California at a glance
| Rule | California | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| PSYPACT (psychologists) | No | 8 October 2026 |
| Counseling Compact (counselors) | No | 8 October 2026 |
| Social Work Licensure Compact | No | 8 October 2026 |
| Health-data or health geofencing law | AB 45 health care geofencing ban | 30 September 2026 |
| Privacy law treating health data as sensitive | California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the CPRA | 30 September 2026 |
California licensing boards’ advertising rules
Ads, websites and directory profiles all count as advertising to a licensing board. These are the California rules we check copy against, with links to the official text. Boards update their rules, so read the current version before you rely on a summary.
California Board of Behavioral Sciences (LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, LEP)
- From 1 April 2026, every advertisement must include the licensee's full name (first and last, plus any middle name or suffix) and their license or registration number. (16 CCR 1811)
All California healing-arts licensees, psychologists and physicians included
- No false, misleading or deceptive public communication, online included, such as testimonials that leave out material facts or claims likely to create unjustified expectations of results. (Business and Professions Code 651)
Telehealth across California's borders
California is not in PSYPACT, so a psychologist licensed here needs a license in each other state where they want to treat clients by telehealth, and ads should stay inside those states.
California has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so a counselor licensed here needs a separate license for each other state.
Physicians, psychiatrists included, need a license in each state they treat patients in; the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact can speed that up where a state takes part.
Telehealth ads should only reach places where the clinician can legally treat: see PSYPACT and Counseling Compact states.
Practices near a state line often see clients from next door. Oregon, Nevada and Arizona each have their own page.
Health data, tracking and California law
California's AB 45, in effect since January 1, 2026, bans geofencing around in-person health care facilities (within 1,850 feet) to track people, collect their data or send them ads, and bars collecting personal information from people at or near family planning centers.
California's privacy law, the CCPA as amended by the CPRA, also treats health information as sensitive personal information.
This is not legal advice.
How the states compare: state health-data laws.
What patients search for in California
Searches a month that name a California city, with the average cost per click, from Ahrefs (checked 30 September 2026). A dash means too few to measure; “near me” searches aren't counted. The Statewide row is searches that name the state.
| City | Therapist | Psychiatrist | Ketamine | IOP | Weight loss | Functional med. | Concierge | GI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 800 $9.00 | 1,600 $6.00 | 350 $4.50 | 600 $8.00 | 150 $2.50 | 400 $2.00 | 150 $3.00 | 800 $2.50 |
| San Diego | 800 $10.00 | 600 $5.00 | 250 $4.50 | 250 $6.00 | 150 $4.00 | 150 $2.00 | 150 $2.50 | 400 $1.50 |
| Sacramento | 400 $9.00 | 200 $4.50 | 150 $4.00 | 150 $4.50 | 200 $3.00 | 30 $0.70 | 70 $1.50 | 150 $1.40 |
| San Francisco | 450 $10.00 | 250 $5.00 | 150 $3.00 | 100 $7.00 | 100 $3.00 | 150 $1.90 | 90 $4.00 | 30 $2.00 |
| Fresno | 300 $7.00 | 300 $4.50 | 40 $4.50 | – | – | 20 $2.00 | 30 $1.50 | 300 $1.10 |
| San Jose | 450 $9.00 | 200 $3.50 | 80 $7.00 | 40 | 100 $2.50 | 60 | – | 50 $1.10 |
| Orange County | 200 $8.00 | 200 $5.00 | 20 $5.00 | 150 $10.00 | 20 $3.00 | 50 $0.90 | 50 $0.60 | 200 $1.90 |
| Long Beach | 150 $8.00 | 150 $4.50 | 50 | 60 | 60 $2.00 | 50 $0.80 | – | 200 $3.00 |
| Bay Area | 150 $8.00 | 150 $5.00 | 200 $4.00 | – | 30 $3.00 | 100 $1.80 | 80 | – |
| Statewide | 150 $6.00 | 200 $3.50 | 100 $5.00 | 100 $9.00 | 30 $2.00 | 10 $0.90 | – | – |
| Bakersfield | 300 $7.00 | 60 $3.50 | 20 | 10 | 30 | 10 | – | 150 $1.30 |
| Irvine | 150 $8.00 | 50 $4.50 | 100 | 10 | 20 | 10 $1.30 | 10 | 200 $2.00 |
| Riverside | 150 $7.00 | 150 $4.00 | 10 | 40 | – | – | 30 | 70 $1.70 |
| Oakland | 100 $5.00 | 150 $4.50 | 80 $5.00 | – | – | 40 $0.90 | – | 10 |
| Santa Clarita | 80 | 100 $4.50 | – | 10 | 40 | 20 $0.90 | – | 100 $1.50 |
| Anaheim | 50 $8.00 | 40 | – | 80 | 10 $3.50 | – | – | 150 $2.00 |
| Fremont | 200 $4.00 | 70 $3.00 | – | – | 20 | – | – | 10 $1.60 |
| Modesto | 100 $7.00 | 100 $3.00 | 10 | – | – | 40 | – | 10 |
| Stockton | 150 $7.00 | 50 $2.50 | – | – | 10 | – | – | 10 $1.50 |
| Chula Vista | 80 $2.00 | 70 $3.00 | – | – | – | – | – | 70 $1.20 |
| San Bernardino | 100 $4.50 | 70 $3.50 | – | – | – | – | 10 | 40 $1.40 |
| Santa Ana | 70 $3.50 | 90 | – | 20 | – | – | – | 10 $1.90 |
| Moreno Valley | 60 $8.00 | 40 | – | – | – | – | – | 10 |
| Fontana | 40 $4.00 | 20 $3.50 | – | – | 20 $2.00 | – | – | – |
Of the cities measured, Los Angeles gets the most of these searches. Its biggest single search, “psychiatrist los angeles”, gets about 1,600 a month. To turn a cost per click into a cost per booked patient, put your own numbers into the patient acquisition cost calculator.
Across the searches measured here, California patients look most for therapists (about 5,480 a month), then psychiatrists (4,910). Los Angeles alone accounts for 25% of them. A click on a therapist search here costs about $8.08 on average, above the $4.00 median across the 306 therapist searches measured on our state pages.
Fill The Lobby is a remote US healthcare marketing agency; the ads and pages we write for practices are checked against rules like these. See how we handle compliance.
Sources
- PSYPACT, compact map, checked 8 October 2026
- Counseling Compact, member map, checked 8 October 2026
- Counseling Compact, 10 states now offering privileges, checked 8 October 2026
- Counseling Compact, Pennsylvania becomes the 40th member, checked 8 October 2026
- Social Work Licensure Compact, enacted in 35 states, checked 8 October 2026
- Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, participating states, checked 14 October 2026
- IAPP, US State Privacy Legislation Tracker, checked 30 September 2026
- Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, US search volumes and cost per click, checked 30 September 2026
- California Legislative Information, AB 45 (2025), checked 30 September 2026
- California Board of Behavioral Sciences (LMFT, LCSW, LPCC, LEP), checked 30 September 2026
- All California healing-arts licensees, psychologists and physicians included, checked 30 September 2026