MEETING RULES: CALIFORNIA
California meeting rules,
between elections.
California runs two clocks at once, and boards mix them up: the members meeting is noticed under the Corporations Code, while the board election runs on the Davis-Stirling Act and its own 30-day steps.
Board meetings get four days of notice, minutes reach members within 30 days, and since 2024 a meeting may be held entirely by teleconference except the one where ballots are counted.
Our reading, to support your review, not legal advice.
Confirm with your attorney before the board acts.
Reviewed on Sep 1, 2026
NOTICE
Notice for the annual meeting in California
Days below are counted back from the meeting date. Where the statute sets a ceiling as well as a floor, the notice has to land inside the window, not simply before it.
Every association
Nonprofit Mutual Benefit Corporation Law and the Davis-Stirling Act
| Notice | The rule | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Members meeting | 10 to 90 days beforeThe meeting itself is noticed under the Corporations Code, not under Davis-Stirling: not less than 10 nor more than 90 days before the date.How it travels: Any method the bylaws allow. Notice sent by anything other than first-class, registered or certified mail goes out at least 20 days ahead. | Cal. Corp. Code §7511(a) |
| Nomination notice, board election | At least 30 days beforeGeneral notice of the nomination procedure and the nomination deadline goes out at least 30 days before that deadline.How it travels: General notice, with individual notice to any member who asks for it. | Cal. Civ. Code §5115(a) |
| Pre-ballot notice, board election | At least 30 days beforeAt least 30 days before ballots are distributed, general notice states the return deadline and address, the electronic deadline where the association votes that way, the date, time and place of the meeting where quorum is determined and ballots are counted, and the full candidate list.How it travels: General notice, with individual notice to any member who asks for it. | Cal. Civ. Code §5115(b) |
| Ballots out, board election | At least 30 days beforeBallots and two preaddressed envelopes go out not less than 30 days before the voting deadline. This is the 30-day rule boards most often miss, because it runs alongside the notice above rather than after it.How it travels: First-class mail or delivery by the association. | Cal. Civ. Code §5115(c) |
Worked example: a meeting on Dec 1, 2026
- Members meeting: for a meeting on Dec 1, 2026, notice goes out between Sep 2 and Nov 21, 2026.
- Nomination notice, board election: for a meeting on Dec 1, 2026, notice goes out by Nov 1, 2026.
- Pre-ballot notice, board election: for a meeting on Dec 1, 2026, notice goes out by Nov 1, 2026.
- Ballots out, board election: for a meeting on Dec 1, 2026, notice goes out by Nov 1, 2026.
That is arithmetic on the day counts above, nothing more. Your bylaws may ask for longer, weekends and holidays are not adjusted for, and a date is not a ruling on your meeting.
BOARD MEETINGS
Board meetings in California
Open to members
Any member may attend a board meeting, except when the board adjourns to executive session or meets solely in it.
Members may speak
The board has to let any member speak at any meeting of the association or the board, other than executive session. The board may set a reasonable time limit for each speaker and for the whole comment period.
Executive session
The board may close the meeting for litigation, forming contracts with third parties, member discipline, personnel, or to meet with a member about a payment plan. It has to close for member discipline when that member asks, for a payment plan, and to decide whether to foreclose on a lien. Anything discussed in executive session is noted in general terms in the minutes of the next open meeting.
Every association
Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act
| Notice | The rule | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Board meeting | At least 4 days beforeNotice of the time and place of a board meeting goes out at least four days before it. A meeting held solely in executive session takes two days. An emergency meeting takes none. Where your governing documents ask for longer, the longer period governs.How it travels: General delivery under Civ. Code §4045. The notice contains the agenda. | Cal. Civ. Code §4920(a), (b), (c), (d) |
MINUTES AND RECORDS
Minutes and records in California
Minutes in 30 days
Minutes of any board meeting other than executive session, or draft minutes marked as drafts, or a summary, reach members within 30 days of the meeting. Your annual policy statement has to tell members how to get them.
Ten days, or thirty
Records from the current fiscal year are produced within 10 business days of the request. Records from the previous two fiscal years take up to 30 calendar days. Minutes of a committee with decision-making authority take 15 calendar days after approval.
Minutes are permanent
Members may inspect association records for the current fiscal year and the two before it. Minutes of member and board meetings are different: they are open to inspection permanently.
What a copy costs
You may bill the requesting member the direct and actual cost of copying and mailing. Redacting an enhanced association record is capped at ten dollars an hour and two hundred dollars for the whole request. Electronic delivery is limited to the direct cost of producing that file.
PROXIES AND QUORUM
Proxies and quorum in California
A proxy is not a ballot
A proxy is a written authorisation letting another member vote for you, and it may never be used in place of a ballot. Any instruction telling the proxyholder how to vote sits on a separate detachable page, and the proxyholder still casts the vote by secret ballot.
