Title FIN, California Fin. Code

A nonprofit community service organization that meets all of the following criteria shall be exempt from any requirements imposed on proraters pursuant to this division: (a) The nonprofit community service organization incorporates in this state or any other state as a nonprofit …

(a) Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any person has engaged or is about to engage in any act or practice constituting a violation of any provision of this division, or any rule or order promulgated pursuant to this division, the commissioner may, at his or her discret…

(a) The commissioner may do the following, at his or her discretion: (1) Make public or private investigations within or outside of this state necessary to determine whether any person has violated, or is about to violate, any provision of this division or any rule or order promu…

(a) If, upon inspection or investigation, based upon a complaint or otherwise, the department has cause to believe that a person is engaged in business without a license, or a person or licensee is violating any provision of this division or any rule or order promulgated pursuant…

(a) The remedies available to the commissioner pursuant to this division are not exclusive and may be sought and employed in any combination deemed advisable by the commissioner to enforce the provisions of this division. (b) Any amounts collected by the commissioner in any actio…

As used in this division: (a) “Access area” means any paved walkway or sidewalk which is within 50 feet of an automated teller machine. The term does not include publicly maintained sidewalks or roads, as defined in Section 555 or Section 527 of the Vehicle Code. (b) “Access devi…

It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in business as an escrow agent within this state except by means of a corporation duly organized for that purpose licensed by the commissioner as an escrow agent. (Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 441, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 2000.)

(a) Within the organization of each escrow agent corporation, either as an owner, officer, or employee, there shall be one or more persons possessing a minimum of five years of responsible escrow or joint control experience to be stationed at the main office of the corporation an…

(a) An application for a license as an escrow agent shall be in writing and in such form as is prescribed by the commissioner. The application shall be verified by the oath of the applicant. (b) Notwithstanding any other law, the commissioner may by rule or order prescribe circum…

(a) At the time of filing an application for an escrow agent’s license, the applicant shall deposit with the commissioner a bond satisfactory to the commissioner in the amount of at least twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000). Thereafter, a licensee shall maintain a bond satisfa…

An applicant for an escrow agent’s license or a licensee may, in lieu of and subject to the same conditions as the bond required by Section 17202, deposit with the commissioner a cash bond in the sum specified in Section 17202. Evidence of the cash bond shall be a deposit in the …

The bond of an escrow agent shall be conditioned that the licensee will faithfully conform to and abide by the provisions of this division and all the rules made by the commissioner under this division. The bond shall be conditioned that the licensee will honestly and faithfully …

(a) All officers, directors, trustees, and employees of an escrow agent, whether or not compensated, who have access to money or negotiable securities belonging to the escrow agent or in the possession of the escrow agent in the regular discharge of their duties, or persons who d…

No action may be brought on an escrow agent’s bond by any person after the expiration of two years from the time when the act or default complained of occurs. (Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 517, Sec. 223.)

When an action is commenced on an escrow agent’s bond the commissioner may require the filing of a new bond, and immediately upon the recovery of any action on the bond, the licensee shall file a new bond. Failure to file a new bond within 10 days of the recovery on a bond, or wi…

The commissioner shall charge and collect the following fees and assessments: (a) For filing an application for an escrow agent’s license, six hundred twenty-five dollars ($625) for the first office or location and four hundred twenty-five dollars ($425) for each additional offic…

All money received by the commissioner shall be paid by him or her into the State Treasury to the credit of the State Corporations Fund for the sole purpose of administering and enforcing this division. (Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 670, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1997.)

An application for a license as an escrow agent shall be signed and verified by an authorized officer of the applicant, and such application shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the articles of incorporation and a copy of the bylaws of the proposed licensee. The applicatio…

Upon the receipt of a proper and complete application for license, and all required fees, the commissioner shall immediately examine and investigate all facts connected with the proposal, including but not limited to its stockholders, directors, officers and managers, proposed lo…

The commissioner may or may not require an applicant to submit to an appropriate hearing. If a hearing is held the commissioner shall, on or before 10 days prior to the hearing, mail notice thereof to the applicant. At such hearing any interested person may show cause either in f…

The commissioner may refuse to issue any license being applied for, and shall refuse to issue any license being applied for if upon the commissioner’s examination and investigation, and after appropriate hearing, the commissioner finds any of the following: (a) That the corporati…

The license shall state whether the licensee is licensed as an escrow agent or joint control agent. (Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 663, Sec. 8.)

(a) An escrow agent licensed on or after January 1, 1986, shall maintain at all times a tangible net worth of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), including liquid assets of at least twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in excess of current liabilities. (b) An escrow agent license…

The license shall be kept conspicuously posted in all places of business of the licensee. (Added by Stats. 1953, Ch. 1076.)

