CHAPTER 4. Fixed Term Installment Contracts [17800. - 17860.]

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC 4.
in effect

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 17800. Section 17800.

For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings: (a) “Early termination fee” means an additional fee charged to a consumer as a result of a consumer’s election to apply a term or clause included in the contract that authorizes a consumer to suspend making installment payments and to end access to the good or receipt of the service before the end of the period of time during which installment payments are required to be made by the consumer. (b) “Fixed term installment contract” means any contract for the sale of goods or the furnishing of services by a seller to a consumer for a deferred payment price payable in installments required to be made by the consumer during a fixed period of time until the price is paid in full. (c) “Good” and “service” include tangible and intangible goods, including digital software. (d) “Terminate” means that the consumer has elected to apply a term or clause included in the contract that authorizes a consumer to suspend making installment payments and to end access to the good or receipt of the service. “Terminate” does not include a general failure of a consumer to perform an obligation of the contract, including a failure to make installment payments.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 17810. Section 17810.

(a) A seller that uses a fixed term installment contract entered into or modified on or after August 1, 2026, shall not charge a fee to a consumer who terminates the fixed term installment contract unless, at the time of entering the initial contract, the contract includes a clear and conspicuous written disclosure of either of the following, which shall be viewable by the consumer without reliance upon a tooltip, additional hyperlink, or any other feature that requires additional user interaction: (1) The total cost of the early termination fee. (2) The formula used to calculate the early termination fee and the highest possible early termination fee under the contract. (b) A provider of broadband internet access service on its own, or as part of a bundle, that complies with federal broadband consumer requirements, including the broadband consumer label, codified in 47 C.F.R. Sec. 8.2(a), and its affiliates and subsidiaries, shall be deemed compliant with this section for all services sold on their own or as part of that bundle.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 17820. Section 17820.

A seller that uses a fixed term installment contract entered into or modified on or after August 1, 2026, shall not charge an early termination fee or any similar fee in an amount greater than 30 percent of the total sum for which the consumer is obligated under the fixed term installment contract, exclusive of the application of the termination fee.

Cal. Business and Professions Code - BPC § 17850. Section 17850.

(a) The provisions of this chapter do not apply to a fixed term installment contract that is regulated by state or federal law providing greater protections to consumers than those provided by this chapter, including, but not limited to, a prohibition on early termination fees or a lower limit on early termination fee amounts. (b) The provisions of this chapter do not apply to a home improvement contract, as defined in Section 7151.2.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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