California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law on February 10th, which mandates that anyone charging fees to assist veterans in applying for federal benefits must hold federal certification.
The SB694 bill received bipartisan support and added several state-level consumer protection measures. State officials stated that the law sets fee standards and regulates related operations to prevent veterans from being exploited within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system.
The Veterans Legal Center defines these exploiters of veterans, known as “claim sharks,” as individuals or businesses claiming to assist veterans in processing VA disability claims. The organization highlighted that these individuals “often charge veterans high fees without VA certification” and through high upfront payments, misleading advertisements, and false promises of guaranteed benefits, end up “taking money from veterans.”
Under SB694, it is stipulated that anyone without federal certification is prohibited from “preparing, submitting, or advocating” veterans’ welfare claims. The new law also limits fee practices prohibited by federal law and includes veterans’ welfare claims in the protection scope of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act.
Newsom pointed out that another adjustment affecting some military retirees and their survivors’ taxes has also formally come into effect. Eligible taxpayers can deduct up to $20,000 annually from their California income tax returns. The state press release stated that this tax exemption applies to veterans receiving military pensions and families receiving benefits from the federal Survivor Benefit Plan.
The new law also incorporates several provisions safeguarding veterans’ privacy and government system security, including prohibiting the sharing of login credentials, using another person’s account to access government security systems, and requesting veterans to provide personal identification numbers (PINs) related to Common Access Cards.
Newsom positioned the law as a consumer protection measure, stating in a declaration, “By signing this law, we ensure that veterans and active-duty military personnel can keep more money in their pockets rather than allowing unscrupulous individuals to profit from it.”
Despite warnings from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that only VA-certified representatives are allowed to assist veterans in applying for benefits and may not charge fees for initial benefit applications, a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2025 revealed that federal law does not levy fines against uncertified individuals providing improper claims assistance. VA officials told GAO that they generally can only conduct informal investigations, issue cease and desist orders, or refer cases to other agencies.
During the signing ceremony, the Newsom administration also reminded veterans they can seek assistance from certified representatives for free through county veterans service officers. According to the Governor’s office data, California is one of the states with the highest veteran population in the country, with approximately 160,000 active-duty military personnel and nearly 1.5 million veterans residing in California.
The press release mentioned that county veterans service officers collectively submitted 316,000 applications in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, securing around $687 million in new benefits or benefit increases for California veterans and their families. During the same period, these offices also provided services to nearly 1 million veterans and their families through in-person, telephone, and email interactions.