What is the difference between a denial of an application for a license (nonvested right) and a subsequent suspension or revocation of a license?

"The term 'vested' denotes a right that is either 'already possessed' [citation] or 'legitimately acquired' [citation]. Business or professional licensing cases have distinguished between the denial of an application for a license (nonvested right) and the suspension or revocation of an existing license (vested right). [Citation]. Once an agency has exercised its expertise and issued a license, the agency's subsequent revocation of that license generally calls for an independent review of the facts, because revocation or suspension affects a vested right. [Citations.]" (Berlinghieri v. Department of Motor Vehicles (1983) 33 Cal.3d 392, 396, 188 Cal.Rptr. 891, 657 P.2d 383.)

In contrast, the denial of a license to a previously unlicensed person does not affect a vested right, and the substantial evidence test should be used. (Merrill v. Department of Motor Vehicles (1969) 71 Cal.2d 907, 915, 80 Cal.Rptr. 89, 458 P.2d 33.)