Renewal questions that trip people up
The form takes twenty minutes. A wrong yes or a wrong no can take much longer to fix.
Most renewal forms ask the same few questions in different words. Since your last renewal, have you been charged, disciplined, investigated, sued, treated or sanctioned? The questions are short because the boards want a yes or a no. The answers are rarely that simple.
Read the time window first
A question usually covers a period: since your last renewal, in the past five years, ever. Many mistakes are a correct answer to the wrong period. Write the window next to the question before you think about the answer.
Know what the words mean
A charge, an arrest, a conviction and a deferred sentence are not the same thing, and a form's definitions may be wider than you expect. A matter that was sealed, expunged or dismissed may still count, depending on the board's wording.
A yes is not a verdict
A yes with a short, accurate explanation and the papers behind it is much easier for a board to accept than a no that it later finds out was wrong. Boards care a great deal about candor, and treat a false answer as its own problem.
Put the explanation together before you submit
- The outcome documents, not only your memory of them
- Any order, agreement or monitoring term that applies
- Proof that you met each condition
- A short statement of what changed
When to call
If you're unsure whether a question covers an old matter, call before you submit, not after. A renewal that is already filed is harder to correct than one that hasn't gone yet. Our flat-fee renewal review covers the form, the explanation and the follow-up with the board.