Cal. Government Code - GOV § 399. Section 399.
(a)
There shall be a seal of this state, which shall be called “the Great Seal of the State of California.”
(b)
The Great Seal of the state shall be used by the Governor officially.
CHAPTER 1. Great Seal of the State [399. - 405.]
Cal. Government Code - GOV 1.
in effectCal. Government Code - GOV § 400. Section 400.
The design of the Great Seal of the State shall correspond substantially with the following representation thereof:
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NOTICE OF INCOMPLETE TEXT: The Great Seal
appears in the hard-copy publication of the chaptered bill.
See Chapter 134, page 902, Statutes of 1943.
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Cal. Government Code - GOV § 401. Section 401.
Any document signed prior to August 27, 1937, by the Governor, the Secretary of State, or both of them and bearing an impression purporting to be an impression of the Great Seal of the State has the same validity as if the impression thereon were an impression of the Great Seal of the State, whether or not it be in fact the impression of the Great Seal of the State.
Cal. Government Code - GOV § 402. Section 402.
(a)
Every person who maliciously or for commercial purposes uses or allows to be used any reproduction or facsimile of the Great Seal of the State in any manner whatsoever is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b)
Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the Great Seal of the State may be used for commercial purposes by the Golden State Museum Store located at 1020 O Street in Sacramento, and by the Capitol Bookstore and Gift Shop located in the rotunda of the restored State Capitol Building.
(c)
Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the California Sesquicentennial Commission may enter into an agreement to use the Great Seal of the State for officially sanctioned products of the California Sesquicentennial celebration as approved by the commission. The funds received from these sales shall revert to the California Sesquicentennial Foundation and be used only for official Sesquicentennial celebration purposes.
Cal. Government Code - GOV § 402.5. Section 402.5.
(a)
In addition to the acts prohibited by Section 402, a person who uses or allows to be used any reproduction or facsimile of the Great Seal of the State in any campaign literature or mass mailing, as defined in Section 82041.5, with intent to deceive the voters, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b)
For purposes of this section, the use of a reproduction or facsimile of a seal in a manner that creates a misleading, erroneous, or false impression that the document is authorized by a
public official is evidence of intent to deceive.
Cal. Government Code - GOV § 403. Section 403.
All grants and commissions shall be kept in the name and by the authority of the people of the State of California, sealed with the Great Seal of the state, signed by the Governor, and countersigned by the Secretary of State.
Cal. Government Code - GOV § 404. Section 404.
(a)
No person shall represent, either directly or indirectly, that the State of California is sponsoring or endorsing a world’s fair or exhibition unless the representation has been specifically authorized by law. Violation of this section is a misdemeanor.
(b)
The Board of Directors of the California Exposition and State Fair and its employees, as directed by the board, Members of the California State Legislature, and constitutional officers shall be exempt from the provisions of subdivision (a).
Cal. Government Code - GOV § 405. Section 405.
When the Great Seal of the state is prepared in color, the following colors shall be used:
The field of the seal shall be Independence Blue, Cable No. 70076; the outer circle shall be Golden Poppy, Cable No. 70071; the 31 stars and the words “Eureka” and “The Great Seal of the State of California” shall be white; the two circles bordering the words shall be Spanish Yellow, Cable No. 70068; the mountains shall be shades of Orchid, Cable No. 70133, and Amethyst, Cable No. 70134; the water shall be Grotto Blue, Cable No. 70022; the ships shall be Independence Blue, Cable No. 70076, and white; the smoke of the steamboat shall be
Independence Blue, Cable No. 70076; the terrain shall be shades of Oakwood, Cable No. 70094, and Cork, Cable No. 70092; the miner’s shirt and pick shall be Plum, Cable No. 70135; the rocker, bowl, and shovel shall be Golden Poppy, Cable No. 70071; the face and arms of Goddess Minerva and of the miner shall be Ecru, Cable No. 70103; the helmet and breastplate of Minerva shall be Robins Egg, Cable No. 70204; the dress of Minerva shall be white; the robe of Minerva and the pants of the miner shall be Cardinal, Cable No. 70081; the shield of Minerva and the sheaf of wheat shall be Spanish Yellow, Cable No. 70068 and Oakwood, Cable No. 70094; the spear of Minerva shall be Oakwood, Cable No. 70094 and the tip white; the vine shall be Spring Green, Cable No. 70061; the grass shall be Irish Green, Cable No. 70168; the bear shall be in colors as set forth in Section 420.
All white shall be Cable No. 70001.
All Cable number colors
herein specified are those of the Textile Color Card Association of the United States, Inc., New York.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026