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Clinical Microbiologist Scientist Trainee License

Please be aware that you must request your school to postal mail your official transcript directly to LFS. If you have a non-US transcript, additionally, you must also have a course-by-course evaluation mailed by the evaluation service directly to LFS. These steps should be completed prior to submitting your trainee license application to avoid delay and the possibility of your application being considered abandoned if the documents are not received by LFS within 60 days of your application submission date. Please see further details and instructions near the end of this page under Academic Requirements.

Thank you for your interest in the California Clinical Microbiologist Scientist Trainee license. Laboratory Field Services (LFS) requires applicants to submit documentation of academic coursework 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:

Academic requirements

Bachelorā€™s degree (baccalaureate) in microbiology or equivalent major.

  • Official transcripts must verify the completion of 25 semester or equivalent quarter units of microbiology courses, which must include medical microbiology.

  • Examples of microbiology courses include, but are not limited to, parasitology, virology, mycology, mycobacteriology, serology, molecular techniques, immunology, and basic microbiology.

Transcripts

Laboratory Field Services Personnel Licensing Section requires you to provide your official transcript from an accredited institution in order to review and determine your education and course qualifications. To be considered official, transcripts must be signed by the school registrar, indicate date of graduation and degree awarded, and postal mailed to LFS in a sealed envelope directly from the source. We do not accept scanned or photocopies of transcripts uploaded or emailed by the applicant for authentication purposes. If your transcript is under a different last name, you must upload legal proof of name change to associate the name discrepancy.

Mail the official transcripts to:
Laboratory Field Services ā€“ PLS Program
850 Marina Bay Parkway
Bldg P, 1st Floor
Richmond, CA 94804


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 ā€œCurrent Membersā€ of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), and ā€œEndorsed Membersā€ 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.ā€‹


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

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 ā€“ PLS Program
850 Marina Bay Parkway
Bldg P, 1st Floor
Richmond, CA 94804ā€‹ā€‹

Resources

Helpful links

CLS Training Programsā€‹

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 Specialistsā€‹

The requirements listed may not be comprehensive.

 How to Apply

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

 
Apply Online  *You will need to pay your application fee online. 

  

*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.

For additional information you may contact LFSscientist@cdph.ca.gov.ā€‹

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