California Form ADV Brochure Delivery and Disclosure Requirements

California Form ADV brochure delivery and disclosure requirements mean your California DFPI-registered investment adviser must deliver Form ADV Part 2A (or an equivalent brochure) with complete, current disclosures to each client, on the state’s timing rules, and be able to prove delivery. Build this into onboarding, updates, and recordkeeping. ¹

Key takeaways:

• Deliver the Form ADV Part 2A brochure on California’s timing standard (48-hour advance delivery or contract-time delivery with a 5‑business‑day penalty-free termination right). ²
• Treat “delivery” as a controlled, auditable step in your client onboarding workflow, not a one-off email.
• Keep durable evidence: versioned brochure, delivery date/time, method, and client acknowledgment or termination-right disclosure.

A California DFPI exam will commonly test whether your brochure delivery process is real, repeatable, and evidenced, not whether you can produce a brochure on request. The operational problem is straightforward: you must (1) deliver the correct brochure version to the right client, (2) do it on California’s timing rules, and (3) retain proof that stands up to scrutiny. ²

This requirement is easy to “almost” meet and still fail an exam. The typical gaps are procedural: a brochure link sent without capture of date/time; a brochure delivered after contract signature; inconsistent handling across household members; or an annual update handled as “posted to website” without documenting the required delivery or offer mechanics. Your controls should assume staff turnover, multiple channels (e-sign, email, portal), and exceptions (rush onboarding, last-minute proposals, legacy clients). ¹

This page gives you requirement-level implementation guidance you can adopt quickly: applicability, plain-English interpretation, a step-by-step workflow, the artifacts to retain, exam questions you should be able to answer cleanly, and a practical execution plan for making the control stick.

Plain-English interpretation (what California expects)

If you are a California-registered investment adviser, you must give clients a written brochure (Form ADV Part 2A or equivalent) that is complete, accurate, and current, and you must deliver it at or before entering into an advisory contract. California’s rule is stricter on timing than the federal baseline: deliver the brochure at least 48 hours before the contract, or deliver it at contract time only if the client has a right to terminate without penalty within five business days. ²

Operationally, that means:

• “Brochure” is not optional marketing content. It is a required disclosure document covering business practices, fees, conflicts, and disciplinary history. ³
• “Delivery” must be provable. If you cannot show when and how a specific client received a specific brochure version, you should assume an examiner will treat it as not delivered.
• “Current” implies change management. If your brochure is outdated or has material omissions, delivery alone will not save you. ³

Who it applies to

Covered entities

• Investment advisers registered with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI). ²

Covered activities / operational context

• New client onboarding for any advisory relationship (retail, HNW, business entities) where an investment advisory contract is executed. ²
• Brochure updates and ongoing disclosures under Form ADV Part 2A brochure framework, including annual update delivery or a written offer to provide the updated brochure to existing clients. ³

Practical scoping questions (use these to define your population)

• Are you DFPI-registered (not SEC-registered) for the relevant client base? If yes, apply 10 CCR 260.235.4 to those clients. ²
• Do you have dual registration or notice filing and different client channels? If yes, build separate routing logic so California DFPI clients follow California timing.

Regulatory text

California requires that investment advisers registered with California DFPI deliver a brochure (Form ADV Part 2A or equivalent) to each client at or before entering into an investment advisory contract, and that the brochure contain all required disclosures about business practices, fees, conflicts of interest, and disciplinary history. ²

For operators, the non-negotiables are:

1. Timing: Deliver at least 48 hours before the advisory contract, or at contract time with a 5-business-day penalty-free termination right. ²
2. Content integrity: The brochure must reflect the Form ADV Part 2A disclosure topics and stay complete and current. ³
3. Evidence: You need records that show delivery occurred, when, what version, and to whom.

What you actually need to do (step-by-step)

Below is a workflow you can implement in your CRM, onboarding tool, e-sign platform, or client portal. The goal is a single “system of record” trail per client.

