California Licensure Fee Update

ASCP, the ASCP Board of Certification (BOC), and the ASCP Northern California chapter are working to reverse a significant increase in licensing fees for California’s laboratory professionals.

Last year, during the end of the 2025 legislative session, the California Legislature approved legislation that dramatically increased licensing fees for laboratory professionals. For Medical Laboratory Scientists and Technicians, renewal fees jumped from $179 for a biennial license in 2025 to $600 for the same period. Comparable increases affect all nonphysician laboratory professionals. For those licensed in two or more laboratory specialties, the increase is an even greater burden. Moreover, the legislation replaces the previous biennial license with an annual renewal cycle, creating an increased compliance burden for licensees.

To support efforts to reverse these changes, ASCP is currently gathering signatures for a sign on letter that will be sent to members of the California Senate and Assembly Budget Committees. In addition, at the end of March, ASCP issued an action alert to its California members, urging them to contact their state legislators and advocate for reversing the fee increases. So far, individuals using the action alert have sent almost 900 letters to the Legislature urging changes.