Law / United States / 
California
Telephonic Sellers Registration Law
Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17511-17514
In force.
A telephone contact rule binding private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Licensing
As of .
What it requires
- If you or your salespersons place a telephone solicitation meeting the criteria in section 17511.1, such as offering a free additional item, a prize or gift conditioned on a purchase or payment, a below-regular-price claim, an interest in gold, silver, gems, minerals, oil, or gas, a loan-arrangement offer, or an upfront fee for a promised credit card, register with the Department of Justice's Consumer Protection Section at least 10 days before doing business in California, filing the information section 17511.4 requires with a $50 fee.
- This registration duty does not reach a call to a prospective purchaser who has previously purchased from your business, or a call already governed by a real estate, contractor, insurance, securities, or franchise license under a different state law.
- Renew your registration annually with the same $50 fee, and file an addendum within 10 days of a material change to the registered information, or quarterly for a change in salespersons.
- Post your filing confirmation, or until you receive it, the first page of your registration form, in a conspicuous place at each of your California business locations.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionNo
Criminal exposure note
A willful violation of this article, or a deceptive scheme or fraud in connection with a sale by a telephonic seller, is punishable upon conviction by a fine of up to $10,000 for each unlawful transaction, imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, or imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or both a fine and imprisonment.
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Section, for registration; criminal prosecution for a willful violation under section 17511.9.
What this law does
Section 17511.1 defines a telephonic seller broadly by the content of the solicitation: a call that represents or implies a free additional item, a prize or gift conditioned on a purchase or payment, a below-regular-price claim, an offer to sell gold, silver, gems, minerals, or an oil, gas, or mineral interest, an offer to arrange a loan, or an upfront fee for a promised credit card, among other criteria, or a call responding to certain unrequested notifications.
The definition excludes a person soliciting business from a prospective purchaser who has previously purchased from the same business enterprise, along with securities, real estate, contractors, insurance, and franchise sellers already licensed under other state laws for the same transaction.
Section 17511.3 requires such a seller to register with the Department of Justice's Consumer Protection Section at least 10 days before doing business in California, filing the information section 17511.4 requires with a $50 fee; registration is valid for one year and is renewed annually with the same fee, a material change must be updated within 10 days (or quarterly for a change in salespersons), and the seller must post its filing confirmation, or until received the first page of its registration form, at each California business location.
Section 17511.6 lets the Attorney General accept service of process for a seller whose designated agent cannot be found. Section 17511.9 makes a willful violation of this article, or a deceptive scheme or fraud in connection with a sale by a telephonic seller, a crime. Section 17511.10 preserves whatever other statutory or common-law right a person has; the article creates no civil private right of action of its own for a registration violation.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app sends automated outreach.