(a) No escrow agent shall disseminate, or cause or permit to be disseminated, in any manner whatsoever, any statement or representation which is false, misleading, or deceptive, or which omits to state material information, or which refers to the supervision of that agent by the …

All licensees shall notify the commissioner of any changes in shareholders, directors, officers, trustees, managers, and other persons participating in the escrow business directly or indirectly compensated by the escrow agent (other than usual and customary employees who file pu…

(a) An escrow agent shall not transact business pursuant to this division under any other name than that set forth in the articles of incorporation as filed with the commissioner. (b) An escrow agent’s license is not transferable or assignable. Further, no license may be acquired…

(a) An escrow agent’s business shall not be removed from the premises or address shown on the license without the prior approval of the commissioner, and notice of any intended change shall be transmitted to the commissioner not less than 30 days prior to the date of the intended…

The commissioner may order a licensed escrow agent which opens a branch office or changes its business location or locations without first obtaining the approval of the commissioner to forfeit to the people of the state a sum of up to one hundred dollars ($100) for every day for …

Licensees of this division shall be entitled to establish additional business office locations by compliance with all of the following: (a) Filing with the commissioner notice of the intended address, or addresses. (b) Payment of the fees prescribed in Section 17207. (c) Filing w…

(a) There is established in the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation an Escrow Law Advisory Committee consisting of 11 members. The members shall consist of the commissioner or their designee; the chairman of the board and the immediate past chairman of the board for…

Whenever the commissioner issues a license or order under this division, the commissioner may impose conditions that are necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions and purposes of this division and, with respect to Internet escrow agents, are also consistent with the i…

This division does not apply to any of the following: (a) The United States or a department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including any federal reserve bank and any federal home loan bank. (b) Money transmission by the United States Postal Service or by a contractor on beh…

(a) The commissioner may, by regulation or order, either unconditionally or upon specified terms and conditions or for specified periods, exempt from all or part of this division any person or transaction or class of persons or transactions, if the commissioner finds such action …

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no pawnbroker shall charge or receive compensation at a rate exceeding the sum of the following: (1) Three percent per month on the unpaid principal balance of any loan. (2) A charge not exceeding three dollars ($3) a month on any…

A loan setup fee of seven dollars and fifty cents ($7.50) or 3.5 percent, whichever is greater, may be charged for each loan. However, the maximum loan setup fee shall not exceed ninety dollars ($90). Loan setup fees are in addition to any other allowed charges. (Amended by Stats…

No licensed pawnbroker shall promise any seller of tangible personal property that the seller may repurchase property sold to the pawnbroker. (Added by renumbering Section 21200.9 by Stats. 2024, Ch. 185, Sec. 2. (SB 1198) Effective January 1, 2025.)

A pawnbroker may charge as prescribed in the following schedule: Schedule of Charges (a) A charge not exceeding three dollars ($3) may be made on any loan for not more than three months which does not exceed nineteen dollars and ninety-nine cents ($19.99). (b) A charge not exceed…

(a) In addition to other allowed charges, at the time property is redeemed or a replacement loan is issued pursuant to Section 21201.5, the pawnbroker may collect a handling, storage, and security charge for pawned articles. The maximum amount that may be charged pursuant to this…

The maximum charge of compensation charged by a pawnbroker pursuant to the authority of Section 21200 shall be posted in a place clearly visible to the general public. (Added by renumbering Section 21200.5 by Stats. 1969, Ch. 25.)

In addition to other allowed charges, a pawnbroker may collect a processing charge of twenty dollars ($20) for each firearm pawned. (Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 189, Sec. 3. (AB 1186) Effective January 1, 2020.)

In addition to other allowed charges, a pawnbroker may collect a remote transaction fee, if the pledgor elects to request a replacement loan or to redeem a loan through electronic means, of up to 3.0 percent of the transaction amount to cover the recurring costs associated with s…

(a) Every loan made by a pawnbroker for which goods are received in pledge as security shall be evidenced by a written contract, a copy of which shall be furnished to the pledgor. The loan contract shall provide a loan period that is a minimum of four months, shall set forth the …

Whenever a pledger, or his or her assignee, loses a pawn ticket, a fee of not to exceed ten dollars ($10) may be charged for services of verifying the identification of the claimant, fingerprinting the claimant, and having the claimant execute a declaration under penalty of perju…

If the pledgor fails to redeem any pawned item during the loan period, thereby obliging the pawnbroker to mail or electronically transmit the notice required under Section 21201, the pawnbroker may charge a fee of up to seven dollars ($7) for services and costs pertaining to the …

(a) The written contract required pursuant to Section 21201 shall contain a provision in 8-point type stating whether the item or items pledged are to be stored at the business premises of the pawnbroker and adjacent to this provision, the following disclosure shall be made: “We …