Earlier editions: 2020-112018-112026-09
DIVISION 104. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH 106500-119406›PART 1. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSONNEL 106500-107175›CHAPTER 4. Professional Certification 106600-107175›ARTICLE 1. Registered Environmental Health Specialists 106600-106735
§ 106635
California Health and Safety Code · 2026-10 edition · updated 2026-10-04 · California
(a) The requirements for registration of environmental health specialists shall be a minimum of a bachelor’s degree from a department-approved educational institution or an educational institution of collegiate grade listed in the directory of accredited institutions of postsecondary education compiled by the American Council on Education.
(b) A transcript shall demonstrate both of the following:
(1) Basic science coursework taken from a department-approved educational institution in accordance with Section 106640 or an educational institution of collegiate grade listed in the directory of accredited institutions of postsecondary education compiled by the American Council on Education.
(2) Basic science coursework, as follows:
| Basic Requirements | Experience | Training | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. | 30 semester or 45 quarter basic science units.Three of the required basic science courses shall include a laboratory. | 18 months | 600 hrs. |
| General Chemistry | |||
| General Physics or Organic Chemistry | |||
| General Microbiology | |||
| General Biological Science | |||
| Calculus or College Algebra | |||
| II. | 45 semester or 68 quarterbasic science units.Three of the required basic science courses shall include a laboratory. | one year | 450 hrs. |
| General Chemistry | |||
| Organic Chemistry | |||
| General Physics | |||
| General Microbiology | |||
| General Biological Science | |||
| Calculus or College Algebra | |||
| III. | 30 semester or 45 quarter basic science units.Three of the required basic science courses shall include a laboratory. | 9 months | 300hrs. |
| General Chemistry | |||
| General Physics or Organic Chemistry | |||
| General Microbiology | |||
| General Biological Science | |||
| Calculus or College Algebra | |||
| plus | |||
| Three semester or four quarter unit courses in each of the following: | |||
| Epidemiology | |||
| Statistics | |||
| Public Administration or Environmental Health Adminis–tration and; | |||
| 10 semester or 15 quarter units in environmental healthscience, including one or more of the following: | |||
| water quality, waste management, food and consumer protection, housing and institution sanitation, vector control, recreational health, air quality, milk and dairy products, occupational health, electromagnetic radiation, noise control, toxicology, soil science, or land use development. | |||
| IV. | 45 semester or 68quarter basic science units, including the following: | 6 months | 200hrs. |
| Three of the following required basic science courses shall include a laboratory: | |||
| General Chemistry | |||
| Organic Chemistry | |||
| General Physics | |||
| General Microbiology | |||
| General Biological Science | |||
| Calculus or College Algebra | |||
| plus | |||
| Three semester or four quarter unit courses in each of the following: | |||
| Epidemiology | |||
| Statistics | |||
| Public Administration or Environmental Health Adminis–tration and; | |||
| 10 semester or 15 quarter units in | |||
| Environmental Health Science, including one or more ofthe following: | |||
| water quality, waste management, food and consumer protection, housing and institution sanitation, vector control, recreational health, air quality, milk and dairy products, occupational health, electromagnetic radiation, noise control, toxicology, soil science, or land use development. | |||
| V. | Possess a minimum ofa bachelor’s degreein environmental health from aNational Environmental Health Science & Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC) approved institution or an institution approved by the committee, which includes:One year of lecture and laboratory coursework in each of the following: | Nonerequired | Nonerequired |
| General Chemistry | |||
| General Physics | |||
| General Biological Science, and | |||
| One semester course in: | |||
| Calculus or College Algebra | |||
| Organic Chemistry | |||
| General Microbiology with Laboratory | |||
| Public Administration or Environmental Health Adminis–tration | |||
| Epidemiology | |||
| StatisticsField Orientation Course in Environmental Health | |||
| Fifteen semester units of environmental health science courses selected from: water quality, waste management, food and consumer protection, housing and institution sanitation, vector control, recreational health, air quality, milk and dairy products, occupational health, electromagnetic radiation, noise control, toxicology, soil science, or land use development. |
(c) (1) For purposes of this section, “basic sciences” include life sciences, natural sciences, physical sciences, and health sciences.
(2) Social science courses, such as sociology or psychology, shall not count toward the basic science requirements.
(Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 297, Sec. 3. (AB 1288) Effective January 1, 2026.)
Get a plain-English answer with a citation back to this text.
Ask AI about this code