Bus. & Prof. Code, § 9832

(a) Registrations issued under this chapter shall expire no more than 12 months after the issue date. The expiration date of registrations shall be set by the director in a manner to best distribute renewal procedures throughout the year.

(b) To renew an unexpired registration, the service dealer shall, on or before the expiration date of the registration, apply for renewal on a form prescribed by the director, and pay the renewal fee prescribed by this chapter.

(c) To renew an expired registration, the service dealer shall apply for renewal on a form prescribed by the director, pay the renewal fee in effect on the last regular renewal date, and pay all accrued and unpaid delinquency and renewal fees.

(d) Renewal is effective on the date that the application is filed, the renewal fee is paid, and all delinquency fees are paid.

(e) For purposes of implementing the distribution of the renewal of registrations throughout the year, the director may extend by not more than six months, the date fixed by law for renewal of a registration, except that in that event any renewal fee that may be involved shall be prorated in a manner that no person shall be required to pay a greater or lesser fee than would have been required had the change in renewal dates not occurred.