The California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is a department within the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. DCA's stated mission is to serve the interests of California's consumers by ensuring a standard of professionalism in key industries and promoting informed consumer practices. The DCA provides the public with information on safe consumer practices, in an effort to protect the public from unscrupulous or unqualified people who promote deceptive products or services.

There are currently over 3.4 million practitioners licensed by DCA, holding over 280 different license types. The department consists of 36 bureaus, boards, committees, commission, and other entities that license and regulate practitioners. Regulatory duties include investigating complaints against licensees and disciplining violators. Boards, committees, and commissions operate independently but rely on DCA for administrative support. Fees paid by these licensees fund DCA operations almost exclusively. Bureaus, programs, divisions, and offices are under the full control of DCA.

DCA provides the public with live telephone assistance in more than 170 languages for consumer-related questions and concerns. The department publishes a number of publications on consumer-related issues, the most popular being the California Tenants Guide. Publications are free to the public and are made available on the department's website.

DCA's enforcement staff works with the Office of the Attorney General of California and local district attorneys to investigate fraudulent activity in the marketplace. Many investigations are initiated as a result of complaints from consumers.

DCA has a Complaint Resolution Program to help resolve disputes between consumers and businesses.

Consumer protection in California began with the passage of the Medical Practice Act of 1876. The Act was designed to regulate the State's medical professionals, who up to that point had operated virtually unchecked.

On April 3, 1876, the California State Legislature approved a new law to take effect immediately, which directed each medical society already in existence as of March 10, 1876 to annually appoint a Board of Examiners consisting of seven members. In 1878, such boards were constrained to three designated medical societies and no others, then in 1901 they were replaced by a single Board of Medical Examiners whose nine members would be elected annually by specific medical societies. In 1907, this board was increased to eleven members and the term of office was extended to two years, and a 1911 amendment specified that members would be elected from certain schools or systems of medicine instead of medical societies.

Meanwhile, as explained below, the Legislature had gradually settled into the pattern of authorizing the Governor to appoint members of many other types of professional regulatory boards, rather than allow professionals to elect their own regulators. A 1913 act restructured the medical board to follow this pattern. The existing board was abolished and replaced with a new Board of Medical Examiners, with ten members to be appointed by the Governor to four-year terms.