(a) In a binding arbitration of any claim for more than three thousand dollars ($3,000) pursuant to a contract for the construction or improvement of residential property consisting of one to four units, the arbitrator shall, within 10 days following his or her appointment, provide to each party a written declaration under penalty of perjury. This declaration shall disclose (1) whether the arbitrator or his or her employer or arbitration service had or has a personal or professional affiliation with either party, and (2) whether the arbitrator or his or her employer or arbitration service has been selected or designated as an arbitrator by either party in another transaction.
§ 1281.95.Declaration By Arbitrator In Arbitration Pursuant to Construction Contract; Disqualification
Title 9. Arbitration · Chapter 2. Enforcement of Arbitration Agreements · Last amended 2003 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1281.95 requires an arbitrator in a residential-construction arbitration over three thousand dollars to disclose, within ten days of appointment, any affiliation with either party or any prior selection by either party, and allows disqualification within fifteen days of that disclosure, or of a failure to make it.
Full Text of § 1281.95
(b) If the arbitrator discloses an affiliation with either party, discloses that the arbitrator has been selected or designated as an arbitrator by either party in another arbitration, or fails to comply with this section, he or she may be disqualified from the arbitration by either party.
(c) A notice of disqualification shall be served within 15 days after the arbitrator makes the required disclosures or fails to comply. The right of a party to disqualify an arbitrator shall be waived if the party fails to serve the notice of disqualification pursuant to this subdivision unless the arbitration makes a material omission or material misrepresentation in his or her disclosure. Nothing in this section shall limit the right of a party to vacate an award pursuant to Section 1286.2, or to disqualify an arbitrator pursuant to any other law or statute.
Plain-English Summary
Home-construction disputes get their own targeted disclosure rule, aimed at repeat-player arbitrators favored by builders. In a binding arbitration of a claim over $3,000 arising from a contract to build or improve residential property with one to four units, the arbitrator has 10 days after appointment to provide a written declaration, under penalty of perjury, disclosing any personal or professional affiliation with either party, and disclosing whether either party has selected or designated this same arbitrator in some other transaction.
Any of three things opens the door to disqualification: disclosing an affiliation with a party, disclosing a prior selection by a party in another arbitration, or failing to comply with the disclosure requirement at all. Either party can then disqualify the arbitrator.
That right has its own deadline. A notice of disqualification has to be served within 15 days after the arbitrator makes the disclosure, or fails to comply. Missing that window waives the right, unless the arbitrator made a material omission or misrepresentation. As with the general disqualification rules in § 1281.91, none of this limits a party's separate right to vacate an award under § 1286.2 or to disqualify an arbitrator under other law.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must a construction-contract arbitrator disclose?
Within 10 days of appointment, any personal or professional affiliation with either party, and whether either party has previously selected or designated this arbitrator in another transaction.
How much time does a party have to disqualify the arbitrator after disclosure?
Fifteen days after the arbitrator makes the required disclosures or fails to comply.
What if the arbitrator never makes the required disclosure at all?
That failure itself is grounds for disqualification, on the same 15-day timeline running from the failure to comply.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2002 ch 1008 (AB 3028),s 5, eff. 1/1/2003.
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: home construction arbitration disclosure californiaresidential construction arbitrator disqualification