# Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1750-1784 — Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA)

- Citation: Cal. Civ. Code, §§ 1750-1784
- Code: Civil Code, Division 3, Part 4, Title 1.5
- Subject: Consumer protection — broad prohibitions on deceptive practices
- Source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayexpandedbranch.xhtml?tocCode=CIV
- Last verified: 2026-05-13

> Authored from canonical California statutory sources; verify
> against leginfo.legislature.ca.gov before relying.

## Overview

The Consumers Legal Remedies Act, enacted in 1970, prohibits
24 specific unfair methods of competition and unfair or
deceptive acts or practices in transactions intended to result
in the sale or lease of goods or services to consumers.

Unlike Rosenthal (which targets debt collection) and the UCL
(which has a broader "unlawful, unfair, fraudulent" framework),
the CLRA targets specific enumerated practices in sales and
leases.

## § 1750 — Title and purpose

This title shall be known and may be cited as the Consumers
Legal Remedies Act. Its purpose is to protect consumers
against unfair and deceptive business practices and to provide
efficient and economical procedures to secure such protection.

## § 1761 — Definitions

**(a)** "Goods" means tangible chattels bought or leased for
use primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.

**(b)** "Services" means work, labor, and services for other
than a commercial or business use, including services furnished
in connection with the sale or repair of goods.

**(c)** "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation,
limited liability company, association, or other group, however
organized.

**(d)** "Consumer" means an individual who seeks or acquires,
by purchase or lease, any goods or services for personal,
family, or household purposes.

**(e)** "Transaction" means an agreement between a consumer and
another person, whether or not the agreement is a contract
enforceable by action, and includes the making of, and the
performance pursuant to, that agreement.

## § 1770 — PROHIBITED PRACTICES (24 enumerated)

**(a)** The following unfair methods of competition and unfair
or deceptive acts or practices undertaken by any person in a
transaction intended to result or which results in the sale or
lease of goods or services to any consumer are unlawful:

**(1)** Passing off goods or services as those of another.

**(2)** Misrepresenting the source, sponsorship, approval, or
certification of goods or services.

**(3)** Misrepresenting the affiliation, connection, or
association with, or certification by, another.

**(4)** Using deceptive representations or designations of
geographic origin in connection with goods or services.

**(5)** Representing that goods or services have sponsorship,
approval, characteristics, ingredients, uses, benefits, or
quantities which they do not have or that a person has a
sponsorship, approval, status, affiliation, or connection
which he or she does not have.

**(6)** Representing that goods are original or new if they
have deteriorated unreasonably or are altered, reconditioned,
reclaimed, used, or secondhand.

**(7)** Representing that goods or services are of a particular
standard, quality, or grade, or that goods are of a particular
style or model, if they are of another.

**(8)** Disparaging the goods, services, or business of another
by false or misleading representation of fact.

**(9)** Advertising goods or services with intent not to sell
them as advertised.

**(10)** Advertising goods or services with intent not to
supply reasonably expectable demand, unless the advertisement
discloses a limitation of quantity.

**(11)** Advertising furniture without clearly indicating that
it is unassembled if that is the case.

**(12)** Advertising the price of unassembled furniture
without clearly indicating the assembled price of that
furniture if the same furniture is available assembled from
the seller.

**(13)** Making false or misleading statements of fact
concerning reasons for, existence of, or amounts of, price
reductions.

**(14)** Representing that a transaction confers or involves
rights, remedies, or obligations which it does not have or
involve, or which are prohibited by law.

**(15)** Representing that a part, replacement, or repair
service is needed when it is not.

**(16)** Representing that the subject of a transaction has
been supplied in accordance with a previous representation
when it has not.

**(17)** Representing that the consumer will receive a rebate,
discount, or other economic benefit, if the earning of the
benefit is contingent on an event to occur subsequent to the
consummation of the transaction.

**(18)** Misrepresenting the authority of a salesperson,
representative, or agent to negotiate the final terms of a
transaction with a consumer.

**(19)** Inserting an unconscionable provision in the contract.

**(20)** Advertising that a product is being offered at a
specific price plus a specific percentage of that price unless
(A) the total price is set forth in the advertisement, which
may include, but is not limited to, shelf tags, displays, and
media advertising, in a size larger than any other price in
that advertisement, and (B) the specific price plus a specific
percentage of that price represents a markup from the seller's
costs or from the wholesale price of the product.

**(21)** Selling or leasing goods in violation of Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 1797.8) of Title 1.7.

**(22)(A)** Disseminating an unsolicited prerecorded message by
telephone without an unrecorded, natural voice first informing
the person answering the telephone of the name of the caller or
the organization being represented, and either the address or
the telephone number of the caller, and without obtaining the
consent of that person to listen to the prerecorded message.

