Cal. CIV § 1788.206
This is the official text of Cal. CIV § 1788.206, part of California’s Civil Code — covers contracts, property ownership, personal rights, and other general civil obligations between private parties.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) In an action initiated by a private education lender or private education loan collector, no default or other judgment may be entered against a defendant unless documents are submitted by the plaintiff to the court to establish the facts required to be alleged by paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1788.205. The documents shall be properly authenticated and each shall be in a form that would be admissible as a business record under Section 1271 of the Evidence Code.
(b) In an action initiated by a private education lender or private education loan collector, no default or other judgment may be entered against a defendant unless copies of the documents described in subdivision (b) of Section 1788.205 have been submitted by the plaintiff to the court. These documents shall be properly authenticated and each shall be in a form that would be admissible as a business record under Section 1271 of the Evidence Code.
(c) In any action on a private education loan, if a plaintiff seeks a default judgment and has not complied with the requirements of this title, the court shall not enter a default judgment for the plaintiff and may, in its discretion, dismiss the action.
(d) Except as provided in this title, this section is not intended to modify or otherwise amend the procedures established in Section 585 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(e) This section does not apply to a plaintiff that attaches to the complaint a declaration or affidavit pursuant to Section 2015.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure that is signed by a natural person and states all of the following:
(1) That the plaintiff is an exempt entity.
(2) The category in subdivision (a) of Section 1420 of the Financial Code under which the plaintiff falls.
(3) The name and title of the signer.
(4) That the signer has been authorized by the entity to make the affidavit or declaration.
(b) In an action initiated by a private education lender or private education loan collector, no default or other judgment may be entered against a defendant unless copies of the documents described in subdivision (b) of Section 1788.205 have been submitted by the plaintiff to the court. These documents shall be properly authenticated and each shall be in a form that would be admissible as a business record under Section 1271 of the Evidence Code.
(c) In any action on a private education loan, if a plaintiff seeks a default judgment and has not complied with the requirements of this title, the court shall not enter a default judgment for the plaintiff and may, in its discretion, dismiss the action.
(d) Except as provided in this title, this section is not intended to modify or otherwise amend the procedures established in Section 585 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(e) This section does not apply to a plaintiff that attaches to the complaint a declaration or affidavit pursuant to Section 2015.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure that is signed by a natural person and states all of the following:
(1) That the plaintiff is an exempt entity.
(2) The category in subdivision (a) of Section 1420 of the Financial Code under which the plaintiff falls.
(3) The name and title of the signer.
(4) That the signer has been authorized by the entity to make the affidavit or declaration.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in California?
Find a California lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.