a disqualification request is denied.
The Proposed Decision and the Agency’s 100-Day Window
After the hearing closes, the ALJ prepares a proposed decision. Under Government Code section 11517, the agency has 100 days after receiving it to do one of the following:7California Legislative Information. California Government Code 11517 – Administrative Adjudication Formal Hearing
- Adopt the proposed decision as written
- Reduce or soften the penalty while adopting the rest
- Make minor technical changes that do not alter the factual or legal basis
- Reject the decision and send it back to the same or a different ALJ to take more evidence, producing a revised proposed decision
- Reject the decision and decide the case itself on the existing record, with or without additional evidence
If the agency rejects and decides the case itself, it must give the parties a chance to present oral or written argument. No agency member may vote unless they personally heard any additional oral evidence. If the agency does nothing within the 100 days, the ALJ’s proposed decision is automatically adopted as final.
When the Decision Takes Effect
A decision becomes effective 30 days after it is delivered or mailed to you, unless the agency orders reconsideration within that period, makes it effective sooner, or grants a stay of execution.8California Legislative Information. California Government Code 11519 – Administrative Adjudication Formal Hearing
A stay can be built into the decision itself or granted by the agency any time before the effective date. Stays are often paired with probation conditions, like completing specific corrective actions. Those conditions have to be reasonable given the findings. If the agency orders restitution as part of probation, anything you pay gets credited toward a later civil judgment on the same matter.
You cannot be required to comply with a decision unless you have been properly served with it or have actual knowledge of it. If the agency botches service, the decision’s enforceability is open to challenge.
Reconsideration Before Court
Before going to court, you can ask the agency to reconsider. The agency may order reconsideration of all or part of the case on its own or in response to a petition from any party.9California Legislative Information. California Government Code 11521 – Administrative Adjudication Formal Hearing Reconsideration is not always a prerequisite to judicial review, but it can be faster and cheaper if the agency made a correctable error. If ordered within the 30-day window before the decision takes effect, reconsideration pauses that effective date.
Judicial Review by Writ of Mandate
If you disagree with the final decision, you can challenge it in superior court by filing a petition for a writ of administrative mandate under Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.5.10California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1094.5 – Writ of Mandate The court looks at whether the agency proceeded without or in excess of jurisdiction, whether you got a fair hearing, and whether the findings are supported by the evidence.
The standard of review turns on what kind of right is at stake. When a decision affects a fundamental vested right, such as a professional license that forms the basis of someone’s livelihood, the court applies the “independent judgment” test and essentially re-weighs the evidence to see whether the findings hold up. Where no fundamental right is involved, the court applies the more deferential “substantial evidence” test and asks only whether reasonable evidence in the record supports the decision. The independent judgment standard gives the reviewing court much more room, and it’s where license revocation challenges have their best chance of reversal.
Watch the clock. Some agency-specific regulations require the petition to be filed within 30 days after the decision becomes final.11Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations 17 CCR 60065.44 – Judicial Review Check the regulations that govern your specific agency before you assume a longer window applies.