California Financial Code CHAPTER 3 - Escrow Regulations

• Section 17400.
  The commissioner may from time to time make, amend, and rescind the rules, forms, and orders that are necessary to carry out the provisions of...
• Section 17402.
  No person subject to this division or any officer thereof shall advertise in any manner or publish any statement of its capital, other than amounts...
• Section 17403.
  (a) No person subject to this division shall issue, circulate, or publish any advertisement by any means of communication, or make use of or circulate any...
• Section 17403.1.
  No person subject to this division shall describe as an escrow, whether orally, in writing, or electronically, any transaction that is not defined as such...
• Section 17403.2.
  (a) No person subject to this division shall solicit or accept an escrow instruction or amended or supplemental escrow instruction containing any blank to be filled...
• Section 17403.3.
  (a) At the time of execution a copy of each escrow instruction or amended or supplemental escrow instruction shall be delivered to all persons executing the...
• Section 17403.4.
  All written escrow instructions and all escrow instructions transmitted electronically over the Internet executed by a buyer or seller, whether prepared by a person subject...
• Section 17403.5.
  (a) All records required by this chapter may be retained by an Internet escrow agent and provided to the commissioner in electronic format.(b) All transfers by an...
• Section 17404.
  Every person subject to this division shall keep and use in its business, books, accounts, and records which will properly enable the commissioner to determine...
• Section 17405.
  (a) The business, accounts and records of every person performing as an escrow agent, whether required to be licensed under this division or not, are subject...
• Section 17405.1.
  The cost of every inspection and examination of a licensee or other person subject to this division shall be paid to the commissioner by the...
• Section 17406.
  (a) Each licensee shall submit to the commissioner, at the licensee’s own expense, an audit report containing audited financial statements covering the calendar year or, if...
• Section 17406.1.
  (a) Whenever the reports and financial statements required pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), or (c) of Section 17406 are to be reported upon or certified by...
• Section 17408.
  (a) If any person subject to this division fails to make any report required by law or by the commissioner, the commissioner may immediately cause the...
• Section 17409.
  (a) All moneys deposited in escrow to be delivered upon the close of the escrow or upon any other contingency shall be deposited and maintained in...
• Section 17409.1.
  (a) Each person subject to this chapter shall maintain separate escrow trust accounts for each licensed location. Transfers between accounts are prohibited except by the actual...
• Section 17410.
  (a) Escrow or trust funds are not subject to enforcement of a money judgment arising out of any claim against the licensee or person acting as...
• Section 17411.
  No person shall knowingly keep or cause to be kept any funds or money in any bank or state or federal savings and loan association...
• Section 17411.1.
  “Trust funds” or “escrow accounts” as used in Sections 17409, 17410, and 17411 shall include all funds required to be held by an escrow agent...
• Section 17414.
  (a) It is a violation for any person subject to this division or any director, stockholder, trustee, officer, agent, or employee of any such person to...
• Section 17414.1.
  (a) Any person who has been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere to any crime specified in subdivision (b) within the past 10 years, or has...
• Section 17414.2.
  (a) In response to any written request by an escrow agent or by Fidelity Corporation, any bank, savings association, credit union, any other financial institution, or...
• Section 17415.
  (a) If the commissioner, as a result of any examination or from any report made to him or her, shall find that any person subject to...
• Section 17416.
  Whenever in the opinion of the commissioner any person, except as named in Section 17006, is engaged, either actually or through subterfuge, in the business...
• Section 17419.
  On and after January 1, 1992, any person seeking employment with an escrow agent shall complete an employment application on or before the first day...
• Section 17420.
  Except for the normal compensation of his own employees, it shall be a violation of this division for any person subject to this division to...
• Section 17421.
  Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 17420, a disbursal, other than for a fee, commission or compensation may be advanced or paid out prior to the...
• Section 17421.5.
  (a) Notwithstanding Section 17420, a licensee may charge a fee for administering an escrow that has been postponed for at least two months from the most...
• Section 17422.
  A joint control agent, unless acting pursuant to written instructions of his principals, shall not disburse funds for the payment of the cost of labor,...
• Section 17423.
  (a) The commissioner may, after appropriate notice and opportunity for hearing, by order, censure or suspend for a period not exceeding 12 months, or bar from...
• Section 17423.1.
  (a) (1) Whenever the commissioner takes any enforcement or disciplinary action pursuant to Section 17423, upon the action becoming final the commissioner shall notify the Real Estate...
• Section 17424.
  (a) For any licensee, a disciplinary action taken by the State of California, another state, an agency of the federal government, or another country for an...
• Section 17425.
  Any person subject to this division or any director, stockholder, trustee, officer, agent, or employee of that person who violates any provision of the federal...

Last modified: October 22, 2018