(a) The Secretary of State shall mark each statement filed under Section 18200 with a consecutive file number and the date of filing. In lieu of retaining the original statement, the Secretary of State may retain a copy in accordance with § 14756 of the Government Code.

(b) The Secretary of State shall index each statement filed under Section 18200 according to the name of the unincorporated association as set out in the statement and shall enter in the index the file number and the address of the association as set out in the statement and, if an agent for service of process is designated in the statement, the name of the agent and, if a natural person is designated as the agent, the address of that person.

(c) Upon request of any person, the Secretary of State shall issue a certificate showing whether, according to the Secretary of State’s records, there is on file on the date of the certificate, any presently effective statement filed under Section 18200 for an unincorporated association using a specific name designated by the person making the request. If a statement is on file, the certificate shall include the information required by subdivision (b) to be included in the index. The fee for the certificate is the fee provided in § 12183 of the Government Code.

(d) When a statement has expired under subdivision (d) of Section 18200, the Secretary of State shall enter that fact in the index together with the date of the expiration.

(e) Four years after a statement has expired, the Secretary of State may destroy or otherwise dispose of the statement and delete information concerning that statement from the index.

(Added by Stats. 2004, Ch. 178, Sec. 10. Effective January 1, 2005.)