California Form MC-013-INFO is a free information sheet from the Judicial Council of California that shows a judgment creditor how to calculate post-judgment interest and the total amount a debtor owes on a civil money judgment.1California Courts | Self Help Guide. Information Sheet for Calculating Interest and Amount Owed on a Judgment (MC-013-INFO) You do not fill it out, sign it, or file it. It is a reference you read before completing the forms you actually submit, most often the Memorandum of Costs (MC-010).
What the Sheet Is For
Once a California court enters a money judgment in your favor, collecting on it is your job, not the court’s. The balance a debtor owes you is not static. It grows with interest, shrinks with payments, and can increase again when you incur allowable collection costs. MC-013-INFO exists so a creditor without a lawyer can work through that math step by step and arrive at an accurate number before filing enforcement paperwork or accepting a payoff.
The sheet covers three things: what makes up the total you can collect, how to calculate interest on the unpaid balance, and how to apply partial payments the debtor has already made.
What You Can Collect on a California Judgment
A money judgment in California generally has three pieces:
- The principal amount the court ordered the debtor to pay, as stated in the judgment.
- Post-judgment interest, which starts accruing on the date the judgment is entered. For most civil judgments the rate is 10 percent per year, calculated as simple interest.
- Enforceable costs you incur trying to collect, such as filing fees, service of process, and recording fees. These are documented separately on the Memorandum of Costs (MC-010).2California Courts | Self Help Guide. Memorandum of Costs (Summary) (MC-010)
How to Calculate Post-Judgment Interest
Interest begins running the day the judgment is entered. Not the trial date, not the day you serve the debtor, not the day you start enforcement. Every day the balance sits unpaid, more interest accrues.
The standard rate is 10 percent per year, and it is simple interest, not compound. To find the daily interest, multiply the unpaid principal by 0.10 and divide by 365. Then multiply that daily figure by the number of days the balance has been outstanding. On a $25,000 judgment unpaid for 180 days, the interest works out to roughly $1,233 ($25,000 × 0.10 ÷ 365 × 180).
The most common error creditors make is compounding the interest. California’s statutory rate is a flat 10 percent on the outstanding principal. Compounding overstates the balance and gives the debtor a straightforward basis to object.
How Partial Payments Change the Math
This is the part that trips people up, and it is the main reason the information sheet exists. When a debtor makes a partial payment, the money is applied first to accrued interest and costs. Only what is left over reduces the principal. Because the daily interest figure is based on the principal, every payment that touches principal changes how fast interest accrues going forward.
Keep a running log. For each payment, record the date, the amount, how much went to interest and costs, and how much reduced principal. Note the new principal balance and the new daily interest figure. Skipping this makes the numbers nearly impossible to reconstruct months later.
When a Different Interest Rate Applies
If the judgment arises from a contract that specifies its own interest rate, that contractual rate may apply instead of the default 10 percent. MC-013-INFO addresses this, so read it carefully if your case grew out of a written agreement with its own interest provision.
Using Your Numbers on Form MC-010
Once you have an accurate interest figure and total, the next step in most collection efforts is filing a Memorandum of Costs on Form MC-010.2California Courts | Self Help Guide. Memorandum of Costs (Summary) (MC-010) MC-010 is the actual fillable form you submit to the court clerk in the county where the judgment was entered. It itemizes the collection costs you want added to the enforceable amount.3Judicial Council of California. Memorandum of Costs (Summary) (MC-010)
The calculations you do with MC-013-INFO feed directly into what you claim. Underclaim and you leave money on the table. Overclaim and the debtor can challenge the amount and slow the collection down.
Where to Get MC-013-INFO
MC-013-INFO is available at no cost from the California Courts self-help website and from the clerk’s office at any California superior court.1California Courts | Self Help Guide. Information Sheet for Calculating Interest and Amount Owed on a Judgment (MC-013-INFO) Many county self-help centers will also walk you through the calculations if you bring your judgment and your payment records. Because the sheet is a reference and not a filing, there is nothing to submit and no fee attached. Use it to get your numbers right, then move on to MC-010 or whatever enforcement paperwork your case calls for.