Code Section

Business and Professions Code - BPC

DIVISION 2. HEALING ARTS [500 - 4999.129]

  ( Division 2 enacted by Stats. 1937, Ch. 399. )
  

CHAPTER 6. Nursing [2700 - 2838.4]

  ( Chapter 6 repealed and added by Stats. 1939, Ch. 807. )
  

ARTICLE 6. Revenue [2810 - 2815.7]
  ( Article 6 added by Stats. 1939, Ch. 807. )

  
2811.1.  

(a) The board, upon application and payment of the fee established pursuant to subdivision (h), shall issue a retired license to a registered nurse, if the licensee meets both of the following qualifications:

(1) Holds an unrestricted license on the date of application.

(2) If not already on record, furnishes to the Department of Justice, as directed by the board, fingerprints for the purpose of conducting a criminal history record check and for the purpose of undergoing a state and federal level criminal offender record information search conducted through the Department of Justice.

(b) An applicant may elect to retire upon renewal or upon submission of an application to the board as required.

(c) A retired licensee shall be exempt from continuing education requirements.

(d) A retired licensee shall utilize their professional title only with the unabbreviated word “retired” directly preceding or directly following the professional title.

(e) A retired licensee may provide nursing services to the public free of charge in any public health program created by federal, state, or local law or administered by a federal, state, county, or local governmental entity, if a licensed registered nurse or nurses provide adequate medical and nursing supervision. These services shall be limited to services that the retired licensee was permitted to perform under the licensee’s active license and that the licensee is competent to perform, as determined by the supervising licensed registered nurse. A retired licensee shall not engage in any activity that requires an active registered nurse or advanced practice registered nurse license.

(f) The board may investigate potential violations or take action against a retired license for a violation of this chapter. For this purpose, a retired license is deemed a lapsed license as that term is used in Section 2764.

(g) The board may reinstate a retired license to active status one time only, if the retired licensee fulfills the requirements for renewal of a license, including furnishing fingerprints, paying renewal fees, and providing evidence of the following, as applicable:

(1) For a retired licensee who has been retired for eight years or less, 30 hours of continuing education taken within the previous two-year period.

(2) For a retired licensee who has been retired for more than eight years, either a current valid active and clear registered nurse license in another state, a United States territory, or Canada, or passing the current examination for licensure.

(h) The board, by regulation, may establish a fee for a retired license in an amount not less than one-half of the regular renewal fee.

(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 449, Sec. 1. (AB 633) Effective January 1, 2024.)