Clinical Chemist Scientist License

Thank you for your interest in the California Clinical Chemist Scientist license. Laboratory Field Services (LFS) requires applicants to submit documentation of academic coursework, clinical training, and work experience to qualify for licensure.

Work experience in California as an unlicensed laboratory staff person will not be accepted as qualification toward any clinical laboratory license. Please note that biotech/pharmaceutical, forensic, academic, veterinary, research, and student laboratory experience cannot count as work experience or training for any clinical license.

Scope of practice

This license permits you to perform testing in all areas of the specialty of chemistry in a laboratory certified under CLIA for performing high complexity testing in the specialty of clinical chemistry.

Academic requirements

• Bachelor’s degree (baccalaureate) in chemistry or equivalent major.

• Official transcripts must verify the completion of 25 semester or equivalent quarter units of chemistry courses, which must include analytical chemistry and instrumentation.
  

Transcripts

Official transcripts must be sent directly to LFS by the institution that issued the transcript. We do not accept scans or photocopies of transcripts uploaded or emailed by the applicant for authentication purposes.

 

 If your transcript is under a different last or first name, please provide legal proof of your legal name or having a name change. Please upload and attach to your application, either legal document(s); (1) driver license and marriage/birth certificate or (2) driver license and court documents.

 

 An official transcript is a copy of a student's permanent academic record issued by a school, college, or university identifying the student and attesting to the student's completion of specific courses with grades, credit hours, dates of attendance, academic major(s), degree or diploma granted, if any, including date of graduation, and any awards or honors. The hard copy official school transcript must bear an official seal, unique identifier of the school, or signature of the registrar, dean, or other authorized official.

 

You can request your institution to send an official transcript

• By secure electronic submission directly from the school, college, or university registrar, dean, or other person responsible for issuing transcripts; or
• Directly from the school, college, or university registrar, dean, or other person responsible for issuing transcripts in a sealed envelope that bears a tamper-proof mark or seal attached by the school

 

Ask the office to mail hard copies to:

California Department of Public Health

Laboratory Field Services – PLS Program

850 Marina Bay Parkway

Bldg. P, 1st Floor

Richmond, CA 94804

 

Ask the office to email electronic copies by secure email connection to: LFSTranscriptsandEvaluations​@cdph.ca.gov.

 

Legal Authority: This requirement is in accordance with Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, section 1029, "Official Transcript."​

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Non-US transcripts

All non-U.S. transcripts must be evaluated by an LFS approved evaluation service to determine if your education is equivalent to an accredited college or university education in the U.S. LFS will accept educational transcript evaluations by “Current Members” of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), and “Endorsed Members” of the Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE) if completed on or after August 15, 2016. Evaluations completed before August 15, 2016 will only be accepted if completed by AACRAO. The evaluation service will send an evaluation of your educational institution and academic courses directly to LFS. Official transcript from the university is required in addition to the evaluation.

To obtain an application, instructions, and information, visit them on the web:

• National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES)

• Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE)

If you are an applicant whose education, training, or experience is from a non-U.S. school, college, university, or clinical laboratory, please make sure that your name is printed in English on all your transcripts and supporting documents and that it matches your name on the application.

Request the evaluation company to postal mail the evaluation directly to:

Laboratory Field Services – PLS Program

850 Marina Bay Parkway

Bldg P, 1st Floor

Richmond, CA 94804

Training or Experience

• Minimum one year of post-baccalaureate training or minimum one year of work experience in all areas of the specialty of chemistry including routine chemistry, clinical microscopy, endocrinology and toxicology; immunology, including diagnostic immunology and syphilis serology; and molecular biology in a clinical laboratory that possesses a certificate issued under CLIA for performing high complexity testing in the specialty of chemistry.

Training or work experience must be in a laboratory certified under CLIA (usually in the U.S.) and acceptable to the Department. For a list of training programs approved by the Department, see CLS Training Programs link.

Official verification of training or work experience must be on letterhead and signed by the training coordinator or laboratory director, and must show the beginning and ending dates of the training or experience. This information should cover all areas in which the rotation was completed with a description of the clinical laboratory tests or examinations performed. Document can be uploaded during the online application process.

If you lack applicable training or work experience you may want to consider applying for a CLS trainee license.

• Please note: Regulations  effective on January 1, 2025, include changes regarding training or experience completed in a laboratory located outside the U.S.
  

• ​Previous regulations required training or experience to be completed in a CLIA-certified laboratory, or, for CLS generalists, in a laboratory acceptable to the Department. 

•  The new regulations at 17 CCR section 1032.5 allow LFS to accept training or experience in a clinical laboratory located outside the U.S. if the laboratory was certified under CLIA or if it was certified to meet the standards of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15189 and International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 17025 standards or later standards by an international accrediting organization that meets ISO/IEC 17011 standards or later standards for certifying technical facilities including clinical laboratories.

• ​The applicant for licensure must provide documentation of training or experience in a laboratory not certified under CLIA with a letter signed and sent directly to the Department by the laboratory director or medical director of the laboratory. The laboratory’s Certificate of ISO/IEC Standard of the Clinical Laboratory must be attached to the laboratory experience letter.
  

• ​If you have questions about the acceptability of your training or experience outside the U.S., please contact LFSscientist@cdph.ca.gov.​​

Examinations

The ASCP certification for Technologist in Chemistry is approved by the Department for Clinical Chemist Scientist licensure as of March 1, 2004. Applicants who are certified before the above date must re-take the certifying examination. Please note that the International ASCP Certification version is not acceptable. The U.S. Certification is required for this license.

Failure to pass the written certification examination two times requires a waiting period of one year before taking the exam again. A third failure requires a two year wait. Thereafter, the examination may not be taken more frequently than once in two years.

Applicants will also have to complete the online California quiz on state laboratory laws and regulations. During the application submission process, you will automatically be required to take and pass the online California Quiz on state laboratory laws and regulations.

Renewal

Once you receive your license you will need to renew it every two years. To renew, you must pay a fee and submit documentation of continuing education. For information about the renewal process please visit the LFS renewal web page.

Resources

Helpful links

CLS Training Programs

LFS Approved Certification Examinations

Statutes and regulations

California Business and Professions Code, Clinical Laboratory Technology, Licensing

California Code of Regulations, Title 17, Section 1031, Clinical Laboratory Specialists

The requirements listed may not be comprehensive.

How to Apply

Visit the LFS online application website to create an account and submit an application.

Additional Information:

• Official verification of training or work experience from the training coordinator or laboratory director must be on letterhead and signed, and must show the beginning and ending dates of the training or experience. This information should cover all areas in which the rotation was completed with a description of the clinical laboratory tests or examinations performed.

• Applicants are automatically required to take and pass the online California Quiz on state laboratory laws and regulations during the application submission process.

*Incomplete application packages may be abandoned. All applicants whose applications have been abandoned who wish to re-apply must pay a new non-refundable application fee.

Documents you may need for your application

• Official transcript showing your baccalaureate degree.

• NACES or AICE course-by-course evaluation.

• Verification of one year of post-baccalaureate training.
  or
  Verification of one year of on-the-job experience in a clinical laboratory (signed by the CLIA laboratory director).

• Verification of certification examination fo​r the license type.

• Online California quiz on state laboratory laws and regulations.
  

For additional information you may contact LFSscientist@cdph.ca.gov.​​