§ 127. Unauthorized practice
(a) When the Office receives a complaint of unauthorized practice, the Director shall
refer the complaint to Office investigators and prosecutors.
(b)(1) A person practicing a regulated profession without authority or an employer permitting
such practice may, upon the complaint of the Attorney General or a State’s Attorney
or an attorney assigned by the Office of Professional Regulation, be enjoined therefrom
by the Superior Court where the violation occurred or the Washington County Superior
Court and may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $5,000.00.
(2)(A) The Attorney General or an attorney assigned by the Office of Professional Regulation
may elect to bring an action seeking only a civil penalty of not more than $5,000.00
for practicing or permitting the practice of a regulated profession without authority
before the board having regulatory authority over the profession or before an administrative
law officer.
(B) Hearings shall be conducted in the same manner as disciplinary hearings.
(3)(A) A civil penalty imposed by a board or administrative law officer under this subsection
(b) shall be deposited in the Professional Regulatory Fee Fund established in section
124 of this chapter.
(B) The Director shall detail in the annual report receipts and expenses from these civil
penalties.
(c) In addition to other provisions of law, unauthorized practice shall be punishable
by a fine of not more than $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or
both. Prosecution may occur upon the complaint of the Attorney General or a State’s
Attorney or an attorney assigned by the Office of Professional Regulation under this
section and shall not act as a bar to civil or administrative proceedings involving
the same conduct.
(d)(1) A person whose license has expired for not more than one biennial period may reinstate
the license by meeting renewal requirements for the profession, paying the profession’s
renewal fee, and paying the following nondisciplinary reinstatement penalty:
(A) if reinstatement occurs within 30 days after the expiration date, $100.00; or
(B) if reinstatement occurs more than 30 days after the expiration date, an amount equal
to the renewal fee increased by $40.00 for every additional month or fraction of a
month, provided the total penalty shall not exceed $1,500.00.
(2) Fees assessed under this subsection shall be deposited into the Regulatory Fee Fund
and credited to the appropriate fund for the profession of the reinstating licensee.
(3) A licensee seeking reinstatement may submit a petition for relief from the reinstatement
penalty, which a board may grant only upon a finding of exceptional circumstances
or extreme hardship to the licensee; provided, however, that fees under this subsection
shall not be assessed for any period during which a licensee was a member of the U.S.
Armed Forces on active duty.
(4) Practice by a licensee with an expired license that continues for more than two years,
or practicing at any time when the licensee knew or should have known the license
was expired, may be prosecuted by the State as unauthorized practice under this section
or as unprofessional conduct pursuant to subdivision 129a(a)(3) of this title.
(e) A person practicing a licensed profession without authority shall not institute any
proceedings in this State for the enforcement of any right or obligation if at the
time of the creation of the right or obligation the unlicensed person was acting without
authority.
(f) The provisions of this section shall be in addition to any other remedies or penalties
for unauthorized practice established by law. (Added 1989, No. 250 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1995, No. 138 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. May 1, 1996; 1995, No. 171 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. May 15, 1996; 2003, No. 60, § 1; 2003, No. 66, § 84; 2005, No. 27, § 3; 2005, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2015, No. 38, § 2, eff. May 28, 2015; 2017, No. 144 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2019, No. 30, § 3; 2023, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. June 6, 2024; 2025, No. 58, § 5, eff. July 1, 2025.)