By July 1st you need to have the certification according the D.A.S. I believe it will be pushed back due to lack of participation, but I wouldn't go by what I say since I'm just some random person on the internet
Currently California does not recognize any other states certifications, but that might change.
The state page with all the information he needs is here:
http://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/ElectricalTrade.htm If your friend needs a refresher on code, A.B.C. offers a good code review course designed for preping for the certification. Its around $225 if I remember right:
www.abc.org Hope that helps
[This message has been edited by dmattox (edited 11-24-2004).]