(a) The board may establish, by regulation, a system for the placement of a license into a retired status, upon application, for certified public accountants and public accountants who are not actively engaged in the practice of public accountancy or any activity that requires them to be licensed by the board.
(b) No licensee with a license in a retired status shall engage in any activity for which a permit is required.
(c) The board shall deny an applicant’s application to place a license in a retired status if the permit is subject to an outstanding order of the board, is suspended, revoked, or otherwise punitively restricted by the board, or is subject to disciplinary action under this chapter.
(d) (1) The holder of a license that was canceled pursuant to Section 5070.7 may apply for the placement of that license in a retired status pursuant to subdivision (a).
(2) Upon approval of an application made pursuant to paragraph (1), the board shall reissue that license in a retired status.
(3) The holder of a canceled license that was placed in retired status between January 1, 1994, and January 1, 1999, inclusive, shall not be required to meet the qualifications established pursuant to subdivision (e), but shall be subject to all other requirements of this section.
(e) The board shall establish minimum qualifications to place a license in retired status.
(f) The board may exempt the holder of a license in a retired status from the renewal requirements described in Section 5070.5.
(g) The board shall establish minimum qualifications for the restoration of a license in a retired status to an active status. These minimum qualifications shall include, but are not limited to, continuing education and payment of a fee as provided in subdivision (h) of Section 5134.
(h) The board shall not restore to active or inactive status a license that was canceled by operation of law, pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 5070.7, and then placed into retired status pursuant to subdivision (d). The individual shall instead apply for a new license, as described in subdivision (c) of Section 5070.7, in order to restore the individual’s license.
(i) At the time of application, if the applicant has a valid email address, the applicant shall provide that email address to the board.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 359, Sec. 6. (AB 1521) Effective January 1, 2020.)