California EMT & Paramedic Certification Requirements

Before committing the time and money it takes for EMS certifications, you must be sure there is not anything in your background that may prevent you from attaining your state certification! Any criminal offenses may disqualify you, so it is best to check with the state EMS office if you have a questionable background prior to training.

The State of California requires emergency medical personnel to be licensed through the local EMS agency they will be working for. To qualify to submit the certification application, the applicant must have already taken and passed the National Registry (NREMT) examination. To qualify to take the NREMT exams, the applicant must have previously completed an approved NREMT training program, like PERCOMonline’s EMT, AEMT, and Paramedic programs.

Other EMS certification requirements:

• Must be 18 years of age when applying
• Submit criminal background check with EMS agency
• Must have a high school or GED diploma
• May have additional agency-specific requirements

California EMT license and application information -> https://emsa.ca.gov/emt/

California Paramedic license and application information -> https://emsa.ca.gov/paramedic/

To learn more about how to apply in California, please search the California EMS agencies for more information -> https://emsa.ca.gov/local-ems-agencies/

Reciprocity

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Some applicants may already have a license in another state but are wishing to legally work in California. This applicant must go through the “reciprocity” process to attain the California certification using their existing license. To learn more about this process, please contact the CA EMS agency for the county you will be working in or residing.

PERCOMonline Training For California Students

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PERCOMonline is not an officially recognized training facility for EMT Basic, Advanced EMT, Paramedic, and EMS Instructor licenses for California. However, we have many California students complete our programs for National Registry certification, which they use to acquire their California license.

PERCOMonline is not approved in California for clinical affiliation agreements with hospital and EMS provider sites within the state. Our CA students must use the approved sites found on this map -> https://www.percomcourses.com/clinical-locations-map/

Program Signup Options

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For those wishing to become a certified EMT…

For those wishing to become a Paramedic but are not yet an EMT…

For those wishing to become a Paramedic and are already an EMT…