Labor Code §139.2 – Qualified Medical Evaluators

Labor Code §139.2 is the California statute that creates qualified medical evaluators (QMEs). It says who can be appointed as a QME, how the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) assigns random three-doctor QME panels, and the deadlines and discipline rules QMEs must follow. When you and the claims administrator disagree about a medical question in your workers’ comp case, a QME’s report is often the evidence that decides it.

This page explains the statute itself. The steps for requesting a panel are in Labor Code §4062.1 (if you don’t have a lawyer) and §4062.2 (if you do). For step-by-step help picking a doctor from your panel, see our guide to choosing the right QME in your workers’ comp case. For how a panel QME differs from a doctor both sides agree on, see QME vs. AME.

What Labor Code §139.2 says

A QME is a doctor certified by the DWC to perform medical-legal evaluations: exams that answer disputed questions such as whether an injury is work-related or how much permanent disability it caused. A QME evaluates you but does not treat you. According to the california.public.law mirror, section 139.2 was last amended effective January 1, 2017. Here is a plain-English summary of its main subdivisions.

Subdivision	What it covers (paraphrased)
(a)	The DWC Administrative Director appoints QMEs in each specialty for two-year terms.
(b)	Qualifications: California license, a DWC exam, a report-writing course, practice requirements, specialty credentials and no conflict of interest.
(d)	Reappointment rules: no more than five evaluations rejected by a workers’ comp judge or the WCAB in the most recent two-year period, 12 hours of continuing education in the prior 24 months, and no discipline during the last term.
(e)–(f)	Summary suspension or termination without a hearing for license action or unpaid fees, and the physician’s right to written reasons and a decision.
(h)	How three-member panels are assigned, what the panel notice must tell you, and what happens if a panel is late.
(i)	Ongoing DWC review of the quality of QME evaluations and reports, with an annual report.
(j)	Rules the DWC must adopt, including report deadlines and the right of unrepresented workers to a replacement evaluator.
(k)–(m)	Discipline after a hearing, probation, and mandatory removal of doctors who lose their license or are convicted of certain crimes.
(n)–(o)	Sliding-scale appointment and reappointment fees QMEs pay to the state, and a ban on compensation arrangements that create a conflict with the evaluator’s duties.

Key fact

Who §139.2 covers

Doctors. Section 139.2 applies to a “physician, as defined in Section 3209.3.” That definition includes medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy, psychologists, acupuncturists, optometrists, dentists, podiatrists and chiropractors licensed in California (though §3209.3(e) says acupuncturists can’t determine disability). Subdivision (b) adds extra credential rules for medical doctors and osteopaths, chiropractors and psychologists.

Injured workers. The panel system serves workers with and without lawyers. The statute says “preference in assigning panels shall be given to cases in which the employee is not represented.” If you have no attorney, the employer may not seek your agreement on an agreed medical evaluator (§4062.1(a)), so a panel QME is the route. If you have an attorney, the parties “may agree to an agreed medical evaluator at any time” (§4062.2(f)). Otherwise they use a panel.

Watch: injured at work in California

Our attorneys explain what your employer must do after a work injury, and what to do in the first 24 hours to protect your claim.

The rules, subdivision by subdivision

Who can become a QME (subdivision (b))

• Hold a California license and pass an exam “written and administered by the administrative director.” No second exam is required for reappointment.
• If appointed on or after January 1, 2001, complete an approved course on disability evaluation report writing.
• Either devote “at least one-third of total practice time to providing direct medical treatment,” or have served as an agreed medical evaluator on eight or more occasions in the 12 months before applying.
• Medical doctors and osteopaths must be board certified, have completed an accredited residency, or meet an equivalent standard. Chiropractors must be certified in California workers’ comp evaluation. Psychologists must be board certified in clinical psychology or meet an experience alternative, such as five years’ postdoctoral experience.
• Have no conflict of interest under DWC regulations.

How panels are assigned (subdivision (h))

• After a request, the DWC Medical Director “shall assign three-member panels of qualified medical evaluators within five working days,” using “a random selection method.”
• Panel doctors must be in the specialty “requested by the employee.” The DWC must advise you to consult your treating physician before deciding which specialty to request.
• Each panel QME must have no conflict of interest in your case and must be certified to evaluate in an appropriate specialty at locations “within the general geographic area of the employee’s residence.” A QME may not evaluate at more than 10 locations.
• If there aren’t enough QMEs of that specialty near you, the panel can include doctors from other areas. If you pick one of them, “the employer shall pay all necessary travel costs” (subdivision (h)(4)).
• “If a panel is not assigned within 20 working days,” you have the right to an evaluation from any QME of your choice within a reasonable geographic area.

What the panel notice must tell you (subdivision (h)(2))

The DWC’s panel form must list each doctor’s name, address, telephone number, specialty, years in practice, education and training. It must advise you that you are “entitled to receive transportation expenses and temporary disability for each day necessary for the examination,” and that you have “the right to consult with an information and assistance officer at no cost to you.”

Unavailable evaluators (subdivision (j)(1)(C))

The DWC must set time frames for QME availability for unrepresented workers. Those rules give you “the right to the addition of a new evaluator to his or her panel, selected at random, for each evaluator not available to see the employee within a specified period of time.” Under the DWC’s regulation (8 CCR §31.5), a replacement can be issued if a QME can’t schedule your exam within 90 days of the initial request for an appointment (120 days if that limit was waived under the DWC rules), if you moved after the panel issued and before the first exam, if two panel doctors are in the same group practice, or if a panel doctor is or has been your primary or secondary treating physician for the disputed injury.

