What Really Happens When Your Licensing Board Sends That Letter?

That dreaded envelope with your regulatory board's return address can make your heart skip a beat. For licensed professionals across all disciplines, receiving a complaint notice often triggers immediate fear about your career, reputation, and livelihood. But as we discovered in this revealing episode, what happens next isn't necessarily what you might expect.

Drawing from conversations with actual regulatory officials, enforcement attorneys, and experienced professionals, we pull back the curtain on what really happens when complaints are filed against license holders. We learn that regulatory agencies don't simply launch investigations without process—most follow structured protocols including preliminary screening, expert review, and careful prioritization based on public impact. "We try to prioritize cases that are going to affect the public most," explains one regulator, debunking the myth that boards are eager to pursue punitive action for every minor issue.

Perhaps most valuable for professionals is understanding the critical difference between responding appropriately versus ignoring the situation. The unanimous message from regulators: "Ignoring a notice is not a solution." Instead, we explore how transparency, accountability, and rehabilitation efforts dramatically improve outcomes. We distinguish between Informal Settlement Conferences—where licensees can meaningfully engage—and formal State Office of Administrative Hearings proceedings where, as one guest candidly admitted, "they're generally at that point seeking a revocation of your license." The experts also reveal their preference for negotiated settlements that make consumers whole rather than punitive measures, providing a roadmap for professionals to navigate complaints successfully.

Whether you're a healthcare provider, financial professional, contractor or any other licensed practitioner, this episode equips you with four essential steps to take when that letter arrives. Subscribe to Know Your Regulator for more insider perspectives that help you maintain your professional license with confidence and engage effectively with the regulatory bodies overseeing your profession.

Get more information, details and resources on Know Your Regulator - https://www.belolaw.com/know-your-regulator

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This podcast is for educational purposes only, does
not constitute legal advice anddoes not create an
attorney-client relationship.
If you need legal assistanceabout a legal problem, contact
an attorney.
Welcome back to Know yourRegulator.
The podcast that inspires youto engage.
I am your host, simone Murphy.
Today we're diving into one ofthe most anxiety-inducing

(00:21):
moments a license holder canface getting that letter.
Whether you're a nurse, aveterinar holder can face
getting that letter.
Whether you're a nurse, aveterinarian, dentist or
chiropractor, a notice ofcomplaint from your regulatory
agency is never easy to receive,but it doesn't have to mean
disaster.
We've gathered insights fromacross the professional spectrum
with experts, regulators andlicense holders to answer a
burning question what reallyhappens when you receive a

(00:44):
complaint notice?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Every complaint goes through about three steps to
make sure that we're doing ourprocesses well.
It comes in and we'll gothrough a screening for whether
there's a potential violation.
We have jurisdiction.
There's some things that wejust simply don't regulate.
There's some things that wejust simply don't regulate.
Then we'll have either a staffcommittee or a medical reviewer

(01:09):
to evaluate the case to seewhether any violations have
occurred and whether it's beingrecommended for enforcement, and
then finally, it comes over tothe enforcement branch.
There, of course, we look atthings like is there sufficient
evidence, what are the mostimportant aspects of the case
and is this the kind of thingthat we think is a real problem

(01:30):
that needs priority, or is thisa complaint about an individual
that had one instance?
Like I said, people makemistakes.
So we try to prioritize casesthat are going to affect the
public most, of course, becausethat's what our mission is cases
that are going to affect thepublic most, of course, because
that's what our mission is.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
So first things first .
Agencies don't launchfull-blown investigations
without a process.
Whether you're under the TexasBoard of Veterinary Medical
Examiners, texas Department ofLicensing and Regulation or
another board, there's a triagesystem that's in place.

Speaker 3 (01:59):
I don't have 38 different complaint processes
for each program, I have oneprocess.
I have a complaint resolutionprocedures manual that my team
follows, you know, from intake,through investigations, through
prosecution.
That process works for everyprogram.

Speaker 4 (02:16):
Even if it seems, you know, flat out ridiculous or
that there's, you know, badmotive from the complaint.
And these regulators have a jobto kind of thoroughly go
through any allegation.
But they also are obviouslygoing to reach out to the
licensee and most of the timethat's probably where they're
getting a lot of theirinformation from.

(02:36):
So that's why it's kind of soimportant that you know a
licensee knows that, understandsthe process and, you know,
responds.
Because I think a lot of thetime people have the thought
process of, like I'm not goingto, I just won't say anything
and it'll go away, you know,like, and that's actually going
to make everything worse.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
So it's a really crucial point that we made there
.
Ignoring the letter does notmake things go away.
In fact, it could make thingsworse.

Speaker 5 (03:01):
Our doctors will always be notified of a
complaint by a letter thatthey're going to receive in the
mail.
Most of the complaints wereceive are going to be filed by
patients.
We are what you'll sometimeshear referred to as a
complaint-driven agency, so whatthat means is that really we're
only going to be looking into adoctor or taking action against

(03:21):
someone because we received acomplaint.
We're not the type of agencythat goes out there and is kind
of hunting for stuff.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
And remember your initial response matters.
It's often the first time thatregulators hear from you.