Step 1: Define the “brochure of record” and version control

• Maintain a single controlled PDF (or equivalent fixed-format) version of your Form ADV Part 2A brochure.
• Assign an internal version identifier (e.g., “2A v2026.02”) and lock the file after approval.
• Store prior versions and retain the approval history.

Why: Exams often hinge on whether the delivered brochure was the correct version at the time of contract.

Step 2: Build California timing logic into onboarding

Create a decision rule for each new advisory contract:

Option A (preferred): deliver ≥48 hours before contract execution ²
Operational actions:

• Send brochure through a trackable channel (portal delivery receipt, e-sign envelope, or email with delivery logging).
• Add a “do not sign before” gating control in the e-sign workflow where feasible (procedural or system-enforced).

Option B: deliver at contract execution + 5-business-day penalty-free termination right ²
Operational actions:

• Include the termination-right disclosure in the advisory agreement package or a standalone acknowledgment delivered at signing.
• Ensure operations can process a termination request within that window without charging an advisory fee or imposing penalties per the contract terms.

Implementation note: Treat Option B as an exception path (rush onboarding). Track exceptions and review them.

Step 3: Capture client-specific proof of delivery

For each client (and each contracting party, if multiple signers):

• Record date/time sent and date/time received or accessed (depending on system capability).
• Record delivery method (portal, e-sign envelope, email).
• Record brochure version delivered.
• Record the client acknowledgment of receipt or acknowledgment of the 5-business-day termination right if delivered at signing. ²

If you deliver by email, keep a copy of the sent email with headers or an auditable log export. If you deliver via portal, keep access logs or delivery receipts tied to the user.

Step 4: Align brochure content workflow to Form ADV Part 2A topics

Use Form ADV Part 2A as your internal content checklist for required disclosure topics (services, fees, conflicts, disciplinary history, etc.). ³

Operational actions:

• Maintain a “brochure change intake” channel: complaints, disciplinary events, fee schedule changes, new products/strategies, new conflicts, new third parties.
• Route changes through compliance review and document the decision on whether the brochure needs updating.

Step 5: Run the annual update delivery (or written offer) process

Form ADV Part 2A instructions require delivering an updated brochure annually to existing clients, or offering in writing to provide it. ³

Operational actions:

• Define your annual cycle event (e.g., fiscal year-end, ADV filing cycle) and a consistent distribution method.
• If you use a written offer approach, keep evidence the offer was sent, to whom, and when, and define how a client requests the updated brochure.

Step 6: Quality assurance testing (make it exam-ready)

On a scheduled basis:

• Sample new accounts and verify: brochure version, delivery timestamp, contract signature timestamp, and (if applicable) termination-right disclosure. ²
• Sample annual update population and verify delivery or offer evidence. ³
• Document issues and remediation (re-delivery, corrected disclosures, staff coaching).

Required evidence and artifacts to retain

Build an “exam binder” (digital folder) that can be produced quickly:

Document set (firm-level)

• Current Form ADV Part 2A brochure PDF and archived prior versions. ³
• Brochure approval memo or ticket (who approved, when, what changed).
• Written procedures describing California timing and the exception process. ²

Client-level evidence

• Delivery record (date/time, method, recipient, brochure version). ²
• Client acknowledgment of receipt, or acknowledgment/disclosure of 5-business-day penalty-free termination right if delivered at signing. ²
• If delivered via portal/e-sign: envelope ID, audit trail, access logs.

Common exam/audit questions and hangups

Expect to answer these crisply:

• “Show me three new California clients. Prove the brochure was delivered 48 hours before signing, or show the 5-business-day termination-right disclosure.” ²
• “How do you ensure the brochure delivered matches the version in effect on that date?”
• “How do you handle clients who onboard quickly? Who approves exceptions?”
• “Show your annual brochure update delivery or written offer records.” ³
• “How do you ensure disclosures about fees, conflicts, and disciplinary history stay current?” ³

Hangups that derail teams:

• Evidence scattered across email, shared drives, and e-sign without a client-level index.
• “We sent a link” without preserving what the client saw (version control problem).

