California Writ of Execution: Levies, Exemptions, and Debtor Defenses

A California writ of execution is the court order that lets a judgment creditor direct the sheriff to seize a debtor’s money and property to satisfy an unpaid money judgment. You get it from the court clerk after judgment, deliver it with written instructions to the sheriff in the county where the debtor’s assets are located, and the sheriff levies bank accounts, garnishes wages, takes personal property, or in rare cases forces the sale of real estate. The writ is valid for 180 days.¹

Getting the Writ Issued

A writ of execution becomes available as soon as the court enters your money judgment. You file an application with the court clerk, and the clerk issues the writ on Judicial Council form EJ-130.¹ The application states the total owed: the original judgment, accrued post-judgment interest, and recoverable costs. The clerk charges a $40 filing fee.²

You do not have to wait out an appeal. Filing an appeal alone does not stop enforcement. The debtor has to actually post an undertaking, usually a bond for one and a half to double the judgment, to stay execution while the appeal is pending.³ Without that bond, you can collect right away.

Each writ is valid for 180 days. If the sheriff hasn’t completed the levy within that window, the writ expires and you have to request a new one.¹ One writ covers one county. If the debtor has assets scattered across the state, you need a separate writ directed to the sheriff in each county.

Post-Judgment Interest You Can Collect

Unpaid judgments accrue interest at 10% per year on the remaining balance. For judgments entered or renewed on or after January 1, 2023, a lower 5% rate applies in two situations: when the balance is under $200,000 and stems from medical expenses, or when it is under $50,000 and stems from personal debt (excluding fraud, torts, or unpaid wages).⁴ Interest is calculated daily: outstanding judgment times the rate, divided by 365, times the number of days since entry.

Finding the Debtor’s Assets

A writ is only useful if you know where the debtor keeps money or property. Most collection efforts stall here. California gives you a tool called a debtor examination, which forces the debtor into court to answer questions about their finances under oath.

You apply for the order under CCP 708.110. If the debtor hasn’t been examined in the past 120 days, the court grants the order on request without a special showing. You then have to personally serve the debtor with the order at least 30 days before the examination date.⁵

At the examination, the debtor must answer truthfully about bank accounts, real estate, vehicles, wages, business interests, and other debts. Lying can bring perjury charges, and refusing to answer can lead to contempt. A debtor who ignores the order can be arrested on a bench warrant. Serving the order also creates a one-year lien on the debtor’s personal property, which stops them from quietly moving assets out of reach while the examination is pending.⁵

What the Sheriff Can Levy

Once you’ve found assets, the sheriff can take different enforcement actions depending on what the debtor owns. Each has its own procedure and its own cost. Sheriff’s departments typically charge around $45 to $55 per levy on a bank account or employer, on top of the $40 writ fee, so budget for several attempts.

Bank Account Levies

Bank levies are the fastest and most common tactic. You give the sheriff the bank’s name and branch address. When the bank receives the levy, it immediately freezes the funds in the account.⁶ The levy captures only the balance at the moment it hits, not later deposits. The debtor then has a window to file a claim of exemption before the frozen money is turned over.

Wage Garnishment

California’s wage rules protect debtors more generously than federal law. Under CCP 706.050, the maximum weekly withholding is the lesser of 20% of disposable earnings, or 40% of the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 48 times the state minimum hourly wage.⁷ With California’s minimum wage at $16.90 per hour as of January 2026, weekly earnings up to $811.20 are fully shielded.⁸ If the debtor works in a city with a higher local minimum wage, the local rate controls, giving the debtor even more protection.

The employer begins withholding after receiving the Earnings Withholding Order and keeps deducting until the debt is satisfied or the order is withdrawn. Disposable earnings means pay after mandatory deductions for federal and state taxes, Social Security, and state disability insurance.

Vehicles, Equipment, and Inventory

The levying officer can seize vehicles, business equipment, inventory, and other tangible property, take it into custody, and sell it at auction.⁹ For business property, the sheriff can enter the business premises and post a Notice of Levy. Entering a private residence requires a separate court order.

Going After Real Estate

Forcing the sale of real property is the heaviest tool in the box, and it rarely moves quickly. Treat it as a last resort after bank and wage levies have come up short.

Record an Abstract of Judgment First

Record an Abstract of Judgment (form EJ-001) with the county recorder in any county where the debtor owns property. Recording creates a judicial lien that attaches to all real property the debtor owns in that county at the time, plus anything acquired later.¹⁰ The lien lasts 10 years from the date of entry and surfaces in any title search, which effectively blocks the debtor from selling or refinancing without dealing with you.

Forcing the Sale

A lien is not a sale. To actually compel the sale, you apply to the court for an order of sale, showing the equity exceeds the homestead exemption and that other collection methods haven’t satisfied the judgment. If the property is a dwelling, you must comply with the additional requirements of CCP 704.750 within 20 days of the levy or the property gets released.

