No person engaged in a trade or business of any kind or in the provision of a service of any kind shall do any of the following:
§ 1279.6.Prohibited Acts By Trade Or Business
Title 8. Change of Names · Last amended 2008 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1279.6 bars any business from refusing to serve someone, or requiring them to use a different name as a condition of service, based on that person's choice to use their birth name, a former name, or a name adopted upon marriage or domestic partnership, regardless of marital status.
Full Text of § 1279.6
(a) Refuse to do business with a person, or refuse to provide the service to a person, regardless of the person's marital status, because he or she has chosen to use or regularly uses his or her birth name, former name, or name adopted upon solemnization of marriage or registration of domestic partnership.
(b) Impose, as a condition of doing business with a person, or as a condition of providing the service to a person, a requirement that the person, regardless of his or her marital status, use a name other than his or her birth name, former name, or name adopted upon solemnization of marriage or registration of domestic partnership, if the person has chosen to use or regularly uses that name.
Plain-English Summary
Some people keep the name they were born with after marrying; others adopt a new one. This section makes sure a business can't punish either choice. It bars refusing to do business with someone, or refusing to provide a service, because that person uses their birth name, a former name, or a name taken on marrying or registering a domestic partnership.
It also blocks the flip side: a business can't condition service on the customer using some other name instead, if the customer has chosen to use, or regularly uses, their birth name, former name, or marital name. Both protections apply without regard to marital status, so the rule covers married people who kept their birth name just as much as anyone else.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business refuse to serve someone because they use their birth or maiden name?
No. Section 1279.6(a) prohibits refusing service based on a person's use of their birth name, former name, or name adopted on marriage or domestic partnership.
Can a business require someone to use a different name as a condition of service?
No. Section 1279.6(b) prohibits conditioning service on using a name other than the one the person has chosen to use or regularly uses.
Does this protection depend on whether the person is married?
No. Both prohibitions apply regardless of the person's marital status.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2007 ch 567 (AB 102),s 3, eff. 1/1/2008.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: maiden name discrimination californiabusiness refusing service birth namename use business requirement