Auctioneer License Requirements in California

No auctioneer license. California has no auctioneer license — it was repealed in 1993 — but auctioneers must file a $20,000 bond with the Secretary of State and follow a detailed written-contract statute.

What Online Auctioneers Need to Know

There is no license to be exempt from, but the bond and contract law in the Civil Code contain no online carve-out, so the safe assumption is that they apply to online-only auctions too — verify how they apply to your model before relying on an exemption.

The Rules in California

California repealed auctioneer licensing in 1993 (AB 259), so there is no board and no license. What remains is a consumer-protection scheme in Civil Code sections 1812.600 through 1812.609: before doing business, an auctioneer files a $20,000 surety bond with the Secretary of State.

The contract rule is the part most people miss. Civil Code section 1812.608 requires a written contract with the consignor and mandates its contents: the parties, an inventory of the property, the services and compensation, who pays advertising expenses, the sale dates, and who is responsible for insurance. Section 1812.607 requires client funds to be kept segregated with proper records. No statutory payout deadline was verified, so settlement timing belongs in your contract.

Requirements at a Glance

• No auctioneer license (repealed 1993)
• $20,000 surety bond filed with the California Secretary of State (Civ. Code § 1812.600)
• Written contract with mandated contents: parties, inventory, compensation, ad-expense responsibility, sale dates, insurance responsibility (Civ. Code § 1812.608)
• Client-fund segregation and record-keeping (Civ. Code § 1812.607)
• No statutory payout deadline verified — set settlement terms in your contract

Statute: Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1812.600–1812.609.

Not legal advice. Auction law changes — several states have amended their online-auction rules since 2019. Verify current requirements with the licensing authority above (or your city/county clerk) before your first sale, and have a local attorney review your consignment contract.

Licensed (or Exempt)? Here's the Rest of the Path

The license is usually the easy part. The business itself — platform affiliation, sourcing consignments, cataloging, settlement — is laid out in how to start an online auction business, and the earning math is in how much auctioneers make.