If the court approves the sale, the sheriff posts a Notice of Levy at the property, serves copies on co-owners and other recorded lienholders, and schedules a public auction advertised in a newspaper of general circulation for at least 20 days before the sale.¹⁰ You can bid at the auction using a credit bid, offsetting the purchase price against what you’re owed instead of paying cash. The buyer takes a sheriff’s deed subject to senior liens. Any surplus above the judgment amount goes to junior lienholders and then to the debtor.

Property Protected From Seizure

California shields certain assets from any writ of execution. Pursuing exempt property wastes your time and your filing fees.

Homestead Exemption

The homestead exemption protects equity in the debtor’s primary residence. The amount equals the greater of $300,000 or the countywide median sale price for a single-family home in the prior calendar year, capped at $600,000. Both the floor and the cap adjust annually for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index.¹¹ In high-cost counties the inflation-adjusted cap applies; elsewhere the floor controls. For most homeowners with moderate equity, the exemption makes a forced sale uneconomic because nothing is left after the exemption and senior liens are paid.

Personal Property Exemptions

The following dollar amounts are effective as of April 1, 2025 and adjust every three years based on the California Consumer Price Index:¹²

Motor vehicle equity up to $8,625 in aggregate.
Tools of the trade up to $8,725 in equity, including equipment and uniforms reasonably necessary for the debtor’s occupation. A commercial motor vehicle used for work has a separate sub-limit of $4,850.
Ordinary household furnishings and appliances, without a specific dollar cap, so long as they are reasonable for a household.
Retirement accounts, including 401(k) plans and IRAs.

These exemptions are not automatic. The debtor has to claim them by filing a Claim of Exemption after the levy. Missing the deadline forfeits the protection, even for property that plainly qualifies.

How a Debtor Can Fight Back

Expect pushback. California gives debtors and affected third parties several ways to challenge a levy.

Claim of Exemption

If the sheriff levies property the debtor believes is exempt, the debtor files a Claim of Exemption with the levying officer, identifying the exemption and attaching a financial statement. If you dispute it, the court holds a hearing. The property generally can’t be sold until the claim is resolved.

Third-Party Claim

When the sheriff takes property that belongs to someone other than the debtor, that person can file a Third-Party Claim. The sale halts, and either side can petition for a hearing within 15 days. The court must hold the hearing within 20 days of the petition.¹³ The third party can also seek an emergency order staying the sale while ownership is sorted out.

Motion to Quash

If the levy is tainted by procedural error (defective notice, a miscalculated balance, a levy on the wrong person’s property), the debtor can move to quash the writ outright. Courts take procedural compliance seriously because forced seizure is an extraordinary remedy.

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy stops a writ of execution cold. The moment the debtor files, the federal automatic stay halts almost all collection activity, including pending levies, wage garnishments, and scheduled sales. A creditor who ignores the stay can face actual damages, attorney’s fees, and in willful cases punitive damages.¹⁴ If you learn of a bankruptcy filing, call the sheriff immediately to halt any pending levy.

Keeping the Judgment Alive

A California money judgment expires after 10 years. Once it expires, you permanently lose the right to enforce it. Renewal is available starting 5 years after entry, and there is no limit on the number of renewals. Each renewal extends enforceability for another 10 years.¹⁵

One exception applies to smaller individual debts. For judgments entered or renewed on or after January 1, 2023 against an individual (not a business), renewal is limited to a single 5-year extension if the balance is under $200,000 for medical debt or under $50,000 for personal debt. Judgments based on fraud, torts, or unpaid wages are excluded from this limitation.¹⁵

To renew, file an Application for and Renewal of Judgment (form EJ-190) and a Notice of Renewal of Judgment (form EJ-195) with the court clerk, with a $45 filing fee. Serve the debtor, who then has 60 days to move to vacate or modify the renewal. Miss the 10-year deadline by a single day and the judgment is gone, so calendar the renewal window early.

1
Justia. California Code of Civil Procedure 699.510-699.560
2
Superior Court of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule
3
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 917.1
4
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 685.010
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California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 708.110
6
Judicial Branch of California. How to Get a Writ of Execution
7
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 706.050
8
California Department of Industrial Relations. Minimum Wage
9
Justia. California Code of Civil Procedure 700.010-700.200
10
Justia. California Code of Civil Procedure 697.310-697.410
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California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 704.730
12
Judicial Council of California. EJ-156 Current Dollar Amounts of Exemptions From Enforcement of Judgments
13
Justia. California Code of Civil Procedure 720.310-720.430
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 362 – Automatic Stay
15
Judicial Branch of California. Renew a Civil Judgment