Civil Code section 1808.3

If a credit sale is one of a series of transactions made pursuant to an agreement providing for the addition of the amount financed plus the finance charge for the current sale to an existing outstanding balance, and the disclosures required under this article for the initial sale and each subsequent sale are delayed until some date prior to the date the first payment for that particular sale is due; and

(1)

The customer has approved in writing both the annual percentage rate or rates and the method of treating any unearned finance charge on an existing outstanding balance in computing the finance charge or charges; and

(2)

The seller retains no security interest in any property as to which he has received payments aggregating the amount of the sale price including any finance charges attributable thereto; then, for the purposes of this section, in the case of items purchased on different dates, the first purchased shall be deemed first paid for, and in the case of items purchased on the same date the lowest priced shall be deemed first paid for.
When a credit sale under this section is made, the seller shall deliver to the buyer, prior to the due date of the first installment, a memorandum which shall set forth the following:

(a)

The names of the seller and the buyer, the place of business of the seller, the residence or place of business of the buyer as specified by the buyer and a description of the goods and services sufficient to identify them. Services or multiple items of goods may be described in general terms and may be described in detail in a separate writing.

(b)

The cash price of the goods, services and accessories which are the subject matter of the new retail installment sale.

(c)

The amount of the buyer’s downpayment, itemizing the amounts paid in money and in goods and containing a brief description of the goods, if any, traded in.

(d)

The difference between item (b) and item (c), which is the unpaid balance of cash price.

(e)

The amount, if any, included for insurance, specifying the coverages.

(f)

The amount, if any, of official fees.

(g)

The amount financed, which is the sum of items (d), (e) and (f).

(h)

The amount of the finance charge (1) expressed as the annual percentage rate as defined in Regulation Z and (2) expressed in dollars, which is to be computed in accordance with this chapter.

(i)

The deferred payment price, which is the sum of the amounts determined under items (b), (e), (f) and (h).

(j)

The previous balance, which is the amount owing on prior purchases.

(k)

The number, amount, and due dates or periods of payments scheduled to repay the indebtedness and the sum of such payments.

(l)

Any “balloon payments,” as described in Section 1807.3.
The items need not be stated in the sequence or order set forth above; additional items may be included to explain the computations made in determining the amount to be paid by the buyer. If the finance charge or any portion thereof is calculated on the 365-day basis, the amount of the finance charge shown pursuant to item (h) shall be that amount which will be incurred by the buyer if all payments are received by the seller on their respective due dates.

Source: Section 1808.3, https://leginfo.­legislature.­ca.­gov/faces/codes_displaySection.­xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=1808.­3.­ (accessed May 12, 2025).

Last Updated

May 12, 2025

§ 1808.3’s source at ca​.gov