(a) An applicant for certification as a certified nurse assistant shall comply with each of the following:

(1) Be at least 16 years of age.

(2) Have successfully completed a training program approved by the department, which includes an examination to test the applicant’s knowledge and skills related to basic patient care services.

(3) Obtain a criminal record clearance pursuant to Section 1338.5.

(b) (1) No later than July 1, 2019, the department shall require the applicant to provide either the individual taxpayer identification number or social security number for purposes of applying for a certificate or the renewal of a certificate.

(2) If the department utilizes a national examination to issue a certificate, and if a reciprocity agreement or comity exists between the State of California and the state requesting release of the individual taxpayer identification number or social security number, any deputy, agent, clerk, officer, or employee of the department may release an individual’s taxpayer identification number or social security number to an examination or certifying entity, only for the purpose of verification of certification or examination status.

(3) The individual taxpayer identification or the social security number shall serve to establish the identification of persons affected by state tax laws and for purposes of establishing compliance with subsection (a) of Section 666 of Title 42 of the United States Code, Section 60.15 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 17520 of the Family Code, and Section 11105 of the Penal Code, and to that end, the information furnished pursuant to this section shall be used exclusively for those purposes.

(4) The department shall not do either of the following:

(A) Require an applicant to disclose citizenship status or immigration status for purposes of the application or renewal of a certificate.

(B) Deny licensure to an otherwise qualified and eligible applicant based solely on his or her citizenship status or immigration status.

(c) The state department may establish procedures for issuing certificates which recognize certification programs in other states and countries.

(d) Upon written application, criminal record clearance pursuant to Section 1338.5, and documentation of passing an appropriate competency examination, the state department may issue a certificate to any applicant who possesses a valid state license as either a licensed vocational nurse or a registered nurse issued by any other state or foreign country, and who, in the opinion of the state department, has the qualifications specified in this article.

(e) Upon written application, criminal record clearance pursuant to Section 1338.5, and documentation of passing an appropriate examination, the state department may issue a certificate to any applicant who has completed the fundamentals of nursing courses in a school for registered nurses, approved by the Board of Registered Nursing, or in a school for licensed vocational nurses, approved by the Board of Vocational Nurse and Psychiatric Technician Examiners, which are substantially equivalent to the certification training program specified in this article.

(f) Every person certified as a nurse assistant under this article may be known as a “certified nurse assistant” and may place the letters CNA after his or her name when working in a licensed health facility. An individual working independently, providing personal care services, may not advertise or represent himself or herself as a certified nurse assistant.

(g) Any person holding a nurse assistant certificate issued by the state department prior to January 1, 1988, may continue to hold himself or herself out as a certified nurse assistant until January 1, 1991. Thereafter, it shall be unlawful for any person not certified under this article to hold himself or herself out to be a certified nurse assistant. Any person willfully making any false representation as being a certified nurse assistant is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(h) Any person who violates this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon a conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 180 days, or by a fine of not less than twenty dollars ($20) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 838, Sec. 8. (SB 695) Effective January 1, 2019.)