California Medical Board Fictitious Name Permit: Rules and Renewal

A California Fictitious Name Permit for physicians is issued by the Medical Board of California (MBC) and is required before a licensed physician, surgeon, or podiatrist uses any name other than their own legal name to advertise or hold out a practice. The application fee is $70, processing runs about four to six weeks, and the permit must be renewed every two years. Practicing under an assumed name without a current permit is unprofessional conduct under state law and puts your license at risk.¹

Who Needs the Permit

The test is simple. If the name on your sign, website, letterhead, or ad is anything other than your personal legal name, you need a permit before you use it. This covers sole proprietors, partnerships, group practices, and professional medical corporations.¹

A sole practitioner using only their own surname doesn’t need one. A professional corporation whose name is nothing more than shareholder names plus a corporate designation such as “Medical Corporation” isn’t using a fictitious name either.

There is also a statutory carve-out. Under BPC 2415, licensees working at clinics licensed by the State Department of Health Care Services, or employed by an approved medical school or its faculty practice plan, don’t need their own permit regardless of the name that entity uses.²

Choosing a Name the Board Will Approve

The MBC has to approve the proposed name before issuing the permit, and a name that fails review sends the application back and resets the clock. Three rules govern approval:²

The name cannot be deceptive or misleading about the services offered, the licensee’s qualifications, or affiliation with other providers.
The name cannot be so similar to an existing permitted name that patients could confuse the two.
Podiatrists must include a designation indicating the scope of practice, as required by the California Board of Podiatric Medicine.

What Goes In the Application

Use the MBC’s official Fictitious Name Permit application. Every applicant provides the proposed name, the California practice address, and the full legal name and license number of every physician or podiatrist with an ownership stake. The signature has to be original ink; photocopied and electronic signatures are rejected.³

If you practice through a professional medical corporation, include an endorsed copy of your Articles of Incorporation as filed with the Secretary of State, along with any amendments, plus a full shareholder list showing each shareholder’s percentage. California only permits medical practice through a California Professional Medical Corporation.³

One requirement catches people out. BPC 2415 requires that the practice be “wholly owned and entirely controlled” by the licensee applicants. If it looks like a non-licensee has ownership or control of the medical practice, the MBC won’t issue the permit.²

Fee, Filing Address, and Processing Time

Mail the completed package with a $70 check payable to the Medical Board of California to the MBC Licensing Program, 2005 Evergreen Street, Suite 1200, Sacramento, CA 95815. Applications arriving without the correct payment are returned immediately.⁴

Applications are reviewed in the order received, with roughly four to six weeks of processing time. If something is missing, you’ll get a deficiency letter and the clock stops until you respond. The permit isn’t backdated, so you cannot use the name publicly until the MBC actually issues it.⁴

The Display Notice

Once the permit is issued, you have to post a notice at each business location listed on it, in a spot readily visible to patients and staff. This is a statutory requirement built into the permit itself, not an optional courtesy.²

Renewal, Late Fees, and Automatic Revocation

The permit runs two years. Renewal costs $50. Continuing to use the fictitious name after the permit expires violates the Medical Practice Act, so getting the renewal in on time matters.⁴

If your payment arrives more than 30 days after expiration, the MBC adds a $20 delinquent fee, bringing the total to $70.⁴ For a sole practitioner, revocation of your underlying medical or podiatric license automatically revokes your Fictitious Name Permit.²

Changing the Name, Address, or Ownership

Address changes and shareholder changes have to be reported to the MBC. There’s a dedicated change-of-address form for location updates. Changing the fictitious name itself is not an amendment: cancel the existing permit and submit a brand-new application, with a new $70 fee, under the new name.

The MBC can also suspend or revoke a permit for non-compliance with BPC 2415, following the same formal hearing procedures used for other license discipline.²

What Happens If You Skip It or Let It Lapse

Using a fictitious name without a current permit is unprofessional conduct under BPC 2285.¹ BPC 2234 requires the Board to act on any licensee charged with unprofessional conduct, and outcomes can include suspension or revocation of your license.⁵ An expired permit carries the same exposure as no permit at all.

Other Filings That Ride Alongside

The MBC permit is the state licensing piece. Depending on where and how you practice, there are three related filings that often need to happen around the same time.

County Fictitious Business Name Statement

Counties and cities generally have their own fictitious business name requirements separate from the MBC. The MBC’s own FAQ tells applicants to check with local agencies because rules vary.⁴ In most California counties this means filing a fictitious business name statement with the county clerk and publishing notice in a local newspaper.

NPI Record Update

If the practice bills Medicare or Medicaid, the National Provider Identifier record has to reflect the new business name. Federal rules require NPI changes to be reported within 30 days, either through NPPES online or by submitting an updated CMS-10114 form.⁶

IRS Notification

Sole proprietors notify the IRS by letter to the address where they file. Corporations check the name-change box on their next Form 1120 or 1120-S; partnerships do the same on Form 1065. Some name changes require a new Employer Identification Number, and IRS Publication 1635 spells out when that applies.⁷

1
California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 2285
2
California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 2415
3
Medical Board of California. Application for a Fictitious Name Permit
4
Medical Board of California. Fictitious Name Permit
5
California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 2234
6
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. National Provider Identifier (NPI) Application/Update Form
7
Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change