An individual, partnership, or corporation seeking licensure as a repossession agency must specify in the application
the individual
who will manage the business on a day-to-day basis. This individual is called the Qualified Manager.
(An owner, partner, or corporate officer may serve as the Qualified Manager, or may hire someone to fill this role.)
Qualified Managers must spend at least 51 percent of their time in active control of the business and must meet the following requirements:
The BSIS Veterans Come First Program provides the following support for veteran applicants:
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A Repossession Agency contracts with a legal owner to locate or recover personal property that has been sold under a security agreement.
In order for a company to seek licensure as a repossession agency, the Qualified Manager (see below) must have passed the licensing examination. In addition, each individual applicant, partner, or corporate officer must be 18 or older and must undergo a criminal history background check through the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
To apply for a company license, submit a completed application, an $825 company license fee, two recent passport-quality photographs and a Repossessor Agency Live Scan form signed by the Live Scan Operator. A $32 DOJ fingerprint processing fee and a $19 FBI fingerprint processing fee must be paid for each applicant at the Live Scan site. Send your application package to the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, P.O. Box 989002, West Sacramento, CA 95798-9002.
(A qualified manager who is also an applicant, partner, or officer is not required to send in another set of fingerprints or pay another fingerprint processing fee.)
Note: Local government may also require registration but may not charge a fee.
An individual, partnership, or corporation seeking licensure as a repossession agency must specify in the application the individual who will manage the business on a day-to-day basis. This individual is called the Qualified Manager. (An owner, partner, or corporate officer may serve as the Qualified Manager, or may hire someone to fill this role.) Qualified Managers must spend at least 51 percent of their time in active control of the business and must meet the following requirements:
Submit a completed application with two recent passport-quality photographs, a $325 application fee and a Repossessor Agency Qualified Manager Live Scan form signed by the Live Scan Operator. A $32 DOJ fingerprint processing fee and a $19 FBI fingerprint processing fee must be paid for each applicant at the Live Scan site. Send your application package to the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, P.O. Box 989002, West Sacramento, CA 95798-9002.
Employees hired by a repossession agency to recover property must be registered with the Department of Consumer Affairs. To be eligible to apply for registration as a repossession agency employee, you must meet the following requirements:
Once you have submitted your application and the appropriate fees, you may work for 120 days with a temporary registration if you do not have a record of any felony convictions and have not committed any violations of the Collateral Recovery Act or any other acts constituting grounds for denial.
State registration is not required of clerical employees or others whose duties do not include actual repossessing.
Note: Whenever you change employers, you must reregister within 15 working days. Submit a re-registration application and $30 fee to the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, P.O. Box 989002, West Sacramento, CA 95798-9002.
Applications for registration as a repossessor employee are available from repossession agencies. To request an application for licensure as a repossession agency or qualified manager, call 916-322-4000 or 1-800-952-5210, or visit our Web site at www.bsis.ca.gov
MORE from the State of California:
The complete processing of the application may take approximately three to six months.
Corporate applicants only: endorsed Articles of Incorporation or the Statement by a Foreign Corporation (if filed with the Secretary of State)
The Repossession Agency license is valid for two years.
Prior to the expiration of the license, the applicant may receive a renewal application mailed to the last address of record. If you do not receive a renewal application, you should submit a copy of your license/certificate with a written request for renewal, including the fees for renewal (see fee schedule) and mail to:
Bureau of Security and Investigative Services
P.O. Box 989002
West Sacramento CA 95798-9002
(This must be submitted before the expiration date.)
The Repossession Agency's license is delinquent one day after it expires. If you fail to submit renewal fees by the expiration date, you must pay the renewal fee and the delinquent fee.
If after three years you fail to renew a delinquent license you must submit a new application and begin the application process again.
Contact the Bureau at (916) 322-4000 for a status on a pending application or any additional information.
You must notify the Bureau in writing within 30 days of such a change. Be sure that you include your license number, name, previous address, new address, date of birth and Social Security number. Please print information.
In order for you to change your business name, you must submit a written request to the Bureau. Submit at least six names for consideration. The first name requested will be approved unless the name could be confused with or is similar to any federal, state, county, or municipal government function or agency or to any law enforcement agency, or in any name which may tend to describe any business function or enterprise not actually engaged in by the applicant/licensee under that name.
*Until an approval is received, you may not operate under your requested new name.
You may request a duplicate license by submitting a written request, explaining the circumstances, with a $10 fee to the Bureau. Please allow four to six weeks for replacement.
No. An error on a license should be returned for correction to the Bureau without charge. A correction will take approximately three to four weeks. Please clarify the error in writing and return the license.(This is not for address changes when submitted after a renewal was paid and already mailed)
Yes. The Repossession Agency must state the location of the business office by street name, number and city. The Repossessor Agency may list a post office box only if mail delivery to the physical location is not possible or if the place of business is located at the licensee's residential address. In addition, no licensee shall conduct business from any location other than the location for which a license or branch office registration was issued.
The processing time will vary, typically a name change and/or address change or branch change will take approximately four to six weeks.
Licenses are not transferable or assigned to new entities. A change of ownership constitutes a new entity. You must submit a new application with appropriate fees. For example: if you apply and become licensed as a sole owner and later decide to form a partnership or corporation, you must apply for a new license.
The legal owner, and the repossessor agency employee of a repossession agency.
No. The legal owner is not required to notify you before your vehicle is repossessed. However, the legal owner must notify you in writing within 60 days that you have 15 days to arrange to get your car back before it is sold. If the vehicle was repossessed by a licensed repossession agency, the agency must notify you within 48 hours that they have repossessed your vehicle and must furnish you with a list of the personal items in the vehicle at the time it was repossessed.
