Court upholds California’s Truth in Advertising law as constitutional
A California U.S. District Court upheld as constitutional California’s longstanding law that limits use of the term “doctor” and prefix “Dr.” to a person who is a California-licensed allopathic or osteopathic physician.
The case, Palmer v. Bonta, was filed by three nurse practitioners who held a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree and asserted that California’s law reserving the title doctor to licensed physicians violated their First Amendment right to free speech. In cross motions for summary judgment, the court ruled in favor of the defendants, thereby upholding the law as constitutional. The court agreed with the defendants that California law does not violate the plaintiffs’ freedom of speech and is a legitimate regulation of commercial speech.
The California Medical Association and the AMA filed a joint amicus curiae brief in support of California’s longstanding law and in support of the defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Notably, the court relied on the AMA’s Truth in Advertising survey in the ruling, including findings from the survey that confirm patient confusion on whether a DNP is a medical doctor.
As part of the ruling, the court also found that the plaintiffs were economically motivated to use the titles “Dr.” and “doctor.” Plaintiffs testified that the desire to use the titles ranged from increasing patient enrollment to improving their professional brand. The court noted that one plaintiff testified that “he wants to use the title ‘doctor’ to open an esthetic clinic” and that “he will attract more patients if he can call himself ‘Dr. Hanson’ as opposed to not using the title “doctor,” because “[i]f patients were given the opportunity to pick between two clinics, one with Dr. Hanson and one with Mr. Hanson written on it, most would gravitate to the former.”
More articles in this issue
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- Sept. 26, 2025: National Advocacy Update
