What Kind of Professional Licenses Can be Revoked if I’m Arrested?

Professional licenses almost always come with stipulations that you will maintain a certain professional lifestyle, and for many of those licenses, arrests can throw your certification into jeopardy.

Which professional licenses can be affected by arrests, and which arrests in particular?

male-nurse-female-patientIt would be impossible to type up the entire lists, but here are some of the big players in the professional license industry:

  • Licensed Health Care Professionals – Health care professionals are required by Arizona law to notify their licensing board of certain “misdemeanors involving conduct” that may pose a threat to patient safety, and it is up to the board to determine whether license revocation is necessary. Those arrests include (but aren’t limited to) shoplifting, prescription drug charges, theft, DUI, disorderly conduct, endangerment, and assault.
  • Real Estate Professionals – While your license can not be revoked, you are required to notify the state Real Estate Department of any criminal convictions and disciplinary actions against you within 10 days of conviction.
  • Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) – Your CDL can be suspended for one year if you commit your first of what is called a “major violation”, which includes: Being under the influence of a controller substance, having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of more than 0.04%, refusing to take an alcohol test, using a vehicle to commit a felony, causing a fatality while driving, leaving the scene of the accident, etc. The second “major violation” will result in a lifetime disqualification.
  • Any job requiring an Arizona Fingerprint Clearance Card – Any felony, and many misdemeanors can exclude an individual from receiving fingerprint clearance, which can prevent that person from entering the following professions: Teaching, post-secondary health education, department of energy, vocational school, driving school, juvenile corrections/probation officer, domestic violence victim’s shelter, clinical assisting, childcare, behavioral health programs, little league coaching, volunteering at schools, becoming an adoptive parent, group home worker, CPS employee, day care provider, etc.

If you have a professional license and have been arrested for a crime, do not hesitate to get in touch with an attorney immediately. They might be able to help defend you from the conviction, allowing you to keep your license and profession.

 

 

photo by Amanda Mills on freestockphotos.biz