California · Civil Code

CIV §2984.5: (a) A seller shall maintain the following documents for at least seven years or the length of the conditional sales contract, whichever is longer: (1) A copy of each buyer’s conditional sales contract

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

Sellers must keep conditional sales contracts and creditworthiness documents for seven years or the contract length, whichever is longer. Failure to comply with a court order to produce these documents results in civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation.

Read the full statutory text

(a) A seller shall maintain the following documents for at least seven years or the length of the conditional sales contract, whichever is longer: (1) A copy of each buyer’s conditional sales contract. (2) Any documents relied upon by the seller to determine a buyer’s creditworthiness, including, but not limited to, any consumer credit report, as defined in Section 1785.3, or any other document containing a buyer’s credit score, as defined in Section 1785.15.1. (3) If the conditional sales contract is sold, assigned, or otherwise transferred, a copy of the terms of that sale, assignment, or transfer. (b) A seller that unlawfully fails to comply with a court order to produce the documents described in subdivision (a) shall be liable in an action brought by the Attorney General for a civil penalty of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation. The penalties provided by this section are in addition to all rights and remedies that are otherwise available under law.

Verify at the official source: California legislative text

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