Terms you can choose
One year or lifetime, chosen on the form (the current form offers only these two options; both are irrevocable for the chosen period). A one-year term ends automatically. Lifetime removal requires a minimum of one year on the list before a Self-Exclusion Removal Request (CGCC-CH7-06) may be filed; the Bureau removes the person on the first business day of the second whole month after the removal request was postmarked, and sends a confirmation notice.
Sign up for the longest exclusion time you can. Future you will thank you.
When it ends
A fixed term ends on its own at the end of the term; a lifetime term continues until you request removal.
A fixed term. A one-year term ends on its own — the form's two options are one year or lifetime, and the one-year term carries no removal filing.
A lifetime term. A lifetime term stays in force until you file for removal. You have to have been on the list at least a year, then mail a notarized or witnessed Self-Exclusion Removal Request (CGCC-CH7-06) to the Bureau's P.O. Box; removal takes effect the first business day of the second whole month after the postmark. The removal form (CGCC-CH7-06) says it is not effective until the Bureau acknowledges the request, so wait for that notice.
How to enroll
Enroll through NVSEP.
NVSEP fills in California's self-exclusion form with you online, checks your ID, notarizes it free if needed, and sends it to the Bureau of Gambling Control. Press Self-Exclude Now on the page and sign in with the code NVSEP emails you. Identity checks start with a live face scan — it asks you to turn your head to each side — before it asks your name, and NVSEP says the pictures you submit are stored on your self-exclusion record. California is one of the states it notarizes, and it takes one of those per request: if you also need Colorado, Iowa or Michigan's online list, that is a second request. NVSEP says most self-exclusions take effect within 24 to 72 hours after submission, and that it sends you a confirmation once the submission is processed. The Bureau's own pages do not mention NVSEP, so wait for the Bureau's confirmation letter as well. To do it on paper instead, use the steps below.
- Enroll through NVSEP. Its California page covers every licensed card room in the state, for one year or lifetime. You fill in the form online, upload your ID, sign in front of a free video notary if needed, and NVSEP sends it to the Bureau. We don't fill in or submit it. To do it on paper instead, follow the steps below.
- Download form CGCC-CH7-05 (New 05/20) from the Gambling Control Commission at cgcc.ca.gov. The older form still linked from oag.ca.gov leads to a page-not-found error — it is stale. We don't fill in or submit this form for you.
- Complete every field: legal name and any aliases, address, phone and email, the games you play most, your physical description, driver's license or ID number, date of birth, and the make, model and plate of the car you normally drive. Affix a recent passport-quality head-and-shoulders photograph.
- Initial your term — one year or lifetime, the only two options on the current form — and initial all eight declarations covering irrevocability, forfeiture, disclosure and the liability release. Then sign.
- Get the signature notarized, or have a key employee of a licensed gambling establishment witness and sign instead. The Bureau's own FAQ says only one of the two is required.
- Mail the form to Bureau of Gambling Control, P.O. Box 168024, Sacramento, CA 95816-8024, or hand it to any licensed card room, which must mail it to the Bureau within 10 business days. The Bureau's online registration page only fills in this form for you. You still print it, sign it, have it notarized or witnessed, and mail it. Filling it in online does not put you on the list.
- A one-year term ends on its own. A lifetime term can only be ended after you have been on the list at least a year, by mailing a notarized or witnessed Self-Exclusion Removal Request (CGCC-CH7-06) to the same P.O. Box; the Bureau removes you on the first business day of the second whole month after the postmark. The removal form says it is not effective until the Bureau acknowledges it, so wait for that notice.
Official form (CGCC-CH7-05 (New 05/20)) Program page
Before you count on it. This list covers licensed card rooms. The Bureau's own page states it does not include tribal casinos or horse racing wagering facilities, which are the other two major places to gamble in California. California's 2016-amended tribal compacts require each tribe to run its own self-exclusion program, and no survey of the state's 60-plus gaming tribes was done here, so you have to approach a tribal casino separately. The current form offers one year or lifetime and nothing shorter. The Bureau mails you a letter confirming it accepted your form and added you to the list. Until that letter arrives, treat yourself as not yet on it. If you hand the form to a card room instead of mailing it, that card room has 10 business days to forward it. Whether someone living outside California may enroll is not established by any source. Apart from NVSEP's own page, no source says whether a remotely notarized signature is accepted. Downloading, completing, or mailing the form is not the exclusion — only being added to the Bureau's list is.
