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Cal. VEH § 11709.4

This is the official text of Cal. VEH § 11709.4, part of California’s Vehicle Code — governs traffic laws, driver's licenses, and vehicle registration.

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) When a dealer purchases or obtains a vehicle in trade in a retail sale or lease transaction and the vehicle is subject to a prior credit or lease balance, all of the following apply:

(1) If the dealer agreed to pay a specified amount on the prior credit or lease balance owing on the vehicle purchased or obtained in trade, and the agreement to pay the specified amount is contained in a written agreement documenting the transaction, the dealer shall tender the agreed upon amount as provided in the written agreement to the lessor registered in accordance with Section 4453.5, or to the legal owner reflected on the ownership certificate, or to the designee of that lessor or legal owner of the vehicle purchased or obtained in trade within 21 calendar days of purchasing or obtaining the vehicle in trade.

(2) If the dealer did not set forth an agreement regarding payment of a prior credit or lease balance owed on the vehicle purchased or obtained in trade, in a written agreement documenting the transaction, the dealer shall tender to the lessor registered in accordance with Section 4453.5, or to the legal owner reflected on the ownership certificate, or to the designee of that lessor or legal owner of the vehicle purchased or obtained in trade, an amount necessary to discharge the prior credit or lease balance owing on the vehicle purchased or obtained in trade within 21 calendar days of purchasing or obtaining the vehicle in trade.

(3) The time period specified in paragraph (1) or (2) may be shortened if the dealer and consumer agree, in writing, to a shorter time period.

(4) A dealer shall not sell, consign for sale, or transfer any ownership interest in the vehicle purchased or obtained in trade until an amount necessary to discharge the prior credit or lease balance owing on the vehicle has been tendered to the lessor registered in accordance with Section 4453.5, or to the legal owner reflected on the ownership certificate, or to the designee of that lessor or legal owner of the vehicle purchased or obtained in trade.

(b) A dealer does not violate this section if the dealer reasonably and in good faith gives notice of rescission of the contract promptly, but no later than 21 days after the date on which the vehicle was purchased or obtained in trade, and the contract is thereafter rescinded on any of the grounds in Section 1689 of the Civil Code.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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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.