16 CCR 1399.24(d)(2) is the PT arrest deadline

A California physical therapist arrested for DUI has a reporting problem that many other licensed people do not face. Under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(2), a physical therapist must report the physical therapist's own arrest to the Physical Therapy Board of California within 30 days, and that timing obligation is the trap.

Do not assume you can wait until the DUI case ends in a California court, and do not assume renewal is the first disclosure point. Instead, remember that the 30 day arrest report under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(2) is separate from the later conviction report under section 1399.24(d)(3) and separate from renewal disclosure under Business and Professions Code section 2644(b), so the arrest deadline arrives earlier than many PTs expect.

This is why advice written for a California PA, OT, or chiropractor can send a PT in the wrong direction. A PA guide may focus on convictions or felony filings, and an OT or chiropractic guide may not give you a fixed DUI arrest report deadline. A California PT has section 1399.24(d)(2), so use the PT rule.

The Physical Therapy Board of California regulates physical therapists under Business and Professions Code sections 144(b)(11) and 2660. Those statutes matter, but they do not create the 30 day DUI arrest report deadline, because the deadline comes from 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(2).

Business and Professions Code section 2660 is not the deadline

Business and Professions Code section 2660 is a discipline statute for California physical therapists. Section 2660(e) says conviction of a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a physical therapist is unprofessional conduct and grounds for discipline, yet it does not set a separate reporting deadline.

That distinction matters after a DUI arrest in California. If you search only Business and Professions Code section 2660, you may think the Board issue starts only after a conviction, but the process does not work that way; section 1399.24(d)(2) reaches the arrest itself within 30 days.

I see this mistake because the word "conviction" appears in Business and Professions Code section 2660(e). A PT reads that and waits for court, but the regulation says otherwise, and the 30 day arrest clock under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(2) is already moving.

There are two separate concepts here: reporting and discipline. Reporting under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d) tells the Physical Therapy Board of California that a listed event happened; discipline under Business and Professions Code section 2660(e) depends on a different analysis after a conviction.

The 5 PT reporting events in section 1399.24(d)

Section 1399.24(d) has more than one trigger for a California physical therapist. DUI arrests usually point first to subsection (d)(2), but the other subsections can matter in harder cases or cases with another license involved. Count the 30 days carefully.

  • A California physical therapist must, under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(1), report the filing of a felony indictment or information within 30 days.
  • A California physical therapist must report the physical therapist's own arrest within 30 days under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(2).
  • A California physical therapist must, under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(3), report the physical therapist's own misdemeanor or felony conviction within 30 days.
  • Disciplinary action by another licensing authority must be reported by a California physical therapist within 30 days under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(4).
  • A California physical therapist must report a Business and Professions Code section 802 settlement, judgment, or arbitration award within 30 days under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(5).

For a basic California DUI arrest, the first Board trigger is usually the arrest report under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(2), and a later plea, verdict, or no contest plea can create a second report under section 1399.24(d)(3). One arrest can create more than 1 Board calendar date.

That is where people get hurt. A PT waits for a court date, then for negotiations, then for renewal, and by then the 30 days under section 1399.24(d)(2) may be gone.

A DUI conviction creates its own 30 day report

For Physical Therapy Board reporting, a conviction includes a guilty verdict and a guilty or no contest plea under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(3). The report is due within 30 days, and a no contest plea is not a safe workaround for PT reporting.

That rule matters during DUI plea discussions in California, because a reduced charge may change the criminal record, but a guilty plea or no contest plea still has to be checked against section 1399.24(d)(3). The Board language controls the reporting question.

The arrest report under section 1399.24(d)(2) and the conviction report under section 1399.24(d)(3) are separate. If you reported the arrest within 30 days, that does not automatically answer a later conviction report, and if you missed the arrest report, a later conviction report does not erase the earlier missed deadline.

Do not rely on the word "misdemeanor" to relax, because section 1399.24(d)(3) names misdemeanor and felony convictions. A California DUI conviction handled as a misdemeanor can still create the 30 day conviction report.

Renewal disclosure under section 2644 is later and narrower

Renewal is another trap for California physical therapists because Business and Professions Code section 2644(b) does require disclosure of any misdemeanor or other criminal offense for which the licensee was found guilty or pleaded guilty or no contest, and that language creates a renewal disclosure rule, not the arrest report rule.

Business and Professions Code section 2644(a) says the renewal application is due on or before the license expiration date, and a California physical therapist's license expires at midnight on the last day of the licensee's birth month in the second year of the 2 year license term. That date may be months after the DUI arrest.

Waiting for renewal can be wrong for a PT arrested for DUI in California, because section 2644(b) speaks to offenses where the licensee was found guilty or pleaded guilty or no contest, while section 1399.24(d)(2) speaks to the arrest itself and uses 30 days.

Think of renewal as a later checkpoint under Business and Professions Code section 2644; it does not replace section 1399.24(d)(2), and it does not pause the 30 day arrest clock.