Yes. The conditions under which the vehicle may be repossessed are subject to the terms of the sales contract signed by you at the time you bought your vehicle. However, some legal owners will work with you to bring your payments up to date, even though they are not required by law to do so. If you expect a problem in making payment, you should contact the legal owner to make other arrangements for payment.
As long as the repossessor agency employee does not enter any private building or any secured area he or she may take your vehicle at any time from any location. This does not mean that the repossessor agency employee can do anything that is illegal. The repossessor agency employee must obey the same laws that pertain to everyone.
No. repossessor agency employees are prohibited from entering any private building or secured area without the consent of the owner or the person in legal possession of the property. This includes any locked and fenced area. Any damage to buildings, fences, landscaping, or other vehicles should be reported to the police. In addition, a complaint should be filed with the Bureau. To get your money back for damaged personal property or real property, you will probably have to go to small claims court or hire an attorney. The Bureau has no jurisdiction to get your money back for damaged personal property.
No. A repossession agency with authorization from the legal owner will attempt to take your vehicle for the legal owner. If you hide the vehicle to avoid repossession, you may give up your right to continue with the same contract with the legal owner.
No. A repossessor agency employee may not use violence or force in attempting to repossess a vehicle. If violence or force occurs, contact the police immediately. A repossessor agency employee may not use false or misleading statements or make threats in order to take your vehicle.
Licensed repossession agencies are required to make a list of all personal belongings found in a vehicle at the time of repossession. They are required to send you at your last known address of record, within 48 hours, a notice containing this list and informing you how to recover your personal belongings and the amount of storage fees owed, if any.
Items such as tape deck or mag wheels, which are installed as a permanent part of the vehicle generally, remain with the vehicle. So do items such as a spare tire or tire iron, which are normal equipment for a vehicle to carry. However, any item such as a removable camper shell, which was not included in the original contract for your vehicle, should be returned to you, although you may be asked to prove that you bought the camper shell separately.
A repossession agency is required to provide you with a Notice of Seizure within 48 hours after taking possession of your vehicle. This notice must include the name, address, and telephone number of the legal owner and the name, address, and telephone number of the repossession agency. They should tell you that this Bureau regulates repossessor employees and that the repossession agency is required to give you a personal property inventory within 48 hours of the repossession, and that any damage to a vehicle during repossession is the responsibility of the repossession agency. To find out why your vehicle was repossessed you should contact the legal owner of your vehicle.
The Notice of Seizure, which the repossession agency is required to send you lists that damage to a vehicle during or after repossession, is the responsibility of the repossession agency. Unfortunately, the Bureau cannot actually enforce this responsibility by making the repossession agency pay you for any damage to your car. In case of damage, you should take the repossession agency to small claims or civil court, depending on the estimated cost of repair. You should also file a written complaint with the Bureau, as several complaints of damage against the same repossession agency could result in disciplinary action against that agency.
No. A repossession agency employee may not use any vehicle or personal effects recovered from a consumer for personal benefit. If you believe your vehicle was used during the time the agency had it, you should file a complaint with the Bureau explaining the circumstances which lead you to believe it was used.
Mention it to the repossession company while you are there and ask them to check their storage area again. Note it on the release form if the items are not located. Follow up with a registered letter to the repossession agency (with a copy to the lien-holder) describing the missing items and ask them to locate them or reimburse you for them. If they don't comply with your request, send a written complaint to the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. If some of your belongings are missing you should contact your local police department and begin a small claims court or civil court action to have the repossession agency repay you for your lost possessions.
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has advised us that personalized plates should be removed and stored with other personal effects. If you do not claim them within the 60 days, the repossession company should return them to the DMV.
The legal owner must give you 15 days written notice before they can sell or otherwise dispose of your vehicle. This notice must be provided within 60 days after repossession. This notice should tell you how to redeem your vehicle and should give you the name and address of the person to contact about payment. Usually, you will be able to reinstate your loan contract by paying your back payments and the repossession fee, unless the legal owner can prove that you did one of the following: A. gave false information on your loan application B. hid the vehicle to keep it from being repossessed C. kept the vehicle in bad repair or damaged it on purpose If the vehicle loan is with your credit union or a finance company, the above information may not apply to you.
In addition to paying all or part of the contract balance, you may have to pay a repossession charge. Most vehicle installment loan contracts state that you may be charged for the costs of recovering the vehicle if you default on the loan payments. Therefore, the legal owners may charge you for the amount which they have been billed by the repossession agency. Also, most repossession agencies charge a fee for storage of personal items that were in the vehicle at the time it was repossessed. The amount of the storage fees must be given on the personal property notice prepared by the repossession agency and will be collected at the time you pick up your personal items. Many repossession agencies require that these charges be paid in CASH. If you choose not to make the payments within the 15 days allowed, the legal owner will arrange for your car to be sold. If the buyer does not pay the full contract balance, you may be required to pay the difference, which is referred to as a deficiency.
Immediately after the repossession, the repossessor must notify the local police or sheriff's department that he has taken your vehicle. As long as the repossessor has the proper identification and can show that the legal owner hired him to repossess your vehicle, the police will probably not interfere with the repossession, even if you call them. However, if you feel that the repossessor has threatened or harmed you or damaged your property, or entered your car or property illegally, you should call the police and file a police report.
A consumer may contact the Department of Consumer Affairs', Consumer Information Center at 1-(800) 952-5210 and request a complaint form. Please provide copies of all documents relating to your complaint with your completed complaint form.