MOG Broker or Real Estate Broker License Required for Certain Acts
10500. Except as otherwise provided in Section 10131.4 and this chapter, it is unlawful for any person to engage in any of the following acts for another or others for compensation or in expectation of compensation, unless the person is licensed as a mineral, oil, and gas broker or a real estate broker:
(a) To sell or offer for sale, buy or offer to buy, solicit prospective sellers or purchasers, solicit or obtain listings, or negotiate the purchase, sale, or exchange of mineral, oil, or gas property.

(b) To solicit borrowers or lenders for or negotiate loans on mineral, oil, or gas property, or collect payments for lenders in connection with these loans.

(c) To lease or offer to lease or negotiate the sale, purchase, or exchange of leases on mineral, oil, or gas property.

(d) To rent or place for rent, mineral, oil, or gas property or to collect rent or royalties from mineral, oil, or gas property or improvements thereon.

(e) Other than as an officer or employee of the state or federal government, to assist or offer to assist another or others in filing an application for the purchase or lease of, or to locate or enter upon mineral, oil, or gas property owned by the state or federal government.

MOG or RE Broker License Required to Engage in Certain Businesses
10500.5. Except as otherwise provided in Section 10131.45 and in this chapter, it is unlawful for any person to engage in the following businesses as a principal unless the person is licensed as a mineral, oil, and gas broker or a real estate broker:
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (d) of Section 10502, buying or leasing, or taking an option on mineral, oil, or gas property for the purpose of sale, exchange, lease, sublease, or assignment of a lease of the property or any part of the property.

(b) Offering mining claims or any interest therein for sale or assignment.

Violation – Prosecution – Penalties
10501. (a) The Real Estate Commissioner may file a complaint for any violation of Section 10500 or 10500.5 before any court of competent jurisdiction, and the commissioner and the commissioner’s counsel, deputies or assistants may assist in presenting the law or facts at the trial.
(b) It is the duty of the district attorney of the county in which a violation of Section 10500 or 10500.5 occurs to prosecute the violation.

(c) A natural person convicted of a violation of Section 10500 or 10500.5 shall be punished by a fine of not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) or by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. A corporation convicted of a violation of Section 10500 or 10500.5 shall be punished by a fine of not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).

Activities Not Requiring an MOG License
10502. A mineral, oil and gas broker license shall not be required to engage in any of the following activities with respect to a mineral, oil or gas property:
(a) To act as a depository under an oil lease, gas lease or oil and gas lease other than for purpose of sale.

(b) To engage in any transaction subject to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

(c) To engage in the business of drilling for or producing oil or gas or mining for or producing minerals.

(d) To negotiate leases or agreements between an owner of mineral, oil or gas lands, leases or mineral rights on the one hand, and a person organized for or engaging in oil or gas or mineral or metal production on the other, or to enter into leases or agreements with an owner of mineral, oil, or gas lands, leases, or mineral rights on behalf of a disclosed or undisclosed person organized for or engaging in oil or gas or mineral or metal production.

(e) To deal with mineral rights or land, other than oil or gas rights or land, as the owner of the rights or land.

MOG Property Defined
10503. Mineral, oil or gas property refers to land used for, intended to be used for, or concerning which representations are made with respect to, the mining of minerals or the extraction of oil or gas therefrom.

Action for Compensation
10508. No person engaged in the business or acting in the capacity of a mineral, oil and gas broker within this state shall bring or maintain any action in the courts of this state for the collection of compensation for the performance of any of the acts mentioned in this article without alleging and proving that he was a duly licensed mineral, oil and gas broker at the time the alleged cause of action arose.

Unlawful Payment of Compensation
10509. (a) It is unlawful for a mineral, oil, and gas broker or a real estate broker to compensate, directly or indirectly, any person who is not a mineral, oil, and gas broker or a licensed real estate salesperson retained by the real estate broker for performing any acts for which a mineral, oil, and gas broker license is required.
(b) It is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) for each offense, for any person, whether obligor, escrow holder, or otherwise, to pay or deliver compensation to a person for performing any acts for which a mineral, oil, and gas broker license is required unless that person is known by the payer to be or has presented evidence to the payer that he or she was a licensed mineral, oil, and gas broker at the time the compensation was earned.

False MOG Advertising
10512. Every officer, agent or employee of any company, and every other person who knowingly authorizes, directs or aids in the publication, advertisement, distribution or circularization of any false statement or representation concerning any mineral, oil or gas property, or, if the mineral, oil or gas property is owned by the state or federal government, which such person offers to assist another or others to file an application for the purchase or lease of, or to locate or enter upon, and every person who, with knowledge that any advertisement, pamphlet, prospectus or letter concerning any mineral, oil or gas property or any written statement that is false or fraudulent, issues, circulates, publishes or distributes the same, or causes the same to be issued, circulated, published or distributed, or who in any other respect willfully violates or fails, omits, or neglects to obey, observe or comply with any order, permit, decision, demand or requirement of the commissioner under the provisions of this part relating to mineral, oil and gas brokerage, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed six months, or by a fine of not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), and, if a mineral, oil and gas licensee, he shall be held to trial by the commissioner for a suspension or revocation of his mineral, oil and gas license, as provided in the provisions of this part relating to hearings. It shall be the duty of the district attorney of each county in this state to prosecute all violations of the provisions of this section in respective counties in which the violations occur.

Application of Real Estate Broker Provisions
10513. In performing acts within the scope and under the authority of this chapter, mineral, oil and gas brokers are subject to the provisions applicable to real estate brokers contained in Sections 10131.5, 10140.5, 10142, 10143.5, 10144, 10145, and 10148.