Speaker 6 (03:34):
Something that I think a lot of people get
confused, because sometimeslicense holders will refer to
ISCs as hearings and they'rereally not A SOA.
Hearing is the actual hearing.
It's what you think about whenyou think about a civil case or
a criminal case.
You see something you know onTV.
So it's much more like what youwould think of when you hear
the term hearing Definitely ismore formal.

(03:56):
Like I said, it's going to feellike what you would think of
for a trial or a hearing.
Definitely is more formal.
Like I said, it's going to feellike what you would think of
for a trial or a hearing.
The ISC might feel kind ofintimidating, especially for,
like, a license holder andcertainly if they don't have a
lawyer present.
But it really is a chance forthe licensee to kind of tell
their side of the story, presentany type of evidence they want
or any type of argument thatthey have.

(04:18):
But at a SOA all the rules ofevidence, all the rules of civil
procedure, they all apply.
So it makes a SOA much morerigid, much more litigious, much
more kind of discerning.
Basically, the agency at thetime in which they're at SOA is
not really interested anymore inwhat the license holder has to

(04:39):
say right, they don't reallycare about your side of the
story.
They're not trying to be nice,they're not trying to resolve it
, they're generally at thatpoint at a SOA seeking a
revocation of your license.

Speaker 1 (04:51):
The translation there .
Take the ISC seriously.
It's not a coffee chat.
It's your chance to get infront of the board.
Tell them your story beforethings get more formal and
expensive.

Speaker 2 (05:01):
By the time we get a case to the state office
administrative hearings.
We've put a lot of time andeffort into it and you can
pretty much assume that we'vegot the goods.
We don't take these caseslightly.
We don't run to SOA every timewe get a chance to, and so a
license holder might want toseriously consider what options
are rather than going to ahearing because, as you've put

(05:22):
in the past, you know they'reunlikely to hit a no hitter
Proof of rehabilitation effortsis a big one, you know.

Speaker 7 (05:28):
I find it very persuasive if somebody can
present to me here's therehabilitation I've done for my
drug addiction.
For my drug addiction, you know, what programs have I
participated in?
Am I going to a group, you know?
Am I participating in some sortof therapy?

(05:49):
Anything like that to show thatI've addressed the root cause
of my criminal history, of mythefts, you know, is always very
persuasive.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
Accountability and transparency matter.
Whether you're responding to acriminal history concern or a
new complaint showing growth andawareness can shift how
regulators perceive your case.

Speaker 2 (06:05):
And we do try to get each case resolved informally.
And again, you know I can'temphasize enough people make
mistakes.
If you can recognize it andtake corrective action, that
goes a long way towardsresolving any issues.
If we take a case to SOA, wehave guidelines in our sanctions
matrix about what the range ofoutcomes should be.

(06:26):
But we often will give someonea break, just like you know,
doing a criminal case, who makesa plea deal, they're accepting
responsibility.
We recognize that and we givethem a lighter or a less severe
result because we recognize thatthey're trying to make it right
and we appreciate the fact thatthey're saving our time and
resources and honesty is a bigpart of that.

(06:49):
If you can't accept thatthere's a problem where you try
to mislead us, that's a realissue.

Speaker 3 (06:57):
Make sure that you understand what happened in the
situation.
Very often a negotiatedsettlement can be achieved.
In fact, I prefer that themoney from penalties doesn't go
in my pocket, it doesn't go inthe pocket of my prosecutors, it
doesn't even stay with ouragency, it goes back to the
general revenue fund.

(07:17):
It doesn't even stay with ouragency, it goes back to the
general revenue fund.
I would much rather you figureout a way of making the consumer
whole, making things right withthe consumer maybe a
restitution or refund, or maybefixing the thing that they said
you didn't fix, or whatever itis.
Trying to make things right.
That way you can get to anegotiated settlement where
either the penalty gets reducedor maybe it gets removed and you

(07:39):
just get a warning letter.
And that doesn't happen ifyou're not operating in good
faith, trying to figure out whatactually happened.
You know, ignoring a notice isnot a solution.

Speaker 1 (07:49):
So what should you do when you receive that letter?
Four things.
Number one take it seriously.
Number two respond promptly andprofessionally.
Number three understand itseriously.
Number two respond promptly andprofessionally.
Number three understand yourprocess.
Number four be transparent withyour documentation.
And remember you're not alonein this.
Every episode of Know yourRegulator is designed to give

(08:10):
you the tools and insights thatyou need to navigate your
license with confidence.
Check out our full episodelibrary for guidance from
regulators, industry leaders andprofessionals just like you,
and if there's a topic you wantus to cover next, let us know in
the comments below.
As always, thank you forlistening, stay engaged, stay
informed and, until next time,continue engaging with your
regulatory agency.

Speaker 4 (08:33):
Know your Regulator.
The podcast that inspires youto engage.