If you are a therapist licensed in California, your licensing board publishes your address of record, including online. State law says the board shall let you use a PO box or other alternate address instead of your home. Psychologists who do so must also file a private physical address.
We read California Business and Professions Code (B&P) section 27 on the official California Legislative Information site. The text there shows the latest amendment, Stats. 2025, Ch. 787 (SB 775), effective January 1, 2026. We also read the address regulations and address change forms of two boards. One is the Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS). The other is the Board of Psychology. Last, we read the record of SB 373, a 2023 bill on the same question.
What do California boards make public about a therapist's address?
Section 27 sets internet disclosure duties for a list of California licensing boards. Subsection (a) opens with a duty: "Each entity shall disclose a licensee's address of record." Subsections (c), (d) and (e) name 19 boards and bureaus. Subsection (c) has 17 numbered items. Item (13) is the BBS, and item (16) is the Board of Psychology.
Both boards describe the address as public in their own documents. Each one names a slightly different set of channels.
- Board of Psychology advisory. The board's regulation advisory says the address is "disclosable to the public, including on the Department of Consumer Affairs’ BreEZe website."
- Board of Psychology change form. The form goes further: "The address of record (AOR) is public information available to anyone who asks over the phone, in writing, or via the Board's website."
- BBS change form. A footnote says the address "is public information and will be placed on the Internet pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 27."
- BBS BreEZe guide. The guide says "your email address will NOT be listed to the public, but your mailing address will."
Some details stay private. Section 27(a) says the published information "may not include personal information, including home telephone number, date of birth, or social security number." The Board of Psychology form adds that your phone number and email are "for the Board's internal use".
Because of the phone and written channels, a person doesn't need to search a website to learn your address of record.
Can a therapist use a PO box or a private mailbox as the address of record?
Section 27(a) answers the PO box part directly:
"However, each entity shall allow a licensee to provide a post office box number or other alternate address, instead of the licensee's home address, as the address of record."
"Shall allow" is mandatory wording. In our reading, a board on the section 27 list has no option to refuse a PO box as the address of record.
The private mailbox part depends on the board's own words. The Board of Psychology change form names it: "If the AOR is a post office box, or mail drop location, then a confidential physical business or residential address must also be reported". The form doesn't define "mail drop location." In our reading, a private mailbox at a commercial mail receiving agency (CMRA) fits that term.
The BBS form uses a broader phrase. The footnote says: "If you do not want your home or work address available to the public, use an alternate mailing address." The BBS documents we read don't name private mailboxes, either to allow or to refuse them. A private mailbox address carries "PMB" or "#" with a box number, and we showed the formats in Is your mailing address a P.O. Box?
Why do the BBS and the Board of Psychology handle this differently?
The two boards apply the same statute through different regulations. The table puts them side by side.
| Question | Board of Behavioral Sciences | Board of Psychology |
|---|---|---|
| Who the address rule covers | The change form lists ASW, AMFT, APCC, LCSW, LMFT, LEP and LPCC numbers. The regulation covers "Each person or professional corporation regulated by the board". | Section 1380.5(a) covers "Each person holding a license as a psychologist". |
| Regulation | 16 CCR section 1804, Filing of Addresses | 16 CCR section 1380.5, Filing of Addresses |
| What the regulation asks for | "a current mailing address" | An "address of record," used as the mailing address and "disclosable to the public" |
| Alternate address | Form footnote: "use an alternate mailing address" | Regulation allows "a post office box number or other alternate address". The form names a "mail drop location." |
| Private address on file | The change form has one address box and no confidential address box | A psychologist using an alternate address "shall also provide a physical business or residential address" |
| Deadline to report a change | Within thirty (30) days, with old and new addresses | Within 30 days, with old and new addresses |
| Change form | 37M-469, revised 08/2024 | Notice of Change of Address, revised 05/16 |
The BBS licenses in that first row are the Associate Clinical Social Worker (ASW), Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) and Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC). The rest are the Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP) and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC).
We counted the words in both regulations. Both regulations have the same title, "Filing of Addresses." The Board of Psychology's rule uses "address of record" three times and "physical" once. The BBS rule uses each of those words zero times. The BBS change form also uses "physical" zero times.
Section 27 leaves room for both approaches. The section says it "shall not preclude an entity from also requiring" a private address. In our reading, each board decides whether to ask, and the Board of Psychology decided to ask in its regulation.
What address do you still have to give the board in private?
Section 27(a) describes the private address a board may request:
"This section shall not preclude an entity from also requiring a licensee, who has provided a post office box number or other alternative mailing address as the licensee's address of record, to provide a physical business address or residence address only for the entity's internal administrative use and not for disclosure as the licensee's address of record or disclosure on the internet."
The Board of Psychology turned that option into a duty. Section 1380.5(a) says:
"The licensee may provide a post office box number or other alternate address as his or her address of record; if a post office box number or other alternate address is used as the address of record, however, the licensee shall also provide a physical business or residential address for the Board's internal administrative use, and not for disclosure to the public."
The board's advisory says the regulation "was amended effective July 1, 2016." A psychologist with a mailbox address of record therefore files two addresses. The mailbox is public, and the physical address stays inside the board.
The BBS documents we read take a different shape. Section 1804 asks for "a current mailing address", and the BBS change form has no box for a confidential address. We didn't read every BBS statute, so we can't say the BBS never asks for a physical address. A therapist who gets such a request from the BBS should answer it.
