What must an escrow company do before it closes?
This page explains FIN § 17600: License surrender and closing audit.
A licensed escrow company cannot simply stop work and walk away. It must tell the state, return its license, and complete a closing audit. Its license ends only after the state accepts the surrender in writing.
Key points
Tell the state before leaving the escrow business.
Give the license back to the state.
Complete the required closing audit.
Reconcile and lawfully pay out the money still held.
Wait for written state acceptance.
What this can look like
An owner plans to close an escrow company. The owner must finish the state process and account for client money before treating the license as ended.
What the law says
The wind-down rule that keeps an escrow license in effect until the commissioner accepts a closing audit and the license surrender in writing.
The closing audit must be performed at the licensee’s expense by an independent certified public accountant. The statute identifies required elements including a trust-account bank reconciliation and a verified statement confirming lawful disbursement of funds. 1
The provision connects to the recurring audit framework described in 10 CCR section 1741.5, but a closing audit performs a distinct wind-down function.
Important history
Research gaps
The Atlas has not yet pinned the predecessor text from 1951 or completed the SB 204 source packet. The inference that the section protects trust funds during wind-down is consistent with the procedure, but the contemporaneous legislative rationale remains under review.
Key sources
These are the main records for checking this explanation. Numbered citations above link to the full list.
- 1California Financial Code section 17600
Primary authority · Current statute · California Legislature
View source record - 2Senate Bill 204 (2009–2010)
Legislative history · Bill record · California Legislature
View source record - 3Statutes and Amendments to the Codes, 1951
Legislative history · Session law · California Legislature
View source record
Full research packet (3 sources)
- 1California Financial Code section 17600
Primary authority · Current statute · § 17600(a)–(b) and source note
View source record - 2Senate Bill 204 (2009–2010)
Legislative history · Bill record · Bill history and analyses
View source record - 3Statutes and Amendments to the Codes, 1951
Legislative history · Session law · Chapter 364
View source record
Article revisions
Version 1.0 · Last checked July 23, 2026 · Current through July 23, 2026. This article predates the proposed EIC review workflow. No EIC approval is claimed.
URL: https://escrowpedia.org/wiki/fin-17600