How to Vet HOA Management Companies

California has no state license for HOA management companies or the individual managers who run them. What we see California boards get wrong most often is signing a management contract without ever asking for the one disclosure the law requires first. The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act gives boards two real ways to check a candidate before signing anyway.

One is a written disclosure statement every prospective managing agent has to hand over before the board signs. The other is a voluntary credential called Certified Community Association Manager, or CCAM. Neither one shows up on a state license lookup, because California doesn’t run one.

For the fuller picture of how the state regulates community associations beyond who can manage them, see our California HOA laws overview.

California Has No License for HOA Management Companies

No state agency licenses HOA management companies or the individual community association managers who run them in California. Real estate agents, contractors, and attorneys in this state all need a professional license. Community association management does not.

That gap means anyone can open a management company or start managing communities with no required training and no state exam. There’s no license board to discipline them if something goes wrong, either. The Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act still governs what these companies and their managers must do once hired, even without licensing them first.

Ask about fidelity bond and errors-and-omissions insurance too. Neither is required by a state license here. Both protect the association if a manager mishandles money. For what these companies do day to day, see our guide on HOA management companies.

The Disclosure Statement Is Your Real Vetting Tool

Civil Code § 5375 requires a prospective managing agent to give the board a written disclosure statement before the board signs a management agreement. That obligation falls on whoever will sign the contract as managing agent, whether that’s a company or an individual manager contracting directly with the board. The agent gets up to 90 days to provide it. It can never come after the board signs. That timing matters: a board that already signed can’t use the statement to walk away from a bad hire.

The statement has to answer three questions about the people behind the company:

• Who owns it: the names and business addresses of the owners or general partners.
• If it’s a corporation, who runs it: the directors, officers, and any shareholder holding more than 10% of the company.
• Whether those people currently hold a relevant professional license, in fields like real estate, accounting, construction, or engineering.

The law requires the company to disclose this. It doesn’t require the state to verify any of it, so the board is the only party checking the answers. Put the request in your management RFP. Ask every candidate for their Civil Code § 5375 statement before the board scores any proposal. A company that stalls on providing it, or hands over a statement dated more than 90 days before the meeting, has already told you something.

The CCAM Credential Shows Real Experience and Training

The Certified Community Association Manager credential, or CCAM, is a voluntary certification from the California Association of Community Managers (CACM). CACM issues it to individual managers rather than to the companies that employ them. No state law requires anyone to hold it.

Earning a CCAM takes three things:

• At least six months of experience managing a community association.
• 36 hours of coursework covering general community management and California-specific law.
• A passing score of 70% or higher on the exam.

The credential is valid for three years, then the manager has to recertify. Ask which specific person on your account holds a current CCAM instead of whether the company employs CCAMs somewhere on its roster. A company can advertise certified staff while assigning your community to someone who has never taken the exam.

Neither Requirement Includes a Criminal Background Check

Civil Code § 5375 asks a managing agent to disclose ownership and any professional licenses. It does not ask for a criminal background check on the people who will handle your association’s money. The CCAM exam tests coursework and experience. Criminal history plays no part in either check.

Some management companies run background checks on their own managers as internal policy, and it’s fair to ask a candidate whether they do. If a company won’t answer that question directly, treat it the same way you’d treat a stalled disclosure statement: as information the company already gave you, whether it meant to or not. Fidelity bond and errors-and-omissions coverage, mentioned earlier, address a related gap: they protect the association’s money after a loss, rather than screening who gets hired in the first place.

How California and Florida Regulate HOA Management Companies Differently

Florida takes the opposite approach. It requires a state Community Association Manager, or CAM, license for anyone managing an association with more than 10 units or a budget of $100,000 or more. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) issues and enforces that license.

California, Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina all skip the license and lean on voluntary certification instead. A license and a certification verify roughly the same floor: some minimum coursework, plus a passing exam score. The difference is who checks it. In Florida a state board checks it. In California your own board has to.

	California	Florida
State license required	No	Yes, for associations over 10 units or a $100,000 budget
Regulating body	None	Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR)
Manager credential	Voluntary CCAM from CACM	Mandatory CAM license from DBPR
Board’s main check	Civil Code § 5375 disclosure statement	State license lookup on the DBPR website

Neither system guarantees a good manager. A Florida license proves a manager passed a state exam. A California disclosure statement plus a current CCAM proves close to the same thing, just checked by the board instead of a state agency.

What to Ask HOA Management Companies in California

Bring the same five questions to every proposal meeting, since there’s no license number to check instead.

• Can you show me your Civil Code § 5375 disclosure statement, dated within the last 90 days?
• Does the manager who would handle our account hold a current CCAM from CACM?
• How many other communities does that manager currently handle?
• Can we call at least two current client boards as references?
• What professional licenses, if any, do the owners or officers of this company hold?

Once you’re comparing multiple proposals side by side, our guide to the best HOA management companies walks through a fuller scorecard covering responsiveness, financial transparency, technology, and staff turnover.

Self-Managed HOAs Skip This Vetting Step

None of this applies to a board running its own community without a professional management company. A self-managed HOA never signs a management agreement. The Civil Code § 5375 statement has nothing to attach to. Neither does the CCAM checklist above, since there’s no outside manager to vet.

See our guide on running a self-managed HOA if your board is weighing that option instead of hiring a company.

A Future State License Would Change This Guidance

If California ever adopted a state license for community association managers, similar to Florida’s, this vetting approach would change. A board could check a license number instead. It wouldn’t need to request a Civil Code § 5375 statement or ask about a CCAM. Until state lawmakers pass that kind of bill, the disclosure statement and the voluntary credential remain the board’s best available check.

Before your board signs a management agreement with any HOA management company in California, request the Civil Code § 5375 disclosure statement in writing. Then ask whether the manager assigned to your account holds a current CCAM.