Cal. Education Code § 22453

(a) Except as provided in Section 22454, the signature of the spouse of a member shall be required under the Defined Benefit Program on any application for, or cancellation of, an unmodified allowance; the election, change, or cancellation of an option; or any request for a refund of the member’s accumulated retirement contributions or accumulated annuity deposit contributions ; and under the Defined Benefit Supplement Program on any application for, or cancellation of, a retirement benefit, disability benefit, or termination benefit; and under either the Defined Benefit Program or the Defined Benefit Supplement Program on any other requests related to the selection of benefits by a member in which a spousal interest may be present, unless the member declares, in writing, under penalty of perjury, that one of the following conditions exists: (1) The member is not married. (2) The current spouse has no identifiable community property interest in the benefit. (3) The member and spouse have executed a marriage settlement agreement pursuant to Part 5 (commencing with Section 1500) of Division 4 of the Family Code that makes the community property law inapplicable to the marriage. (4) The spouse is incapable of executing the acknowledgment because of an incapacitating mental or physical condition. (5) The member does not know, and has taken all reasonable steps to determine, the whereabouts of the spouse. (b) This section shall not be applicable to an application for a disability allowance under the Defined Benefit Program. (c) The sole purpose of this section is to provide for spousal protection in the selection of specified benefits made by a member.