Ballots make quorum
A quorum is needed only where your governing documents or another law requires one. Where one is required, every ballot the inspector of elections receives counts as a member present.
The 20 per cent second meeting
One-third of the voting power is the statutory default quorum for a members meeting unless a bylaw sets another. If a director election fails for want of a quorum, the association may adjourn to a date at least 20 days later, where the quorum is 20 per cent voting in person, by proxy or by secret ballot. The 30-day notice has to warn members that this can happen.
Cal. Corp. Code §7512(a); Cal. Civ. Code §5115(b)(6), (d)(2)
REMOTE MEETINGS
Meeting by phone or screen in California
Teleconference, with conditions
Since January 2024 a board meeting or a members meeting may be held entirely by teleconference. The notice has to carry clear technical instructions and a contact for help, everyone must be able to take part as fully as in the room, a telephone option has to exist, and director votes are taken by roll call. One meeting is excluded: the one where ballots are counted and tabulated.
NEXT
What to do with this.
This page adds what the election page does not: The four-day board meeting notice, the right to speak, the executive-session list, the 30-day minutes rule, the 10 and 30 day records deadlines and the 2024 teleconference law. The ballot rules for California stay where they already are, on vote.direct, and that page is linked below.
Reading a statute is not the same as running a meeting. Send us your roster and we set your community up on the phone, in one sitting. Call or text (512) 222-8191.
QUESTIONS
California board questions, answered
How much notice does a California association have to give for the annual meeting?
The meeting itself is noticed under the Corporations Code, not under Davis-Stirling: not less than 10 nor more than 90 days before the date. For a meeting on Dec 1, 2026, that puts the notice between sep 2 and nov 21, 2026. That is arithmetic on the statute, not a ruling on your meeting. Cal. Corp. Code §7511(a). Our reading, to support your review, not legal advice. Confirm with your attorney before the board acts.
Are California HOA board meetings open to homeowners?
Any member may attend a board meeting, except when the board adjourns to executive session or meets solely in it. Cal. Civ. Code §4925(a). Our reading, to support your review, not legal advice. Confirm with your attorney before the board acts.
Can an owner speak at a California board meeting?
The board has to let any member speak at any meeting of the association or the board, other than executive session. The board may set a reasonable time limit for each speaker and for the whole comment period. Cal. Civ. Code §4925(b). Our reading, to support your review, not legal advice. Confirm with your attorney before the board acts.
How much notice does a California board meeting need?
Notice of the time and place of a board meeting goes out at least four days before it. A meeting held solely in executive session takes two days. An emergency meeting takes none. Where your governing documents ask for longer, the longer period governs. Cal. Civ. Code §4920(a), (b), (c), (d). Our reading, to support your review, not legal advice. Confirm with your attorney before the board acts.
How fast does a California association have to answer a records request?
Minutes of any board meeting other than executive session, or draft minutes marked as drafts, or a summary, reach members within 30 days of the meeting. Your annual policy statement has to tell members how to get them. Cal. Civ. Code §4950. Our reading, to support your review, not legal advice. Confirm with your attorney before the board acts.
How long does a California association have to keep its records?
Members may inspect association records for the current fiscal year and the two before it. Minutes of member and board meetings are different: they are open to inspection permanently. Cal. Civ. Code §5210(a). Our reading, to support your review, not legal advice. Confirm with your attorney before the board acts.
Can a California association hold its meeting online?
Since January 2024 a board meeting or a members meeting may be held entirely by teleconference. The notice has to carry clear technical instructions and a contact for help, everyone must be able to take part as fully as in the room, a telephone option has to exist, and director votes are taken by roll call. One meeting is excluded: the one where ballots are counted and tabulated. Cal. Civ. Code §4926. Our reading, to support your review, not legal advice. Confirm with your attorney before the board acts.
Do proxies count toward a quorum in California?
A proxy is a written authorisation letting another member vote for you, and it may never be used in place of a ballot. Any instruction telling the proxyholder how to vote sits on a separate detachable page, and the proxyholder still casts the vote by secret ballot. Cal. Civ. Code §5130(a), (b), (c). Our reading, to support your review, not legal advice. Confirm with your attorney before the board acts.
Does governance.center tell us our California meeting was properly noticed?
No, and it never will. We show you the statute, the date the arithmetic produces and the section it came from, so your board and your attorney can check our work. Your bylaws may set a longer period than the state does, and where they do, the bylaws govern. We never tell a board that it is compliant.
Our reading, to support your review, not legal advice.
Confirm with your attorney before the board acts.
Your bylaws may ask for a longer period than the state does, and where they do, the bylaws govern. We never tell a board that it is compliant. If something here does not match what your attorney reads, call (512) 222-8191 and tell us. We will correct it.