A DUI is evaluated under section 1399.20, not treated as automatic discipline

A DUI is not automatically deemed substantially related for a California physical therapist, because under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.20(a) and section 1399.20(b), the Physical Therapy Board of California evaluates whether the offense substantially evidences present or potential unfitness to perform licensed functions consistently with public health, safety, or welfare. That is a real test.

The Board looks at the nature and gravity of the offense, the time elapsed, and the duties of a physical therapist under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.20, and those factors matter because physical therapy is patient care, and the Board is allowed to look at public health, safety, or welfare. The facts are not all equal.

A single word, "DUI," does not answer the section 1399.20 question. The Board analysis is about whether the offense substantially evidences present or potential unfitness for PT functions, which is different from a criminal court deciding whether the prosecution proved the DUI charge.

This is why the criminal record should be built with the PT license in mind, because the eventual court result may become part of what the Physical Therapy Board of California reviews under Business and Professions Code section 2660(e) and 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.20. Details matter.

Report the arrest without turning it into a confession

A report under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(2) is a report of an arrest, not the same thing as admitting that the California DUI allegation is true. The wording should stay accurate and controlled.

I do not want a PT to write a long explanation to the Physical Therapy Board of California on day 12 and then regret the language on day 40, because a DUI report can be direct without adding speculation, excuses, or facts that have not been checked against the police reports, test records, and court file. Say what has to be said under section 1399.24(d)(2).

Candor matters with the Board, but so does precision. If the rule is 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(2), the immediate task is to report the arrest within 30 days; the goal at that stage is not to litigate the whole DUI in a letter.

There is also a timing problem. A physical therapist may need to meet the 30 day Board deadline before the criminal case is resolved in a California court. That is normal. The report should not pretend the case is over when it is still pending.

The criminal case should protect the PT board record

The DUI defense and the Physical Therapy Board issue are connected because Business and Professions Code section 2660(e) turns on a conviction that is substantially related to PT qualifications, functions, or duties, so a dismissal or reduction can change what the Board later sees. The criminal result matters.

Every plea option should be read through 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(3) before the PT enters it, because a guilty plea and a no contest plea both count as convictions for Board reporting. A rushed plea can create a 30 day reporting duty that the PT did not calendar.

The facts developed in the DUI case can also matter under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.20, since the Board may consider the nature and gravity of the offense, the time elapsed, and the duties of a physical therapist. A thin record helps no one.

I look for ways to keep the criminal case accurate before it becomes a licensing record, which means separating proven facts from officer conclusions, checking the chemical evidence, and avoiding admissions that go beyond what the California court record requires. Section 1399.20 makes the factual record important.

A DUI arrest can feel like one event, but a California PT has several legal touchpoints: there is the arrest report under section 1399.24(d)(2), there may be a conviction report under section 1399.24(d)(3), and there is renewal under Business and Professions Code section 2644(b). Keep them separate.

The PT calendar after a California DUI arrest

The first PT licensing date is 30 days from the arrest under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(2), so put that date on the calendar before you worry about renewal under Business and Professions Code section 2644(a). Renewal can come much later.

The second possible PT licensing date is 30 days from a misdemeanor or felony conviction under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(3). Because a conviction includes a guilty verdict and a guilty or no contest plea, the plea date can start the Board clock. Do not let that date surprise you.

A felony filing can add another 30 day date under 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(1) if a felony indictment or information is filed, disciplinary action by another licensing authority can add a 30 day date under section 1399.24(d)(4), and a Business and Professions Code section 802 settlement, judgment, or arbitration award can add a 30 day date under section 1399.24(d)(5).

The renewal date is tied to Business and Professions Code section 2644(a), not the arrest date, and the license expires at midnight on the last day of the PT's birth month in the second year of the 2 year license term. Renewal disclosure under section 2644(b) covers offenses where the PT was found guilty or pleaded guilty or no contest.

For a California physical therapist, the safe order is simple: calendar section 1399.24(d)(2) first. Then calendar any section 1399.24(d)(3) conviction date if the DUI case later resolves by guilty verdict, guilty plea, or no contest plea.

What I want clear before the 30 day PT report

Before a California PT sends the arrest report required by 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(2), I want the basic timeline clear. Arrest date. Charge status. Court status. License status with the Physical Therapy Board of California. The 30 day deadline controls the pace.

I also want the PT to understand what the report is and what it is not; it is a required report to the Physical Therapy Board of California under section 1399.24(d)(2), not a renewal answer under Business and Professions Code section 2644(b), and not the conviction report under section 1399.24(d)(3).

If the DUI case later ends in a guilty verdict, guilty plea, or no contest plea, the conviction definition in 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.24(d)(3) must be applied again, and if there is no conviction yet, do not write as if there is one. Accuracy protects you.

The Board's later discipline analysis, if it gets there, is under Business and Professions Code section 2660(e) and 16 California Code of Regulations section 1399.20, and that analysis asks whether the offense substantially evidences present or potential unfitness to perform PT functions consistently with public health, safety, or welfare. The arrest report is only the first licensing step.