MOG Broker Subject to Certain Real Estate Broker Provisions But Not Continuing Education Requirements
10515. (a) Mineral, oil, and gas brokers in performing acts within the scope and under the authority of this chapter are subject to the provisions applicable to real estate brokers contained in Sections 10153.6, 10156.2, 10157, 10159, 10159.2, 10159.5, 10161.5, 10161.75, 10162, 10163, and 10165.
(b) Mineral, oil, and gas brokers shall not be subject to any of the provisions of Article 2 (commencing with Section 10150) or Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 10170) of Chapter 3 which impose continuing education requirements as a prerequisite to the renewal of a license.

Restricted License
10519. (a) The commissioner may issue a restricted mineral, oil, and gas broker license to a person whose mineral, oil, and gas broker license has been revoked as the result of disciplinary action taken by the commissioner.
(b) A restricted mineral, oil, and gas broker license issued by the commissioner may be restricted by term and by the conditions to be observed by the licensee in the performance of acts for which a mineral, oil, and gas broker license is required including the posting of a surety bond by the restricted licensee in such form and condition as the commissioner may require.

Restricted License – No Right to Renewal – Suspension
10519.1. There is no property right and no right to the renewal of a restricted license issued pursuant to Section 10519.
The commissioner may suspend a restricted license pending the holding of a hearing on charges alleging a basis for disciplinary action against the restricted licensee.

Suspension or Revocation of MOG License
10560. Upon grounds provided in this article and the other articles of this chapter, the license of any mineral, oil and gas licensee may be revoked or suspended in accordance with the provisions of this part relating to hearings.

Grounds for Suspension or Revocation of MOG License
10561. The commissioner may, upon his or her own motion, and shall, upon the verified complaint in writing of any person, investigate the actions of any person engaged in the business or acting in the capacity of a mineral, oil, and gas licensee, within this state, and he or she may temporarily suspend or permanently revoke a mineral, oil, and gas license at any time if the licensee, while a mineral, oil, and gas licensee, in performing or attempting to perform any of the acts within the scope of this chapter, has been guilty of any of the following:
(a) Making any substantial misrepresentation.

(b) Making any false promises of a character likely to influence, persuade, or induce.

(c) Acting for more than one party in a transaction without the knowledge or consent of all parties thereto.

(d) Commingling with his or her own money or property the money or property of others that is received and held by him or her.

(e) Claiming or demanding a fee, compensation, or commission under any exclusive agreement authorizing or employing a licensee to sell, buy, or exchange mineral, oil, or gas property for compensation, or commission where that agreement does not contain a definite, specified date of final and complete termination.

(f) Claiming or taking by a licensee of any secret or undisclosed amount of compensation, commission, or profit, or the failure of a licensee to reveal to the employer of such licensee the full amount of the licensee’s compensation, commission, or profit under any agreement authorizing or employing the licensee to do any acts for which a license is required under this chapter for compensation or commission prior to or coincident with the signing of an agreement evidencing the meeting of the minds of the contracting parties, regardless of the form of such agreement, whether evidenced by documents in an escrow or by any other or different procedure.

(g) The use by a licensee of any provision allowing the licensee an option to purchase in an agreement authorizing or employing the licensee to sell, buy, or exchange mineral, oil, or gas property for compensation or commission, except when the licensee prior to or coincident with election to exercise the option to purchase reveals in writing to the employer the full amount of the licensee’s profit and obtains the written consent of the employer approving the amount of that profit.

(h) Any other conduct, whether of the same or a different character than specified in this section, which constitutes fraud or dishonest dealing.

Further Grounds for Discipline
10562. The commissioner may suspend or revoke the license of a mineral, oil, and gas licensee who has done any of the following:
(a) Entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to, or been found guilty of, or been convicted of, a felony, or a crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a mineral, oil, and gas licensee, and the time for appeal has elapsed or the judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal, irrespective of an order granting probation following that conviction, suspending the imposition of sentence, or of a subsequent order under the provision of Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code allowing the licensee to withdraw his or her plea of guilty and to enter a plea of not guilty, or setting aside the verdict of guilty, or dismissing the accusation or information.

(b) Knowingly authorized, directed, connived at or aided in the publication, advertisement, distribution, or circulation of a material false statement or representation concerning his or her business or a mineral, oil, or gas property offered for sale.

(c) Willfully disregarded or violated any of the provisions of the Real Estate Law (commencing with Section 10000) or of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 11000) of Part 2 or of the rules and regulations of the commissioner for the administration and enforcement of the Real Estate Law and Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 11000) of Part 2.

(d) Acted or conducted himself or herself in a manner which would have warranted the denial of his or her application for a mineral, oil, and gas license.

(e) Willfully used the term "realtor" or a trade name or insigne of membership in a real estate organization of which the licensee is not a member.

(f) Demonstrated negligence or incompetence in performing an act for which he or she is required to hold a license.

(g) Has used his or her employment by a governmental agency in a capacity giving access to records, other than public records, in a manner that violates the confidential nature of the records.

(h) Any other conduct, whether of the same or a different character than specified in this section, which constitutes fraud or dishonest dealing.

Fraud in Civil Action Against MOG Licensee
10562.5. When a final judgment is obtained in a civil action against any mineral, oil and gas licensee, upon grounds of fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit with reference to any transaction for which a license is required under this division, the commissioner may, after hearing in accordance with the provisions of this part relating to hearings, suspend or revoke the license of such mineral, oil and gas licensee.

Action Against Officer or Agent of Corporation
10564. The commissioner may suspend or revoke the mineral, oil, and gas license of a corporation as to any officer or agent acting under its mineral, oil, and gas license, without revoking the mineral, oil, and gas license of the corporation.

Applicability of Broker License Provisions
10580. Mineral, oil, and gas brokers are subject to the provisions applicable to real estate brokers contained in Sections 10200, 10207, 10209.5, 10210, 10211, and 10222.