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California Business and Professions Code Section 17538.5

Legal Research Home > California Laws > Business and Professions Code > California Business and Professions Code Section 17538.5

(a) It is unlawful in the sale or offering for sale of
consumer goods or services for any person conducting, any business in
this state which utilizes a post office box address, a private
mailbox receiving service, or a street address representing a site
used for the receipt or delivery of mail or as a telephone answering
service, to fail to disclose the legal name under which business is
done and, except as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b), the
complete street address from which business is actually conducted in
all advertising and promotional materials, including order blanks
and forms. Any violation of the provisions of this section is a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not
exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand five
hundred dollars ($2,500), or by both.
   (b) (1) This section shall not apply to a person who sells the
preponderance of goods and services at retail from trade premises
which are open to the public regularly during normal business hours
where the post office box or telephone answering service is
supportive of and ancillary to the sales made or to any person who
provides services pursuant to a license issued pursuant to this code
or any other provision of law by a state board or agency or, except
for a person conducting a mail order or catalog business, by a city
or county or city and county in this state, which has the person's
current business street address or home address on record and which
is authorized to reveal that address to inquiring persons.
   (2) If a person conducts a business described in subdivision (a)
from that person's residence, the person is not required to disclose
the residence address if both of the following conditions are
satisfied:
   (A) The person's current business street address or home address
is contained in a United States Postal Service (USPS) Form 1583 that
is filed with the USPS.
   (B) The person has signed an acknowledgement form substantially in
accordance with the provisions set forth in subdivision (f) which,
among other things, authorizes the commercial mail receiving agency
to act as that person's agent for service of process.
   (c) A commercial mail receiving agency (CMRA) shall not provide
private mailbox receiving service to any customer until it obtains
from that customer at least two pieces of identification regarding
that customer and provides to that customer an acknowledgment, as set
forth in subdivision (f), which (1) acknowledges the obligation to
advise the CMRA of any change in address, (2) authorizes the CMRA to
act as an agent for service of process, and (3) acknowledges the
requirements of Sections 17200 and 17500, which prohibit unfair
competition and false advertising. The commercial mail receiving
agency shall thereafter maintain a copy of any United States Postal
Service Form 1583 for each mailbox service customer, along with a
copy of each of the two pieces of identification used by the
customer, for a period of two years after the termination of service
to that customer. Upon the request of the Department of Consumer
Affairs or any law enforcement agency conducting an investigation,
the commercial mail receiving agency shall make available to the
Department of Consumer Affairs or that law enforcement agency, for
purposes of that investigation and copying, its copy of the United
States Postal Service Form 1583 and the two pieces of identification
used by the customer.
   (d) (1) Every person receiving private mailbox receiving service
from a CMRA in this state shall be required to sign an agreement,
along with a USPS Form 1583, which authorizes the CMRA owner or
operator to act as agent for service of process for the mail
receiving service customer. Every CMRA owner or operator shall be
required to accept service of process for and on behalf of any of
their mail receiving service customers, and for two years after
termination of any mail receiving service customer agreement. Upon
receipt of any process for any mailbox service customer, the CMRA
owner or operator shall (A) within 48 hours after receipt of any
process, place a copy of the documents or a notice that the documents
were received into the customer's mailbox or other place where the
customer usually receives his or her mail, unless the mail receiving
service for the customer was previously terminated, and (B) within
five days after receipt, send all documents by first-class mail, to
the last known home or personal address of the mail receiving service
customer. The CMRA shall obtain a certificate of mailing in
connection with the mailing of the documents. Service of process upon
the mail receiving service customer shall then be deemed perfected
10 days after the date of mailing.
   If the CMRA owner or operator has complied with the foregoing
requirements and provides to any party participating in a lawsuit
involving a mail receiving service customer a declaration of service
by mail, given under penalty of perjury along with a certificate of
mailing, the CMRA owner or operator shall have no further liability
in connection with acting as agent for service of process for its
mail receiving service customer.
   (2) Upon complaint or inquiry concerning any CMRA mail receiving
service customer, the CMRA owner or operator shall inform the person
making the complaint or inquiry that the CMRA is an authorized agent
for service of process on the mail receiving service customer.
   (3) Upon presentation of a certified copy of a judgment, the CMRA
shall disclose to the judgment creditor the last known address of any
of its mail receiving service customers against whom the judgment
was obtained.
   (e) An owner or operator of a CMRA who, acting in good faith,
contacts a governmental agency concerning suspected illegal or
fraudulent activities carried out by a mail receiving service
customer shall have no liability for claims filed by the customer
arising out of that contact. No owner or operator of a commercial
mail receiving agency that maintains on file a copy of the United
States Postal Service Form 1583 for its private mailbox receiving
service customers and complies with subdivision (c) shall be liable
for any illegal acts of any mail receiving service customer based
only on the fact that the owner or operator of the CMRA provided mail
receiving services to the customer.
   (f) The following acknowledgement and notice, substantially in the
form set forth below, shall be delivered to each person obtaining
private mailbox receiving service at a CMRA:
               "ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BY PRIVATE MAILBOX SERVICE CUSTOMERS
   This acknowledgement is required by Section 17538.5 of the
Business and Professions Code.
   Any person obtaining private mailbox receiving service in the
State of California must read and acknowledge receipt of the
following statement, which is to be kept on file at this CMRA and
will be made available, upon demand, to the Department of Consumer
Affairs or any law enforcement agency conducting an investigation.
   By requesting and obtaining use of a private mailbox receiving
service in the State of California, I acknowledge that:
   1. I am obligated to disclose my actual home address or place of
residence on a USPS Form 1583 or other form as may later be developed
and I further agree that I will provide prompt written notice to
this CMRA of any subsequent change in my home address or place of
residence.
   2. By signing below, I irrevocably authorize this CMRA to act as
my agent for service of process to receive any legal documents that
may be served upon me. This authorization shall continue from the
date of this agreement until two years after my mail receiving
service has been terminated. I understand that this CMRA will (A)
place a copy of the documents or a notice that the documents were
received into my mailbox or other place where I usually receive my
mail, unless my mail receiving service has been terminated, and (B)
send all documents by first-class mail to the home or other address
last known to the CMRA.
   3. I further acknowledge that I understand that use of a private
mailbox receiving service for commercial purposes in the State of
California requires the user to comply with all applicable laws,
including Section 17538.5 of the Business and Professions Code and
laws prohibiting unfair competition and false advertising as set
forth in Sections 17200 and 17500 of the Business and Professions
Code. Violation of these laws may result in criminal or civil
penalties or both. I understand that the United States Postal Service
Form 1583 that must be prepared for each private mailbox receiving
service customer shall be delivered to the local United States Post
Office and a copy of the form must be retained by this CMRA and made
available upon demand to the Department of Consumer Affairs or any
law enforcement agency conducting an investigation. I hereby agree to
accept and abide by the foregoing requirements.

  _____
  Date     __________
           Signature
           _____________
           Name Printed
           _______________
           Street Address
           _______________
           City     State
           _____
           Zip"

Last modified: February 13, 2012