An application for a repossession agency license shall be made in writing to, and filed with, the bureau in the form that may be required by the director and shall be accompanied by the original license fee prescribed by this chapter. The director may require the submission of any other pertinent information, evidence, statements, or documents.

Every application for a repossession agency license shall be signed by the applicant and state, among other things that may be required, the name of the applicant and the name under which the applicant will do business, the location by number and street and city of the office of the business for which the license is sought, and the usual business hours the business will maintain. An applicant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to this section that he or she knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor. The residence address, residence telephone number, and driver’s license number of each licensee, principal owner of each licensee, and any applicant for a license, if requested, shall be confidential pursuant to the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code) and shall not be released to the public.

No license shall be issued in any fictitious name which may be confused with or which is similar to any federal, state, county, or municipal governmental function or agency, or in any name which may tend to describe any business function or enterprise not actually engaged in by the applicant, or in any name which is the same as or so similar to that of any existing licensee as would tend to deceive the public, or in any name which would otherwise tend to be deceptive or misleading.

The application form shall contain a statement informing the applicant that a false or dishonest answer to a question may be grounds for denial or subsequent suspension or revocation of a repossession agency license.

(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 402, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.)