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HomeCivil CodeDiv. 4Pt. 5Ch. 6Art. 5§ 5210 Member Access To Records

§ 5210 Member Access To Records

Civil Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 5210 Member Access To Records

Key Takeaways

  • •Members can see certain association records, like meeting notes, for the current year and the last two years.
  • •Meeting notes (minutes) for members and the board must always be available to look at.
  • •If you ask to see records, the association has to show them to you within a certain time, like 10 days for current year records or 30 days for older ones.
  • •The association won’t get in trouble if they don’t have records from before 2006.

Example

You live in a neighborhood with a homeowners association (HOA), and you want to see the notes from last month’s board meeting.

You can ask the HOA to show you the meeting notes, and they must let you see them within 15 days after the notes are approved. They can’t say no just because the meeting was a while ago—these notes must always be available.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 5210 Member Access To Records

(a) Association records are subject to member inspection for the following time periods: (1) For the current fiscal year and for each of the previous two fiscal years. (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), minutes of member and board meetings are subject to inspection permanently. If a committee has decisionmaking authority, minutes of the meetings of that committee shall be made available commencing January 1, 2007, and shall thereafter be permanently subject to inspection. (b) When a member properly requests access to association records, access to the requested records shall be granted within the following time periods: (1) Association records prepared during the current fiscal year, within 10 business days following the association’s receipt of the request. (2) Association records prepared during the previous two fiscal years, within 30 calendar days following the association’s receipt of the request. (3) Any record or statement available pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 4525) of Chapter 4, Article 7 (commencing with Section 5300), Section 5565, or Section 5810, within the timeframe specified therein. (4) Minutes of member and board meetings, within the timeframe specified in subdivision (a) of Section 4950. (5) Minutes of meetings of committees with decisionmaking authority for meetings commencing on or after January 1, 2007, within 15 calendar days following approval. (6) Membership list, within the timeframe specified in Section 8330 of the Corporations Code. (c) There shall be no liability pursuant to this article for an association that fails to retain records for the periods specified in subdivision (a) that were created prior to January 1, 2006. (Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 180, Sec. 2. (AB 805) Effective January 1, 2013. Operative January 1, 2014, by Sec. 3 of Ch. 180.)

Last verified: January 21, 2026

Key Terms

Association recordsmember inspectionfiscal yearminutes of member and board meetingsdecisionmaking authorityJanuary 1, 2007

Related Statutes

  • § 2217 Local Passenger Transportation Rules
  • § 5200 Association Financial Records Definitions
  • § 5205 Member Record Access Rights
  • § 5215 Association Record Redaction Rules
  • § 5216 Safe At Home Privacy Protection

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Civil Code. Section 5210.
View Official Source