(a) Every credit services organization shall file a registration application with, and receive a certificate of registration from, the Department of Justice before conducting business in this state. The Department of Justice shall not issue a certificate of registration until the bond required by Section 1789.18 has been filed with the Office of the Secretary of State and the department establishes that the organization seeking a certificate satisfies the requirements of subdivision (f). The application shall be accompanied by a registration fee of one hundred dollars ($100). The registration application shall contain all of the following information:

(1) The name and address where business is actually conducted of the credit services organization.

Terms Used In California Civil Code 1789.25

  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Credit services organization: means a person who, with respect to the extension of credit by others, sells, provides, or performs, or represents that the person can or will sell, provide, or perform, any of the following services, in return for the payment of money or other valuable consideration:

    California Civil Code 1789.12

  • Extension of credit: means the right to defer payment of debt or to incur debt and defer its payment, offered or granted primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. See California Civil Code 1789.12
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Person: includes an individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, or any business entity. See California Civil Code 1789.12
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.

(2) The names, addresses, and driver’s license numbers of any and all persons who directly or indirectly own or control 10 percent or more of the outstanding shares of stock in the credit services organization.

(3) Either of the following:

(A) A full and complete disclosure of any litigation commenced against the credit services organization or any resolved or unresolved complaint that relates to the operation of the credit services organization and that is filed with the Attorney General, or any other governmental authority of this state, any other state, or the federal government. With respect to each resolved complaint identified by the disclosure, the disclosure shall include a brief description of the resolution.

(B) An acknowledged declaration, under penalty of perjury, stating that no litigation has been commenced and no unresolved complaint relating to the operation of the organization has been filed with the Attorney General, or any other governmental authority of this state, any other state, or the federal government.

(4) Other information that the Department of Justice requires, either at the time of application or thereafter.

(b) The Department of Justice may conduct an investigation to verify the accuracy of the registration application. If the application involves investigation outside this state, the applicant credit services organization may be required by the Department of Justice to advance sufficient funds to pay the actual expenses of the investigation. Any nonresident applying for registration under this section shall designate and maintain a resident of this state as the applicant’s agent for the purpose of receipt of service of process.

(c) Each credit services organization shall notify the Department of Justice in writing within 30 days after the date of a change in the information required by subdivision (a), except that 30 days’ advance notice and approval by the Department of Justice shall be required before changing the corporate name or address, or persons owning more than 10 percent of the shares of stock in the organization. Each credit services organization registering under this section may use no more than one fictitious or trade name and shall maintain a copy of the registration application in its files. The organization shall allow a buyer to inspect the registration application upon request.

(d) A certificate of registration issued pursuant to this section shall expire one year after it was issued, but may be renewed by filing a renewal application accompanied by a fee in an amount to be determined annually by the Department of Justice as is reasonable and necessary to satisfy its costs in complying with its duties under this title to regulate credit services organizations. The Department of Justice may, periodically, increase the fee, but the amount of the fee shall not exceed that which is reasonable and necessary to satisfy its costs in complying with its duties under this title to regulate credit services organizations.

(e) The credit services organization shall attach to the registration statement a copy of the contract or contracts which the credit services organization intends to execute with its customers and a copy of the required bond.

(f) The Department of Justice shall not issue a certificate of registration under this title to any person who has engaged in, or proposes to engage in, any activity that is in violation of Section 1789.13, any law prohibiting the use of untrue or misleading statements, or any law related to the extension of credit to persons for personal, family, or household purposes.

(g) The Department of Justice shall maintain on a publicly available internet website a list of the credit services organizations that are registered in this state.

(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 965, Sec. 11. (AB 2424) Effective January 1, 2023.)

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