Every route we checked
Routes that enroll you
- By mail — Bureau of Gambling Control, P.O. Box 168024, Sacramento, CA 95816-8024
Printed directly on the form: 'MAIL COMPLETED FORM TO: BUREAU OF GAMBLING CONTROL, P.O. Box 168024, Sacramento, CA 95816-8024.' - In person — Any California-licensed card room, which must mail the patron-submitted form to the Bureau within 10 business days
Regulation §12464(8) requires each licensee to maintain 'policies and procedures for mailing any patron-submitted Self-Exclusion Request form to the Bureau within 10 business days,' establishing in-person submission at a card room as a real route, distinct from mailing it yourself. - Online Source says this does not apply — https://ems.doj.ca.gov/selfExclusionReg.action, linked from oag.ca.gov as the 'Self-Exclusion Online Registration' page
The online page prepares the paper form; it does not submit it. The Bureau's help page lists the remaining steps: "Step 3: Print the Self Exclusion Form. Step 4: Initial, Sign and Date the printed Self Exclusion Form. Step 5: Notarize your Self Exclusion Form… Step 6: Mail your signed, notarized Self Exclusion Form…" Read 2026-09-30. - Online Not verified — https://www.nvsep.org/california
NVSEP's California page covers this program: every licensed card room it lists, for one year or lifetime, and names the Department of Justice's online page and the mailed PDF as the alternatives to it. NVSEP says it fills in the state's form online, verifies your ID, arranges a free online notarization through Proof when the state requires one, and submits the form to the state electronically. The Bureau's own pages do not mention NVSEP. Its own sign-up portal lists California among the states that require meeting a free online notary before the exclusion is fully processed, and it takes one such state per request, so Colorado, Iowa or Michigan's online list is a separate request. Identity checks there start with a live face scan, and NVSEP says the pictures you submit are stored on your self-exclusion record.
Routes that get you a form or an answer, not an exclusion
- Online — https://ems.doj.ca.gov/selfExclusionHome.action
A live Bureau of Gambling Control 'Self Exclusion' landing page describing the program and linking to the registration action. Describing the program is not enrollment. - By email — BGCEMS@doj.ca.gov
Published on the Bureau's Self-Exclusion page for questions. No source states this address accepts a submitted application, and the regulation's own procedures point to mail or in-person card room delivery. - By phone — (916) 830-1700
Bureau of Gambling Control Exclusion Program main number. Not published as a submission route.
Requirements and sources
Sources read 2026-09-24. These are the program's requirements, not a record of anyone's enrollment.
- Terms available
- One year or lifetime, chosen on the form (the current form offers only these two options; both are irrevocable for the chosen period). A one-year term ends automatically. Lifetime removal requires a minimum of one year on the list before a Self-Exclusion Removal Request (CGCC-CH7-06) may be filed; the Bureau removes the person on the first business day of the second whole month after the removal request was postmarked, and sends a confirmation notice.
- Can a resident enroll
- Not verified: Neither the enrollment form (CGCC-CH7-05) nor the regulation (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 4, §§12460-12465) asks about or states a residency requirement. No reviewed source addresses residency eligibility.
- Can a visitor enroll
- Not verified: Same as residents: no source states a residency requirement or a visitor exclusion. In-person appearance in California is required for submission, but that governs the submission channel, not eligibility.
- Identification
- Driver's license or identification card number, issuing state and expiration date; a recent passport-quality head-and-shoulders photograph is affixed to the form. No form of the form requests a Social Security number.
- Notarization
- The form requires EITHER notarization OR witnessing by a key employee of a licensed gambling establishment — the Bureau's FAQ states directly that 'only one or the other is required.' Regulation §12464(b) separately confirms the regulation itself does not mandate a notary.
- Witnesses
- A key employee of a licensed gambling establishment may witness and sign the form in place of a notary; the witness affirms personal knowledge of the applicant or verification by satisfactory evidence, mirroring the notary block.
- Notarizing online
- Not verified: Notarization is one of two accepted attestation methods, but no source addresses whether a remotely notarized (RON) form is accepted in place of an in-person notary or key-employee witness.
- How long processing takes
- No processing interval is published for enrollment itself. When a form is submitted in person at a card room rather than mailed directly, the licensee must forward it to the Bureau within 10 business days, so enforcement can lag hand-delivery at a card room by up to that long. No source states how quickly the Bureau adds a mailed submission to the statewide list.
- How you are told it took effect
- The Bureau's page: 'The Bureau will send a confirmation letter to the patron notifying them that their form has been accepted and that they have been added to the Self-Exclusion list.' Regulation §12465(c) separately requires a notice confirming removal from the list.
The form asks for: full legal name including aliases and former legal names, residence and mailing address, primary and secondary telephone numbers and email address, games most often played, initialed term selection: one year or lifetime, height, weight, hair color, eye color, driver's license/identification card number, issuing state, expiration date, date of birth, race/ethnicity, gender, distinguishing marks, affixed recent passport-quality photograph, head and shoulders, make and model of vehicle normally driven, license plate, language/interpreter statement if not fluent in English, eight initialed declarations covering irrevocability, forfeiture, personal responsibility, disclosure, database inclusion, and liability release, printed name, signature, date, notarization or witnessing by a key employee of a licensed gambling establishment (one or the other).
- Approved Regulations: Cal. Code Regs. tit. 4, §§12460-12466 (Self-Exclusion and Self-Restriction Programs) cgcc.ca.gov · read 2026-10-21
- Bureau of Gambling Control - Self Exclusion (EMS landing page) ems.doj.ca.gov · read 2026-09-24
- California Penal Code Section 330 leginfo.legislature.ca.gov · read 2026-09-24
- Exclusion Program oag.ca.gov · read 2026-09-24
- Gambling Exclusion Program, Self-Exclusion - FAQs oag.ca.gov · read 2026-09-24
- Self-Exclusion Program oag.ca.gov · read 2026-09-24
- Self-Exclusion Removal Request, CGCC-CH7-06 (New 05/20) cgcc.ca.gov · read 2026-10-21
- Self-Exclusion Request, CGCC-CH7-05 (New 05/20) cgcc.ca.gov · read 2026-10-23