Authority and scope
Check the license and concern
Behavioral Health Examiners covers counseling, social work, MFT and substance-use counseling. Psychologist Examiners separately regulates psychology and behavior analysis. Court-ordered psychology services use a claim route; specified sexual-offense cases require the ordering court’s referral.
Supporting guidance: Arizona Auditor General: Behavioral Health board review ↗Psychology: complaints and court-service claims ↗
Match the route to the credential
Use the license listed in the practitioner’s records or official license lookup. A psychiatrist is a physician; psychiatric nurses have nursing credentials. Some psychologists have prescribing authority, so medication alone does not identify the licensing board.
Choose the right licensing authority
Counseling, social work, MFT and substance-use counseling
Current Behavioral Health online complaint entry; downstream form requirements limited.
Open this official route ↗Psychology and behavior analysis
Separate complaint and court-services claim links; read the court-referral exception.
Open this official route ↗Checked steps and filing details to confirm
- Behavioral Health: use ONLINE COMPLAINT on the current bbhe.az.gov Online Services page. It is for individuals or agencies reporting a licensee or applicant. The board announced a new platform in June 2026; follow its current link. The downstream form’s signatures and record authorizations were not read.
- Psychology/behavior analysis: use Investigations; select its separate claim link for court-ordered psychology services. Prepare supporting evidence first: filing must finish in one session and submitted material cannot be retrieved for editing.
- Confirm patient or representative authority before sending treatment records. The online form fields, release terms and alternatives to electronic filing remain limited in this check.
Supporting guidance: Behavioral Health: current online complaint entry ↗Behavioral Health: June 2026 platform transition ↗Psychology: complaints and court-service claims ↗
What this route may not provide
The Psychology Board cannot change custody evaluations or judicial decisions. Refund/damages authority was not established. Physician psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, facilities and private certifications require separate jurisdiction checks.
Supporting guidance: Psychology: complaints and court-service claims ↗
Do not guess about confidentiality
Psychology treats complaints as confidential but sends them and additional evidence to the respondent; opened complaints cannot be withdrawn. Anonymous acceptance and Behavioral Health disclosure rules were not established.
Supporting guidance: Psychology: complaints and court-service claims ↗
Four-year statutory limit with exceptions; ask promptly
A.R.S. 32-3224 generally prevents a health board acting on conduct more than four years before receipt of the complaint. Exceptions include malpractice settlements/judgments, sexual misconduct, felony-related events, controlled-substance diversion, practicing while impaired and qualifying failures to disclose; the statute qualifies some exceptions. Ask the board how it applies, including to a Psychology claim. This is separate from a court deadline; do not assume an older serious allegation is barred.
Supporting guidance: Arizona legislature: A.R.S. 32-3224 ↗
What may happen after filing
Psychology screens jurisdiction, obtains a reply and may dismiss, investigate further or refer to the Board. Behavior analysis has separate screening. Court-services claims are reviewed before opening a complaint. Behavioral Health’s detailed process remains unverified.
Supporting guidance: Psychology: complaints and court-service claims ↗
Prepare a reviewable submission
State the concern you want reviewed, give a short chronology and factual consequences, and explain your request. Keep supporting records and follow the receiving authority’s instructions before attaching or sending them.
Sources and scope
Arizona Auditor General: Behavioral Health board review ↗
Board scope, separate license categories and enforcement responsibility; September 2024 report, not current filing instructions.
Source checked: September 19, 2026
Behavioral Health: current online complaint entry ↗
Official indexed page text read: licensee/applicant complaint entry; downstream complaint form not retrieved.
Source checked: September 30, 2026
Behavioral Health: June 2026 platform transition ↗
Official indexed announcement read: June 22, 2026 platform launch and current complaint link; licensee-account directions are not consumer filing requirements.
Source checked: September 30, 2026
Psychology: complaints and court-service claims ↗
Official indexed instructions read: scope, complaint/claim distinction, single-session filing, respondent disclosure and review; downstream forms not retrieved.
Source checked: September 30, 2026
Arizona legislature: A.R.S. 32-3224 ↗
Official indexed statutory text read: four-year board-action restriction and qualified exceptions; not a civil lawsuit deadline.
Source checked: September 30, 2026
Latest guide source check: September 30, 2026. Individual sources retain their own check dates. This records a review of the linked material, not a decision about your case. No clinical or legal reviewer is identified for this guide. Confirm current instructions with the receiving authority.