Submit a Complaint
The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) encourages financial services consumers to submit their complaints if they believe a DFPI licensee or registrant has violated state law or acted improperly, or they believe a company or person is conducting unlicensed or unregistered activity that falls within the DFPI’s jurisdiction.
You should always file your complaint with the DFPI, regardless of whether you are trying to resolve your dispute through another forum or process. The DFPI relies on your complaints to help us protect consumers, borrowers, investors, and to obtain redress for them when victimized by unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business practices.
The DFPI evaluates and reviews complaints and takes appropriate action when it finds violations of the laws and regulations we administer. Enforcement actions may include administrative orders to: stop violations of laws; deny, suspend or revoke licenses; take possession of licensees; suspend or bar individuals from participating in a regulated industry; order refunds; and levy penalties. The DFPI also can file civil actions to stop violations of the laws, appoint receivers over companies and obtain restitution for consumers and penalties against violators.
In the event we determine that your complaint would be better addressed by another agency, we will help direct you to the proper regulatory or law enforcement agency.
The DFPI is committed to serving all California residents in their preferred language. The DFPI utilizes a translation service that allows us to receive complaints in more than 240 languages.
Complaint Filing Options:
Online – For a faster response, we recommend filing online.
Thank you for submitting a consumer complaint to the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. By informing us of potentially improper or illegal activity in the financial services marketplace, your input helps us protect you and other Californians. By submitting this complaint, you certify the information provided is true and correct to the best of your knowledge and consent to allow the subject of the complaint and its affiliates to disclose to the Department any information the Department deems relevant to your complaint, including your transactions, accounts, and other experiences with them. If you are submitting this complaint on behalf of another person, you certify under penalty of perjury you are authorized to submit this complaint on that person’s behalf. The Department uses consumer complaint information to investigate potential violations of law. In general, consumer complaints are considered to have been received by the Department in confidence. However, Civil Code section 1798.24 allows the Department to disclose your personal information with another person or governmental organization to the extent needed to obtain information for our investigation of a failure to comply with our laws. It also allows the Department to disclose your information with other self-regulatory organizations and government agencies, including federal and state financial services regulators and law enforcement agencies, if certain conditions are met and subject to limitations.
Mail – Download the complaint form, fill it out and mail it to the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation via U.S. Mail.
File a Complaint by Mail
To submit a complaint by mail, download, print, and fill out any the appropriate forms:
- Complaint Form – for use on a DFPI licensee (PDF)
- Complaint Form – Spanish (Formulario para quejas del consumidor al DFPI) (PDF)
- Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Complaint Form (PDF)
- Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Complaint form – Spanish (Formulario de Quejas del Consumidor) (PDF)
And mail to:
Attn: Consumer Services
2101 Arena Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95834
The Department will provide a letter or email acknowledging receipt of your complaint and a description of the next steps in the complaint process.
If you need assistance with the complaint form, please call 1-866-275-2677.
Submit your complaint if it’s regarding one of the following:
- Banks (Please note that national banks such as Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Union bank are handled by the Office of the Comptroller which can be reached at www.occ.gov or 1-800-613-6743)
- Business and Industrial Development Corporations (BIDCO)
- California Finance Lenders
- California Residential Mortgage Lenders
- Capital Access Companies
- Check Cashing Stores
- Check Sellers, Bill Payers and Proraters
- Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies/Credit Reporting Agencies
- Credit Products
- Credit Repair and Consumer Credit Agencies
- Credit Unions
- Debt Collectors
- Debt Relief Providers
- Deferred Deposit Transactions (Commonly known as Payday Loans)
- Crypto Assets
- Escrow Agents/ Escrow Laws
- Foreclosure Counseling/Prevention
- Foreign (Other Nation or Other State) Banks
- Franchises
- Franchise Brokers
- Industrial Banks
- Investment Advisers
- Local Agency Security Program (LASP)
- Money Transmitters
- Mortgage Loan Originators
- PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) Provider
- Premium Finance Companies
- Private Student Loans (including those from for-profit schools)
- Rent-to-own Contractors
- Securities Broker Dealers
- Student Loan Servicing
- Trust Companies and Departments
Check status of your complaint if your complaint number format is:
Check status of your complaint if your complaint number format is
Important Information on DFPI Complaint Process
- We facilitate communication between consumers and financial institutions. Complaint unit staff do not act as an advocate for either party, but the DFPI regularly reviews complaints to assess whether further action is appropriate through the DFPI’s enforcement and examination functions.
- We do not act as a court of law or as a lawyer on your behalf.
- We cannot provide legal advice.
- We do not resolve factual disputes or disagreements over the interpretation of contracts.
If the circumstances of your complaint make it advisable to consult an attorney, the California Courts Free & Low-Cost Legal Help website provides information you may find useful.