No evidence is admissible to charge a person upon a representation as to the credit of a third person, unless such representation, or some memorandum thereof, be in writing, and either subscribed by or in the handwriting of the party to be charged. This section is a Statute of Frauds provision and is to be applied in a manner that is consistent with the manner in which subdivision 2 of Section 1624 of the Civil Code is applied.
§ 1974.Representation as to credit of third person; writing
Title 2. Of the Kinds and Degrees of Evidence · Chapter 6. Indispensable Evidence · Last amended 1970 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1974 bars evidence charging a person based on a representation about a third person's credit unless that representation, or a memorandum of it, is in writing and subscribed by, or in the handwriting of, the person to be charged, applying the same suretyship rule as Civil Code Section 1624.
Full Text of § 1974
Plain-English Summary
This section closes out the chapter's short list of situations where the law insists on a particular kind of proof and shuts the door on everything else. If someone is going to be held liable based on what they said about a third person's creditworthiness, letting a lender or seller extend credit on the strength of that assurance, no evidence of the representation is admissible unless it, or a memorandum of it, is in writing and either signed by, or written in the hand of, the person being held to it.
The second sentence answers a question courts had wrestled with: whether this is a rule about how to prove things, or a substantive rule of contract law. It settles that question by tying Section 1974 to the suretyship clause of the Civil Code's statute of frauds, meaning it's applied the same way courts apply that provision, including the same recognized exceptions for situations like estoppel or a fiduciary's self-dealing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of statement does this section require to be in writing?
A representation about a third person's credit, made to induce someone to extend credit to that third person.
Does the writing have to be signed by both people?
No. It must be subscribed by, or in the handwriting of, the person to be charged with the representation, not the person it concerns.
Is Section 1974 a rule about evidence or a substantive rule of contract law?
It's applied as a Statute of Frauds provision, consistent with how courts apply the suretyship clause in Civil Code Section 1624, rather than as a pure evidentiary technicality.
What happens if the representation about someone's credit was made orally?
Generally, no evidence of it can be used to charge the person who made it, unless a recognized exception, like estoppel, applies.
Amendment History
(Enacted in 1872. Amended by Stats.1965, c. 299, p. 1363, § 114, operative Jan. 1, 1967; Stats.1970, c. 720, p. 1347, § 1.)
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: representation of third person credit writing requiredstatute of frauds suretyship california civil procedure