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HomeCommercial CodeDiv. 8Ch. 5§ 8501 Securities Account Entitlements

§ 8501 Securities Account Entitlements

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

§ 8501 Securities Account Entitlements

This law says that when a financial company records an asset in your account, you have a legal right to that asset even if the company doesn't actually hold it.

Key Takeaways

  • •A security entitlement is created when an intermediary records an asset in your account.
  • •You can enforce your rights to the asset even if the intermediary does not physically possess it.
  • •If the asset is already registered directly to you, you own it outright, not just an entitlement.

Example

You use a brokerage to buy shares of a company. The broker enters the shares into your account as a book entry.

Because the broker recorded the shares in your account, you have a security entitlement to those shares, even though the broker may not physically hold the share certificates.

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

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 8501 Securities Account Entitlements

(a) “Securities account” means an account to which a financial asset is or may be credited in accordance with an agreement under which the person maintaining the account undertakes to treat the person for whom the account is maintained as entitled to exercise the rights that comprise the financial asset. (b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions (d) and (e), a person acquires a security entitlement if a securities intermediary does any of the following: (1) Indicates by book entry that a financial asset has been credited to the person’s securities account. (2) Receives a financial asset from the person or acquires a financial asset for the person and, in either case, accepts it for credit to the person’s securities account. (3) Becomes obligated under other law, regulation, or rule to credit a financial asset to the person’s securities account. (c) If a condition of subdivision (b) has been met, a person has a security entitlement even though the securities intermediary does not itself hold the financial asset. (d) If a securities intermediary holds a financial asset for another person, and the financial asset is registered in the name of, payable to the order of, or specially endorsed to the other person, and has not been endorsed to the securities intermediary or in blank, the other person is treated as holding the financial asset directly rather than as having a security entitlement with respect to the financial asset. (e) Issuance of a security is not establishment of a security entitlement. (Added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 497, Sec. 9. Effective January 1, 1997.)

Last verified: January 10, 2026

Key Terms

securities accountsecurity entitlementfinancial assetsecurities intermediary

Related Statutes

  • § 8504 Securities Intermediary Asset Maintenance
  • § 8506 Securities Intermediary Duties
  • § 8508 Securities Intermediary Duties
  • § 8511 Priority Of Security Entitlements
  • § 8116 Securities Intermediary Purchaser Rights

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Commercial Code. Section 8501.
View Official Source