Texas Behavioral health Complaint Route

Authority and scope

Check the license and concern

BHEC oversees psychologists and psychology associates, professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, and social workers, including listed associate credentials. HHSC separately regulates licensed chemical dependency counselors (LCDCs), counselor interns and clinical training institutions. Identify the actual credential; psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses use medical and nursing routes.

Supporting guidance: Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council ↗BHEC complaint form ↗Texas HHSC: Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor Program ↗Texas HHSC: professional licensing complaint instructions ↗

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

BHEC: psychology, counseling, social work and MFT

Shared complaint process for these four BHEC member-board professions; select the actual credential on the form.

Open this official route ↗

HHSC: chemical dependency counselor or intern

Individual LCDC/CI complaints use Forms 3223 and 2076. Follow this separate professional intake; BHEC filing periods and confidentiality rules do not establish HHSC requirements.

Open this official route ↗

Submission

How the official source says to file

BHEC: use its approved form, identify the credential and services dates, and attach a factual account, witnesses and supporting copies. Sign and date the authorization. Representatives should attach documentation of their legal authority.
BHEC: email Enforcement@bhec.texas.gov or mail Attn: Enforcement Division, 1801 Congress Ave., Suite 7.300, Austin, TX 78701. Retain originals; submitted materials are not returned.
HHSC LCDC/intern: complete complaint Form 3223 and authorization Form 2076, add supporting documents, and sign the affirmation and release. Representatives identify their authority. The release requires two witnesses only if the requester cannot sign their name.
HHSC: email lcdc_complaints@hhs.texas.gov or mail Professional Licensing Complaints, PO Box 149347, Mail Code 1979, Austin, TX 78714-9347. The webpage and complaint form give different fax numbers; confirm before faxing private records.

Supporting guidance: BHEC complaint instructions ↗BHEC complaint form ↗Texas HHSC: professional licensing complaint instructions ↗Texas HHSC: Form 3223 professional complaint, March 2021 ↗Texas HHSC: Form 2076 medical-information authorization, November 2014 ↗Texas HHSC: Form 2076 instructions ↗

Limits

What this route may not provide

For BHEC professions, an agreement reached through an informal settlement conference may include a refund capped at fees the consumer paid the licensee for the regulated service. The refund cannot include other damages. This is discretionary, not guaranteed repayment. HHSC compensation powers were not established here; insurance and facility concerns use separate processes.

Supporting guidance: Texas psychology law: limited refund authority ↗Texas marriage and family therapy law: limited refund authority ↗Texas professional counseling law: limited refund authority ↗Texas social work law: limited refund authority ↗

Anonymity

Do not guess about confidentiality

BHEC may accept unidentified reports but need not investigate them. Its signed form authorizes disclosure of your identity to the respondent and others needed for investigation or prosecution, plus access to protected health information. The respondent receives the complaint and supporting documents. Investigative confidentiality has statutory exceptions; it does not promise secrecy from the subject. HHSC permits anonymous reports with investigation limits; ask how its authorization requirements apply. Withholding a named complainant’s identity was not established. Form 2076 warns about further disclosure and allows written revocation except where already relied on.

Supporting guidance: BHEC complaint instructions ↗BHEC complaint form ↗BHEC complaint processing ↗Texas Occupations Code chapter 507 ↗Texas HHSC: professional licensing complaint instructions ↗Texas HHSC: Form 2076 medical-information authorization, November 2014 ↗

Complaint timing

BHEC uses service-termination periods; confirm other routes separately

BHEC generally requires filing within five years after services end. Sexual-misconduct complaints may be filed within seven years after services end or five years after the client turns 18, whichever is later. These periods do not establish civil deadlines or HHSC requirements; ask promptly about your situation. No HHSC filing cutoff was established. Its statutory quarterly status notices, with an undercover-investigation exception, are processing requirements.

Supporting guidance: BHEC complaint instructions ↗Texas Occupations Code Chapter 504 ↗

Process

What may happen after filing

BHEC screens jurisdiction, investigates, and obtains the licensee’s response. Legal review may lead to dismissal, an agreed order, informal settlement or a contested hearing. HHSC acknowledges and screens the report, may seek more information, and refers substantiated violations for enforcement.

Supporting guidance: BHEC complaint processing ↗Texas HHSC: professional licensing complaint instructions ↗

Evidence

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.