(a) This division does not apply to:

(1) Any person doing business under any law of this state or the United States relating to banks, trust companies, building and loan or savings and loan associations, credit unions, or insurance companies.

(2) Any person licensed to practice law in California who has a bona fide client relationship with a principal in a real estate or personal property transaction and who is not actively engaged in the business of an escrow agent.

(3) Any person whose principal business is that of preparing abstracts or making searches of title that are used as a basis for the issuance of a policy of title insurance by a company doing business under any law of this state relating to insurance companies.

(4) Any broker licensed by the Real Estate Commissioner while performing acts in the course of or incidental to a real estate transaction in which the broker is an agent or a party to the transaction and in which the broker is performing an act for which a real estate license is required.

(b) The exemptions provided for in paragraphs (2) and (4) of subdivision (a) are personal to the persons listed, and those persons shall not delegate any duties other than duties performed under the direct supervision of those persons. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, the exemptions provided for in paragraphs (2) and (4) of subdivision (a) are not available for any arrangement entered into for the purpose of performing escrows for more than one business.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 267, Sec. 9. (AB 2862) Effective January 1, 2019.)