Section 20640.6.

(a)  Upon receipt of the information described in Section 20640.4 and Section 20640.5, the State Controller shall determine whether the state's interest would be adequately protected if postponement is granted, and if so, shall issue to the claimant a certificate of eligibility containing the name of claimant, address of the residential dwelling on which the claimant has applied for property tax postponement, and any other information and in the form as the State Controller shall prescribe. In the event that the residential dwelling is located in a chartered city which levies and collects its own taxes, the Controller shall issue a duplicate certificate of eligibility to pay all or any part of property taxes appearing on the city's tax bill.

(b) The Controller shall cause to be recorded with the county recorder of the county in which the real property is located, a copy of any instrument creating a security interest, which shall include applicable consent forms, in favor of the state. The instrument shall contain a legal description of the real property subject to the possessory interest; and, if the legal description of the possessory interest describes an area less than the entire property ownership, the notice or document shall also contain a reference to the record of the acquisition instrument to the entire parcel from which the possessory interest was created. The priority of the security interest shall be as of the date of recordation.

(c) The Controller shall prescribe the form of certificates of eligibility to pay all delinquent taxes and assessments authorized by this chapter.

Upon or accompanying each certificate shall be a brief statement explaining that (1) those taxpayers whose property taxes are paid by a lender via an impound, trust or other similar account should enter the total amount of each installment on the certificates and mail the certificates to the tax collector and (2) those taxpayers will receive a refund check from the county or city in the amount they entered on the certificate, within 30 days following the date on which the installment is paid by the lender or the certificate of eligibility is received by the tax collector, whichever is later.

(d) When a certificate of eligibility has been signed by the claimant, his or her spouse, or authorized agent and countersigned by the person authorized to collect property taxes or assessments for the local agency, the certificate shall constitute a written promise on the part of the State of California to pay the sum of money specified therein and the signed and countersigned certificate shall be deemed a negotiable instrument for the sole purpose of the payment of property taxes owing in the name of the claimant or his or her spouse for purposes of all laws of this state.

(e) A certificate of eligibility shall be valid for the duration prescribed thereon by the Controller.

(f) The Controller shall issue certificates of eligibility at such times as the Controller determines will best implement the purpose of this chapter.

(g) The Controller shall prescribe the manner in which a claimant eligible under this chapter, who has been issued a certificate of eligibility which is lost or destroyed prior to being filed with the local agency may obtain a duplicate copy of the certificate as a replacement. (Under conditions as may be prescribed by the Controller, a duplicate copy shall be deemed as having been filed with the local agency as of the date a claimant requests issuance of a duplicate copy.)

(Amended by Stats. 1981, Ch. 714, Sec. 419.)