CALIFORNIA REPOSSESSION AGENCY (FACT SHEET)

August 2002

Repossession Agency, Qualified Manager, or Repossession Agency Employee

Requirements for Licensure

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 $24 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.

Qualified Manager

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:

* Be 18 or older
* Undergo a criminal history background check through the DOJ and the FBI
* Have two years (4,000 hours) of experience within the last five years as an employee of a licensed California repossession agency or two years (4,000 hours) of recent legally acquired experience recovering personal property sold under a security agreement in California (while working as an employee of a financial institution or vehicle dealer)
* Pass a two-hour multiple-choice examination covering the Collateral Recovery Act (formerly the Repossessors Act) and related laws, prohibited acts and citations, conduct of business, and disciplinary proceedings. A copy of the Collateral Recovery Act will be sent to you.

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 $24 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.

Repossession Agency Employee

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:

* Be 18 or older; and
* Submit your completed application with two recent passport-quality photographs, a $75 registration fee and a Repossession Agency Employee Live Scan form signed by the Live Scan Operator. A $32 DOJ fingerprint processing fee and a $24 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.

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 http://www.dca.ca.gov/bsis

From: http://www.dca.ca.gov/bsis/publications/bsisrepo.htm