An application for a license as an escrow agent shall be signed and verified by an authorized officer of the applicant, and such application shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the articles of incorporation and a copy of the bylaws of the proposed licensee. The application shall set forth:

(a) The names and addresses of the incorporators, directors, and officers.

(b) An itemized statement of the estimated receipts and expenditures of the proposed first year of operations.

(c) An audited financial statement showing compliance with Section 17210.

(d) The name and address of the person, or persons, meeting the requirements of Section 17200.8, and a statement supporting such persons’ qualifications.

(e) The type of business for which the license is requested.

(f) Any other matters the commissioner may require.

(g) An application for a license as an escrow agent filed with the commissioner shall also include a completed statement of identity and questionnaire, as prescribed by the commissioner, for all stockholders, directors, officers, trustees, managers, and other persons participating in the escrow business directly or indirectly compensated by the escrow agent (other than usual and customary employees who file pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 17414.1 and Section 17419) and shall also include fingerprints and related information for those persons pursuant to subdivision (h). The commissioner shall notify the applicant in writing if any of the information received pursuant to this division shows that a person’s employment, participation, or ownership interest would be in violation of Section 17414.1, and the escrow agent shall deny the person the employment or interest. If the application is not satisfactorily amended to remove the deficiency within six months of the first notice of deficiency, the application shall be summarily denied. Persons required to file the employment application pursuant to Section 17419 are not required to file the statement of identity and questionnaire described in this section.

(h) (1) The fingerprint images and related information shall be submitted by the commissioner to the Department of Justice, in a manner established by the Department of Justice, for the purposes of obtaining information as to the existence and content of a record of state or federal convictions, state or federal arrests, and information as to the existence of and content of a record of state or federal arrests for which the Department of Justice establishes that the person is free on bail or on his or her own recognizance pending trial or appeal.

(2) Upon receipt, the Department of Justice shall forward to the Federal Bureau of Investigation requests for federal summary criminal history information received from the commissioner pursuant to this section. The Department of Justice shall review the information returned from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and compile and disseminate a response to the commissioner pursuant to subdivision (p) of Section 11105 of the Penal Code.

(3) The commissioner shall request from the Department of Justice subsequent arrest notification service as provided pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code.

(4) The Department of Justice shall charge a fee sufficient to cover the costs of processing the requests pursuant to this subdivision.

(Amended by Stats. 2008, Ch. 262, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2009.)