**(23)** The home solicitation, as defined in subdivision (h)
of Section 1761, of a consumer who is a senior citizen where a
loan is made encumbering the primary residence of that consumer
for the purposes of paying for home improvements and where the
transaction is part of a pattern or practice in violation of
either subsection (h) or (i) of Section 1639 of Title 15 of the
United States Code or subsection (e) of Section 226.32 of Title
12 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

**(24)** Misrepresenting the source of email, text, or other
electronic communication.

## § 1780 — REMEDIES

**(a)** Any consumer who suffers any damage as a result of the
use or employment by any person of a method, act, or practice
declared to be unlawful by Section 1770 may bring an action
against that person to recover or obtain any of the following:

**(1)** Actual damages, but in no case shall the total award
of damages in a class action be less than one thousand dollars
($1,000).

**(2)** An order enjoining the methods, acts, or practices.

**(3)** Restitution of property.

**(4)** Punitive damages.

**(5)** Any other relief that the court deems proper.

**(b)** A senior citizen or disabled person who is the
substantially harmed by methods, acts, or practices declared to
be unlawful by Section 1770 may recover, in addition to all
other damages, attorney fees, and costs to which the senior
citizen or disabled person is entitled, an additional civil
penalty of up to **five thousand dollars ($5,000)**.

**(c) — ATTORNEY'S FEES**: The court shall award court costs
and **attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff** in litigation
filed pursuant to this section. Reasonable attorney's fees may
be awarded to a **prevailing defendant** upon a finding by the
court that the plaintiff's prosecution of the action was not
in good faith.

### Pre-suit notice requirement (§ 1782)

**(a) — 30-DAY PRE-SUIT NOTICE**: Thirty days or more prior to
the commencement of an action for damages pursuant to this
title, the consumer shall do the following:

(1) Notify the person alleged to have employed or committed
methods, acts, or practices declared unlawful by Section 1770
of the particular alleged violations of Section 1770.

(2) Demand that the person correct, repair, replace, or
otherwise rectify the goods or services alleged to be in
violation of Section 1770.

**(b)** Notice shall be in writing and shall be sent by
certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, to the
place where the transaction occurred or to the person's
principal place of business within California.

**(c)** No action for damages may be maintained under Section
1780 if, within 30 days after receipt of the notice described
in subdivision (a), an appropriate correction, repair,
replacement, or other remedy is given, or agreed to be given
within a reasonable time, to the consumer by the person
alleged to have employed or committed methods, acts, or
practices declared unlawful by Section 1770.

### Practical implications of § 1782

**Pre-suit notice is mandatory for damages claims** — failure
to comply with the 30-day notice + demand procedure is a
COMPLETE BAR to a CLRA damages action (though not to
injunctive relief).

The notice must specify the alleged violations and demand
correction. Some courts have held that the notice must
substantially identify the offending conduct.

### Injunctive relief — no notice required

Injunctive relief under § 1780(a)(2) may be sought WITHOUT
30-day pre-suit notice (the notice requirement applies only
to damages).

## § 1781 — Class actions

The CLRA expressly authorizes class actions:

**(a)** Any consumer entitled to bring an action under Section
1780 may, if the unlawful method, act, or practice has caused
damage to other consumers similarly situated, bring an action
on behalf of himself or herself and such other consumers to
recover damages or obtain other relief as provided for in
Section 1780.

**(b)** Class certification standards apply.

## § 1783 — STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

**Any action brought under the specific provisions of Section
1770 shall be commenced not more than three years from the
date of the commission of such method, act, or practice.**

## § 1784 — Effect on existing rights

The provisions of this title shall not be construed to limit
or in any way affect the rights of consumers under any other
provision of law.

## Application to consumer-debt cases

The CLRA's application to pure debt collection is limited
because debt collection generally does not involve the "sale
or lease of goods or services to a consumer" — collection is
the back-end of a credit relationship.

However, CLRA can apply when:

1. **The underlying transaction was a sale of goods** (e.g.,
   credit-card purchases of merchandise) and the debt collector
   misrepresents facts about that sale.

2. **A debt collector misrepresents the nature of services it
   is selling** (e.g., debt-relief services, debt-consolidation
   services).

3. **A debt buyer engages in deceptive marketing** to consumers
   about debt settlement or related "services."

For pure debt-collection violations, **Rosenthal Act + UCL**
are typically the better state-law vehicles.

## Quick-reference

| Feature | CLRA |
|---|---|
| Scope | Sales / leases of goods or services to consumers |
| Prohibited practices | 24 enumerated (§ 1770) |
| Pre-suit notice | 30 days required (damages only; § 1782) |
| Statutory damages | $1,000 minimum for class actions (§ 1780(a)(1)) |
| Punitive damages | Available (§ 1780(a)(4)) |
| Senior penalty | Up to $5,000 (§ 1780(b)) |
| Attorney's fees | One-way to prevailing plaintiff; two-way to defendant only if plaintiff acted in bad faith (§ 1780(c)) |
| SOL | 3 years (§ 1783) |

## Cross-references

- `CivCode-Rosenthal.md` — Rosenthal Act (primary state vehicle
  for debt-collection violations)
- `BPC-UCL.md` — UCL (broader scope; 4-year SOL; no pre-suit
  notice requirement)
- `CivCode-Atty-Fees.md` — § 1717 reciprocal fees on contract
  claims
- `../../../ca-consumer-debt/SKILL.md` — workflow with CLRA
  application notes