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Veh. Code, § 11713.16 · Article 1. Issuance of Licenses and Certificates to Manufacturers, Transporters, and Dealers

Veh. Code, § 11713.16

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)

It is a violation of this code for the holder of any dealer’s license issued under this article to do any of the following:

(a) Advertise any used vehicle of the current or prior model-year without expressly disclosing the vehicle as “used,” “previously owned,” or a similar term that indicates that the vehicle is used, as defined in this code.

(b) Use the terms “on approved credit” or “on credit approval” in an advertisement for the sale of a vehicle unless those terms are clearly and conspicuously disclosed and unabbreviated.

(c) Advertise an amount described by terms such as “unpaid balance” or “balance can be financed” unless the total sale price is clearly and conspicuously disclosed and in close proximity to the advertised balance.

(d) Advertise credit terms that fail to comply with the disclosure requirements of Section 226.24 of Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Advertisements of terms that include escalated payments, balloon payments, or deferred downpayments shall clearly and conspicuously identify those payments as to amounts and time due.

(e) Advertise as the total sales price of a vehicle an amount that includes a deduction for a rebate. However, a dealer may advertise a separate amount that includes a deduction for a rebate provided that the advertisement clearly and conspicuously discloses, in close proximity to the amount advertised, the price of the vehicle before the rebate deduction and the amount of the rebate, each so identified. A dealer may not advertise a rebate deduction that conflicts with another advertised rebate deduction.

(f) Advertise claims such as “everyone financed,” “no credit rejected,” or similar claims unless the dealer is willing to extend credit to any person under any and all circumstances.

(g) Advertise the amount of any downpayment unless it represents the total payment required of a purchaser prior to delivery of the vehicle, including any payment for sales tax or license. Statements such as “$_____ delivers,” “$____ puts you in a new car” are examples of advertised downpayments.

(h) Advertise the price of a new vehicle or class of new vehicles unless the vehicle or vehicles have all of the equipment listed as standard by the manufacturer or distributor or the dealer has replaced the standard equipment with equipment of higher value.

(i) Fail to clearly and conspicuously disclose in an advertisement for the sale of a vehicle any disclosure required by this code or any qualifying term used in conjunction with advertised credit terms. Unless otherwise provided by statute, the specific size of disclosures or qualifying terms is not prescribed.

Notes and commentary — not statutory text

History

Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 856, Sec. 3. (AB 1732) Effective January 1, 2015.

Source of truth

Edition
As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
Official file
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=11713.16.
Text hash
sha256 697e8a8f8d3128d9a485d7bac5eefc29e6c9b338ae52a7d4e6e6dca616d8193a
Composed by
compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section

Cited by 1 provision

Provisions in this library whose text cites Veh. Code, § 11713.16. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.

Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.