Frequent implementation mistakes (and how to avoid them)

Mistake	Why it fails	Fix
Delivering after signature	Violates California timing unless termination right is provided. 2	Gate signature until delivery timestamp is recorded, or require termination-right disclosure for exception path.
No proof of delivery	“We always do it” does not satisfy an exam	Make delivery a required field in CRM with attachment of receipt/audit trail.
Wrong version delivered	Outdated/missing disclosures create liability. 3	Centralize the brochure file; prohibit local copies; include version ID in filename and workflow.
Annual update handled informally	Form ADV requires annual delivery or written offer. 3	Automate annual distribution list and retain logs and copies of the offer language.
Inconsistent household/entity handling	One spouse/entity gets it, others sign	Define “client” for delivery as each contracting party; require delivery evidence per signer.

Enforcement context and risk implications

No public enforcement cases were provided in the supplied sources, so this page does not list specific case outcomes. Practically, the risk is exam findings for failure to deliver on time, failure to document delivery, or brochure inaccuracies and omissions. California also flags the stricter timing requirement as a key risk factor compared to the federal standard. ²

Your control objective is defensibility: a clean audit trail that ties brochure version + delivery timing + contract execution, plus a documented annual update process. ¹

Practical 30/60/90-day execution plan

First 30 days (stabilize and stop the bleeding)

• Map your current onboarding flow and identify where brochure delivery occurs, by channel.
• Pick your brochure “system of record” location and enforce version control.
• Add a mandatory client-level delivery log field set: version, date/time, method, evidence attachment.
• Create the exception path: contract-time delivery requires the 5-business-day penalty-free termination right disclosure. ²

Days 31–60 (standardize and test)

• Update written procedures for California brochure delivery timing and annual update handling. ¹
• Train client-facing staff and operations with examples: “normal” (48-hour) vs “rush” (termination right).
• Run QA sampling on recent new accounts; remediate gaps with re-delivery and documented explanations when needed.

Days 61–90 (operationalize and make it durable)

• Automate distribution and evidence capture through e-sign/portal integrations where possible.
• Implement recurring monitoring: onboarding sample checks and annual update controls testing.
• Prepare an exam-ready export/report: all California clients with brochure version and delivery timestamp.

Tooling note: Daydream can act as the control hub for tracking brochure delivery evidence and exception handling across systems, so you can answer exam requests with a single, consistent record set.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does California require delivery 48 hours before contract signing every time?

California allows either delivery at least 48 hours before entering into the advisory contract, or delivery at contract time if the client receives a right to terminate without penalty within five business days. ²

What counts as “delivered” for the brochure?

Delivery should be a method you can evidence, such as an e-sign audit trail, a portal access record, or a retained email record showing when the brochure was sent and what version was sent. Your goal is client-specific proof tied to the contract. ²

Can we just post the brochure on our website and call it delivered?

Website posting alone usually fails the evidence test because it does not show client-specific delivery timing or the version provided. Maintain a record that the specific client received the specific brochure version on the required timeline. ²

What if the client signs immediately and refuses to wait 48 hours?

Use the contract-time delivery path only if the client receives the 5-business-day penalty-free termination right, and retain proof that the disclosure was provided at signing. Track these as exceptions and review them. ²

Do we have to send the entire brochure every year?

Form ADV Part 2A permits annual delivery of the updated brochure or a written offer to provide it to existing clients. Choose one method and document it consistently with distribution logs and copies of the offer language. ³

Who should own this control, compliance or operations?

Compliance should own the requirement interpretation, oversight, and testing; operations should own the execution steps in onboarding and client service workflows. Split ownership fails unless you define who captures evidence and who reviews exceptions.

Footnotes

1. 10 CCR 260.235.4; Form ADV Part 2A

2. 10 CCR 260.235.4

3. Form ADV Part 2A