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Cal. PEN § 571

This is the official text of Cal. PEN § 571, part of California’s Penal Code — defines crimes and sets criminal procedure in California.

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) A person engages in an act of unlawful subleasing of a motor vehicle if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The motor vehicle is subject to a lease contract, conditional sale contract, or security agreement the terms of which prohibit the transfer or assignment of any right or interest in the motor vehicle or under the lease contract, conditional sale contract, or security agreement.

(2) The person is not a party to the lease contract, conditional sale contract, or security agreement.

(3) The person transfers or assigns, or purports to transfer or assign, any right or interest in the motor vehicle or under the lease contract, conditional sale contract, or security agreement, to any person who is not a party to the lease contract, conditional sale contract, or security agreement.

(4) The person does not obtain, prior to the transfer or assignment described in paragraph (3), written consent to the transfer or assignment from the motor vehicle’s lessor, seller, or secured party.

(5) The person receives compensation or some other consideration for the transfer or assignment described in paragraph (3).

(b) A person engages in an act of unlawful subleasing of a motor vehicle when the person is not a party to the lease contract, conditional sale contract, or security agreement, and assists, causes, or arranges an actual or purported transfer or assignment, as described in subdivision (a).

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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.