For both boards, a mailbox changes what the public sees. A mailbox doesn't remove any address you owe the board in private.
Did California pass a law to hide therapists' addresses?
SB 373 (2023) tried, and the bill failed. The bill record on CalMatters Digital Democracy summarizes the bill this way:
"prohibit the Board of Behavioral Sciences, the Board of Psychology, and the Veterinary Medical Board from disclosing on the internet the full address of record of certain licensees and registrants, and would require those boards to disclose the city, state, county, and ZIP Code of the address of record of those licensees and registrants."
The same record shows the result: "Current Status: Failed (2024-01-25: Veto sustained.)" We didn't obtain the veto message, so this post doesn't describe the reasons.
The section 27 text we read, as amended effective January 1, 2026, has no city-only rule for these boards. We didn't search for later bills with the same aim. Under the text we read, the full address of record is still public. Your remaining choice is which address you put in that field.
How do you change your address of record without missing board mail?
The address of record is a working mailing address. The Board of Psychology form says "Your AOR will be the address to which all Board correspondence (e.g., renewal applications, newsletters, etc.) will be sent." The same form says "The Board recommends that you do not use your residence address as your AOR."
Both boards set a 30-day window. Section 1380.5(c) says an applicant or licensee "shall report to the Board any and all changes" within 30 days, "giving both his or her old and new address(es)." The advisory adds that the rule covers "any address (either physical, mailing, or electronic)". Section 1380.5(d) says missing the rule "may subject the licensee to enforcement action." For the BBS, section 1804 sets the same thirty-day window and asks for both the old and new addresses.
BBS exam candidates have one more step to know. The BBS BreEZe guide says that for approved exam candidates, "we will provide the updated information to our testing partner Pearson Vue the following business day."
Pick an address where mail reaches you and where you can read it fast. Physical therapists answer to a different board, the Physical Therapy Board of California, under a separate regulation.
A licensing board is also only one of the forms that asks for an address. For Secretary of State, Franchise Tax Board and other California business forms, see our field-by-field table for California business forms. Each form field has its own rule, which we covered in Can you use a PO Box as a business address?
How an Auteur address fits
We sell virtual mailboxes, so read this section as the seller's view. Auteur is in pre-launch, and your exact street address is assigned the day your city opens. Three of our nine US cities are in California: Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
In our reading of section 27(a), an Auteur address is an "other alternate address." The Board of Psychology form names a "mail drop location," while the BBS documents we read don't name private mailboxes. The address has limits, and we state them here:
- A mailbox isn't a place where you see clients. Don't list our address as a practice location on any form that asks where you provide services.
- Psychologists still file a physical address. Under section 1380.5(a), the private address goes to the Board of Psychology alongside the mailbox.
- Our address can't serve as a registered agent or registered office address. A licensing board's alternate address field is a different field from those roles.
- We don't promise to sign for any piece of mail. Ask how a provider handles mail that needs a signature before you rely on it.
Every address we offer goes through USPS Form 1583 before mail can arrive in your name. Both plans include a photo of every envelope as it arrives. Opening and scanning a piece is one flat fee, only when you ask. Henry, our AI assistant, explains each letter you ask us to open. Pricing comes by email with the next steps, and our fair use policy lists our fees and limits.
A therapist licensed as an individual can get a Virtual Mailing Address, which receives mail in individual names only. Section 1804 also covers a professional corporation regulated by the BBS. For mail in a corporation's name, choose the Virtual Business Address. California doesn't let licensed professionals practice through an LLC, as our guide to PLLC rules explains. Ordering is free, and nothing is charged today.
If you are weighing your home address against a mailbox for other filings, we traced where a home address ends up in Can I use my home address as my business address?
FAQ
Is a California therapist's home address public?
If you list your home address as your address of record, the board can disclose it, including online. The Board of Psychology form says the address of record is available to "anyone who asks over the phone, in writing, or via the Board's website." Section 27(a) says boards shall allow a PO box or other alternate address instead.
Can an LMFT use a virtual mailbox address with the BBS?
The BBS form tells licensees who don't want their home or work address public to "use an alternate mailing address." The BBS documents we read don't name private mailboxes, either to allow or to refuse them. Section 27(a) requires boards to allow "a post office box number or other alternate address" as the address of record.
Do psychologists have to give the Board of Psychology a physical address?
When a psychologist's address of record is a PO box or other alternate address, the answer is yes. Section 1380.5(a) says the psychologist "shall also provide a physical business or residential address" for internal use. The board doesn't disclose that address to the public.
How long do I have to report a new address of record?
Both boards set 30 days. Section 1380.5(c) gives Board of Psychology applicants and licensees 30 days and asks for the old and new addresses. Section 1804 gives BBS licensees, registrants and professional corporations thirty days, with the old and new addresses.
Bottom line
California boards publish a therapist's address of record, and the Board of Psychology says the public can get it by phone, in writing or online. Section 27(a) says boards shall allow a PO box or other alternate address instead of a home address. A psychologist who uses one shall also file a private physical address under section 1380.5(a). The BBS form has one address box and points to "an alternate mailing address." SB 373 would have shown only city, county, state and ZIP Code for certain licensees, but the veto was sustained in January 2024.