Report deadlines (subdivision (j)(1)(A))

A QME’s initial report is due within 30 days after the evaluator sees you or otherwise starts the evaluation. The DWC must adopt rules for two kinds of extensions: when the evaluator has not received test results or a consulting physician’s evaluation in time, and an extension of up to 15 days for good cause, which the statute limits to a medical emergency of the evaluator or a family member, a death in the evaluator’s family, or a natural disaster or community catastrophe that interrupts the practice.

Reappointment, discipline and removal (subdivisions (d), (e), (k)–(m))

After a hearing, the DWC can suspend or end a QME’s appointment or impose probation for violating the rules, missing report deadlines or writing inadequate reports. Doctors whose licenses are terminated or who are convicted of certain crimes must be removed from the list.

Exceptions and limits

• Agreed doctors. In represented cases, the two sides can skip the panel and agree on an AME (§4062.2(f)).
• Treatment requests. Disputes over whether a requested treatment is medically necessary generally go through utilization review and independent medical review under §4610.5, not a QME.
• Getting a lawyer later. If you were evaluated by a panel QME without an attorney and later hire one, §4062.1(e) says you are not entitled to an additional evaluation.

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Remedies and penalties

Section 139.2 does not award money to workers. Its enforcement tools work on the doctors. The statute and DWC rules give you practical remedies when a QME falls short:

• A replacement QME when a panel doctor can’t see you in time, has a conflict, or doesn’t practice the specialty requested (8 CCR §31.5).
• A replacement when the evaluator missed the report deadline and a party objected before the report was served (8 CCR §31.5(a)(12)).
• Mileage and temporary disability for the day of the exam, and the employer pays for the evaluation itself (§139.2(h)(2); §4064(a)).

If you disagree with what a QME wrote, our guide on disputing a QME or AME report covers your options.

By the numbers30 days

Deadlines

Step	Deadline	Source
DWC assigns a three-member panel	Within 5 working days after the request	§139.2(h)(1)
Panel not assigned	After 20 working days, you may choose any QME in a reasonable geographic area	§139.2(h)(1)
Unrepresented worker picks a QME and schedules	Within 10 days of the date the panel was issued, or the employer may select	§4062.1(c)
Represented case: each side strikes one name	Within 10 days of the panel assignment	§4062.2(c)
QME can’t schedule your exam	Replacement if not within 90 days of the first appointment request (120 with a waiver)	8 CCR §31.5(a)(2)
QME report	Within 30 days after the exam; extensions only for late test results or consulting reports, or up to 15 more days for good cause	§139.2(j)(1)(A)

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Related sections

Section	What it covers
§4060	Medical-legal evaluations when the employer disputes whether the injury is covered
§4061	Evaluations for disputes over permanent disability and future medical care
§4062	Objections to a treating doctor’s other medical findings
§4062.1	The panel process when you don’t have a lawyer
§4062.2	The panel and strike process when you have a lawyer
§4064	The employer pays for medical-legal evaluations
§3209.3	Which licensed professionals count as “physicians”
§4610.5	Independent medical review of treatment denials

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How it plays out

💡 Example: Rosa, a hypothetical warehouse worker without a lawyer, hurt her back at work. The claims administrator objects to her treating doctor’s permanent disability findings, and she sends a panel request (DWC Form 105) asking for an orthopedic surgeon. The DWC Medical Unit receives it on a Monday. Under §139.2(h)(1), the panel is due within five working days, which is the following Monday if there are no holidays. The panel lists three randomly selected orthopedic QMEs near her home. Rosa picks one within 10 days, but the doctor’s first opening is 100 days away, which is more than the 90 days allowed under 8 CCR §31.5(a)(2), so she asks for a replacement. The new QME examines her on April 20. The report is due within 30 days, by May 20, or by June 4 if the doctor has good cause for a 15-day extension. (A separate extension can apply if test results or a consulting doctor’s report arrive late.)

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What to do

• Read the panel notice as soon as it arrives and write down the date it was issued. If you don’t have a lawyer, your deadline to pick a doctor runs from that date (see §4062.1).
• Track the QME’s scheduling and report dates. A missed deadline can be grounds for a replacement.
• Keep receipts and a mileage log for the exam, and ask the claims administrator to reimburse them.
• Call a DWC Information and Assistance officer (1-800-736-7401) or talk to a workers’ comp lawyer before you choose, strike or object.

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Frequently asked questions

How fast does the DWC have to send a QME panel?

Within five working days after the request. If no panel is assigned within 20 working days, §139.2(h)(1) lets you get an evaluation from any QME of your choice within a reasonable geographic area.

How long does a QME have to write the report?

Within 30 days after seeing you. Under §139.2(j)(1)(A), that can be extended when test results or a consulting doctor’s report arrive late, or by up to 15 days for good cause, such as a medical emergency or a death in the evaluator’s family.

Who pays for a QME exam?

The employer. Labor Code §4064(a) makes the employer liable for the cost of each reasonable and necessary comprehensive medical-legal evaluation. You’re also entitled to transportation expenses and temporary disability for the exam day.

Can I get a different QME if the doctor can’t see me?

Often, yes. DWC rules (8 CCR §31.5) allow a replacement when a panel doctor can’t schedule your exam within 90 days of the initial appointment request (120 if that limit was waived), when you moved after the panel issued, or when a doctor has a disqualifying conflict. For strategy on picking among panel doctors, see our QME selection guide.

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Sources

• California Labor Code §139.2
• California Labor Code §3209.3
• California Labor Code §4062.1
• California Labor Code §4062.2
• California Labor Code §4064
• 8 CCR §31.5, QME replacement requests
• DWC Fact Sheet E: Qualified Medical Evaluators and Agreed Medical Evaluators (April 2024)
• DWC QME Form 105 instructions (unrepresented workers)
• DWC, QME Form 106 online panel request FAQ

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