California HOA Call for Candidates Notice
The call for candidates is usually the first communication in a California HOA board election. It tells members that seats are opening, explains how to be nominated and sets the deadline for submitting a nomination.
What Is This Notice?
A call for candidates notice invites eligible members of a common interest development to nominate themselves, or in some associations to nominate another member, for an open seat on the board of directors.
It is an informational and procedural notice rather than a ballot. Its purpose is to open the nomination window on a documented date so every member has the same opportunity to participate and so the inspector of elections can later verify that the nomination process was fair.
When Is It Used?
The call for candidates is issued early in the election cycle, well before ballots are prepared, because the association must know who is running before it can print a ballot.
Associations commonly send it together with, or shortly before, a notice describing nomination procedures so members receive both the invitation and the rules at roughly the same time.
What Information Does It Typically Include?
- The number of board seats up for election and the term length for each seat
- The nomination deadline, expressed as a specific date and often a time of day
- How a nomination may be submitted (mail, email, online form or delivery to a management address)
- Candidate qualification requirements drawn from the association's election rules
- Any disqualification standards the association has adopted and applies uniformly
- Whether candidate statements are accepted and any word or format limits
- Contact information for the inspector of elections or the person receiving nominations
- A reference to the governing documents and election rules that control the process
Who Receives the Notice?
The notice goes to the association's members using the individual or general delivery method allowed by the association's governing documents and California law.
Members who have requested a specific delivery method, such as email, should receive the notice through that method. Associations should keep a record of what was sent and when.
Timing & Deadlines
Civil Code §5115(a) requires the association to give general notice of the nomination procedure and the nomination deadline at least 30 days before the deadline for submitting nominations. A member who has requested individual notice must receive it individually under §4040.
If the board may want to seat candidates by acclamation (when qualified candidates do not exceed open seats), §5103 requires more: an individual initial notice at least 90 days before the nomination deadline, and an individual reminder notice between 7 and 30 days before that deadline. Starting January 1, 2027, AB 1892 moves the initial notice to at least 30 days and the reminder to not less than 10 days before the nomination deadline. See the 2027 changes The reminder lists the qualified candidates so far.
Under §5103, the association must also acknowledge each nomination in writing or electronically within 7 business days, and tell the nominee within 7 business days whether they are qualified (or why not, and how to appeal).
Working backward: if ballots will be mailed 30 days before the voting deadline and the pre-ballot notice must go out 30 days before that, the nomination deadline usually needs to close at least 60 to 75 days before the election, and the call for candidates goes out 30 days (or 90 days for acclamation) before the nomination deadline.
Governing documents and adopted election rules may impose longer timing than these statutory minimums, and election rules cannot be amended less than 90 days before an election (§5105(h)).
Related California Civil Code
California Civil Code §5100
Secret ballot elections
Requires secret ballot elections for directors, certain assessments, governing document amendments and exclusive use grants, and requires a director election at the end of each term and at least once every four years.
California Civil Code §5103
Election by acclamation
Describes the conditions under which an association may seat candidates without a ballot when the number of qualified candidates does not exceed the number of open seats.
California Civil Code §5105
Election rules and candidate qualifications
Addresses the content of an association's election rules, including nomination procedures, candidate qualifications, disqualification standards and access to media and common areas.
California Civil Code §5115
Election notices and ballot procedures
Sets the core deadlines: 30 days' notice before the nomination deadline, a general notice 30 days before ballots are distributed, ballots mailed 30 days before the voting deadline, and reconvened meeting rules when quorum fails.
Last reviewed: October 5, 2026
Common Mistakes
- Setting a nomination deadline that leaves too little time to prepare and distribute ballots
- Describing candidate qualifications that do not match the association's adopted election rules
- Applying a disqualification standard inconsistently between candidates
- Sending the notice to a stale membership list rather than the current one
- Omitting a clear method and address for submitting a nomination
- Failing to document the date the notice was delivered
- Giving less than 30 days' notice before the nomination deadline (or less than 90 days when acclamation is possible)
What Happens Next?
After nominations close, associations typically communicate the nomination and election procedures, confirm the candidate list and determine whether the election may proceed by acclamation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Self-nomination is the most common method in California associations. The association's election rules describe the accepted nomination methods and the deadline that applies to all members equally.
Candidate qualifications and any disqualification standards come from the association's election rules. Stating them in the notice avoids confusion and helps the inspector of elections apply them consistently.
If the number of qualified candidates is not more than the number of open seats at the nomination deadline, §5103 lets the board vote to seat them by acclamation, but only if the association held a full election in the last three years and sent the 90-day initial notice and the 7 to 30 day reminder notice. Confirm each condition with counsel.
Delivery depends on the association's governing documents and on individual member delivery preferences on file. Associations should keep a record of the delivery method used for each member.
At least 30 days' general notice of the nomination procedure and deadline under Civil Code §5115(a). If the association may seat candidates by acclamation, §5103 requires an individual notice at least 90 days before the nomination deadline plus a reminder 7 to 30 days before it.
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