Designation Of Agent For Service Of Process - General Provisions - Corporations - CA

Section § 18200

This California statute allows unincorporated associations to file a statement with the Secretary of State, indicating their main office location in California or, if there isn't one, a mailing address for official notices. They must also designate an agent in California who can receive legal documents on their behalf. If the agent is a person, their address must be included; if it's a corporation, no address is needed. The filing is complete once accepted and paid for. Associations can update their information any time, and the designation expires five years after the end of the year it's filed unless updated. Serving legal documents to the designated agent counts as valid service for the association.

(a) An unincorporated association may file with the Secretary of State, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State, a statement containing either of the following:

(1) A statement designating the location and complete street address of the unincorporated association’s principal office in California. Only one place may be designated.

(2) A statement (A) designating the location and complete street address of the unincorporated association’s principal office in California in accordance with paragraph (1) or, if the unincorporated association does not have an office in this state, designating the complete street address and mailing address, if different, of the unincorporated association to which the Secretary of State shall send any notices required to be sent to the association under Sections 18210 and 18215, and (B) designating as agent of the association for service of process any natural person residing in this state or any corporation that has complied with Section 1505 and whose capacity to act as an agent has not terminated.

(b) If a natural person is designated as agent for service of process, the statement shall include the person’s complete business or residence street address. If a corporate agent is designated, no address for it shall be included.

(d) At any time, an unincorporated association that has filed a statement under this section may file a new statement superseding the last previously filed statement. If the new statement does not designate an agent for service of process, the filing of the new statement shall be deemed to revoke the designation of an agent previously designated. A statement filed under this section expires five years from December 31 following the date it was filed in the office of the Secretary of State, unless previously superseded by the filing of a new statement.

(e) Delivery by hand of a copy of any process against the unincorporated association (1) to any natural person designated by it as agent, or (2) if the association has designated a corporate agent, to any person named in the last certificate of the corporate agent filed pursuant to Section 1505 at the office of the corporate agent shall constitute valid service on the association.

(f) For filing a statement as provided in this section, the Secretary of State shall charge and collect the fee provided in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 12191 of the Government Code for filing a designation of agent.

(g) Notwithstanding Section 18055, a statement filed by a partnership under former Section 24003 is subject to this chapter until the statement is revoked or expires.

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Section § 18205

This law section outlines how the Secretary of State handles certain filings for unincorporated associations. When such a group files a statement, it gets a file number and date. The Secretary can keep a copy instead of the original. They also need to create and maintain an index using info like the group's name, file number, address, and agent details. Anyone can request a certificate verifying if a statement is on file, which includes indexing details. Statements in the index are marked when they expire, and after four years, expired statements can be discarded and removed from the index.

(a) The Secretary of State shall mark each statement filed under Section 18200 with a consecutive file number and the date of filing. In lieu of retaining the original statement, the Secretary of State may retain a copy in accordance with Section 14756 of the Government Code.

(b) The Secretary of State shall index each statement filed under Section 18200 according to the name of the unincorporated association as set out in the statement and shall enter in the index the file number and the address of the association as set out in the statement and, if an agent for service of process is designated in the statement, the name of the agent and, if a natural person is designated as the agent, the address of that person.

(c) Upon request of any person, the Secretary of State shall issue a certificate showing whether, according to the Secretary of State’s records, there is on file on the date of the certificate, any presently effective statement filed under Section 18200 for an unincorporated association using a specific name designated by the person making the request. If a statement is on file, the certificate shall include the information required by subdivision (b) to be included in the index. The fee for the certificate is the fee provided in Section 12183 of the Government Code.

(d) When a statement has expired under subdivision (d) of Section 18200, the Secretary of State shall enter that fact in the index together with the date of the expiration.

(e) Four years after a statement has expired, the Secretary of State may destroy or otherwise dispose of the statement and delete information concerning that statement from the index.

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Section § 18210

This law outlines the process for an unincorporated association to manage the resignation and revocation of an agent for service of process. If an agent chooses to resign, they must submit a written statement to the Secretary of State, which becomes effective upon filing. The association is notified of this resignation. Similarly, an association can revoke an agent's designation anytime by filing a revocation form with the Secretary of State, which is also effective when filed. Despite these filings, any legal service on the agent within 30 days is still valid. An agent can also disclaim their appointment if they believe they weren't properly appointed. Finally, the Secretary of State can dispose of resignation filings once a new agent is appointed.

(a) An agent designated by an unincorporated association for the service of process may deliver to the Secretary of State, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State for filing, a signed and acknowledged written statement of resignation as an agent for service of process containing the name of the unincorporated association and Secretary of State’s file number of the unincorporated association, the name of the resigning agent for service of process, and a statement that the agent is resigning. The resignation is effective when filed. The Secretary of State shall mail or otherwise provide written notice of the filing to the unincorporated association at its address set out in the statement filed by the association.

(b) An unincorporated association may at any time file with the Secretary of State a revocation of a designation of an agent for service of process on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State containing the name of the unincorporated association and Secretary of State’s file number for the unincorporated association, the name of the agent whose designation to accept service of process is being revoked and a statement that the unincorporated association has revoked the designation to accept service of process. The revocation is effective when filed.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), service made on an agent designated by an unincorporated association for service of process in the manner provided in subdivision (e) of Section 18200 is effective if made within 30 days after the statement of resignation or the revocation is filed with the Secretary of State.

(d) The resignation of an agent may be effective if, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State containing the name of the unincorporated association and Secretary of State’s file number for the unincorporated association and the name of the agent for service of process, the agent disclaims having been properly appointed as the agent.

(e) The Secretary of State may destroy or otherwise dispose of any resignation filed pursuant to this section after a new form is filed pursuant to Section 18200 replacing the agent for service of process that has resigned.

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Section § 18215

If you are part of an unincorporated association in California, you should know that when your association's official statement is about to expire, the Secretary of State will try to send you a reminder by mail. This notice will inform you of the expiration date and include your file number. However, if for some reason you don't get the notice or it isn't sent, it doesn't mean your statement stays active. The state or its representatives won't be responsible for any mix-up with mailing the notice.

Between the first day of October and the first day of December immediately preceding the expiration date of a statement filed under Section 18200, the Secretary of State shall send by first-class mail a notice, indicating the date on which the statement will expire and the file number assigned to the statement, to the unincorporated association at its address as set out in the statement. Neither the failure of the Secretary of State to mail the notice as provided in this section nor the failure of the notice to reach the unincorporated association shall continue the statement in effect after the date of its expiration. Neither the state nor any officer or employee of the state is liable for damages for failure to mail the notice as required by this section.

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Section § 18220

If an unincorporated association hasn't designated someone to receive legal documents, or if the designated person can't be located, the court can allow these documents to be served by delivering them to certain members of the association and mailing a copy to the association's last known address. This alternate method of delivery is considered just as effective as handing the documents directly to the association.

If designation of an agent for the purpose of service of process has not been made as provided in Section 18200, or if the agent designated cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the address specified in the index referred to in Section 18205 for delivery by hand of the process, and it is shown by affidavit to the satisfaction of a court or judge that process against an unincorporated association cannot be served with reasonable diligence upon the designated agent by hand or the unincorporated association in the manner provided for in Section 415.10 or 415.30 of the Code of Civil Procedure or subdivision (a) of Section 415.20 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the court or judge may make an order that service be made upon the unincorporated association by delivery of a copy of the process to one or more of the association’s members designated in the order and by mailing a copy of the process to the association at its last known address. Service in this manner constitutes personal service upon the unincorporated association.

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