How to File a Motion to Appoint a Receiver in California

To file a motion to appoint a receiver in California, you need an existing civil case, a statutory ground under Code of Civil Procedure section 564, and a filing package that convinces the judge no lesser remedy will protect the property at issue. The motion is noticed to every party, filed in the Superior Court where the case is pending, and decided at a hearing where you carry the burden of proof. Courts call receivership a drastic remedy and mean it, so the quality of your declarations matters as much as the legal argument.

Confirm You Have a Statutory Ground

Your motion has to fit at least one category listed in Code of Civil Procedure section 564. The facts in your declarations must directly support the ground you invoke, not just gesture at it.¹

Partnership or joint-ownership disputes where property or funds are at risk of being lost, stolen, or seriously damaged. This is common in business breakups involving drained accounts or neglected assets.
Foreclosure actions where the property is likely worth less than the debt, or the borrower is letting it deteriorate.
Post-judgment enforcement, to carry out the judgment, sell property to satisfy it, or preserve assets during appeal.
Corporate dissolution, where a creditor or shareholder needs a receiver to collect debts, liquidate, and distribute funds.
Corporate insolvency, imminent insolvency, or loss of corporate rights.
Certain unlawful detainer situations.
Enforcement of an assignment-of-rents provision in a mortgage or deed of trust.
A catch-all covering any other situation where a receiver is necessary to preserve property or protect a party’s rights.

The catch-all gives the court flexibility, but treat it as a fallback. Judges want a specific statutory hook whenever one applies, and leading with the catch-all reads as an admission that no better ground exists.

The Standard You Have to Meet

Courts consistently describe receivership as a drastic remedy, and that language sets the bar. The moving party must show that no less intrusive alternative will work. If a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, or stipulated agreement between the parties could solve the problem, the court will point you there instead.

So your papers need to explain both why a receiver is appropriate and why other remedies are not. Judges want specifics: dollar amounts missing from accounts, photographs of physical neglect, evidence that a co-owner has changed locks and cut off access, or proof that a party has ignored prior court orders. Conclusory statements about “danger” to the property will not carry the motion. A declaration from someone with firsthand knowledge, or from a forensic accountant or property manager, does much more work than argument alone.

Build the Motion Package

A motion to appoint a receiver is a noticed motion, filed with the court and served on all parties with enough lead time for them to respond before the hearing. The complete package includes:

A notice of motion identifying the relief requested, the hearing date and courtroom, and the legal grounds.
A memorandum of points and authorities explaining which statutory ground applies, why the facts satisfy it, and why lesser remedies are inadequate.
Supporting declarations from people with firsthand knowledge, laying out the specifics that establish risk to the property.
A proposed order defining the precise scope of the receiver’s authority and duties. Draft this carefully. Overly broad proposed orders invite opposition and judicial skepticism.
A declaration from your nominated receiver describing qualifications, relevant experience, proposed fee structure, and absence of conflicts of interest.

Any party in the case can nominate a proposed receiver, including the party opposing appointment. Selecting a well-qualified candidate early strengthens your position, because courts pay close attention to whether the proposed receiver has the right expertise for the asset type at stake.

Filing, Fee, and Service

File the package with the clerk of the Superior Court where your case is pending. As of January 1, 2026, the filing fee for a motion requiring a hearing is $60.² Serve every party in the case under the standard notice requirements in the California Rules of Court for noticed motions, and keep proof of service for your file.

At the hearing, be ready to answer questions about the proposed receiver’s qualifications, the scope of authority you want granted, and the adequacy of proposed bond amounts. Judges frequently modify proposed orders from the bench, narrowing powers or raising the bond.

When the Property Cannot Wait: Ex Parte Applications

If waiting for a regular hearing would cause irreparable harm, you can apply ex parte. California Rules of Court, Rule 3.1175 adds requirements beyond a standard motion. Your verified complaint or declaration must state:

The nature of the emergency and why irreparable injury would occur before a regular hearing could be held.
The names, addresses, and phone numbers of every person currently in possession of the property, or the officers of any corporation holding it.
How the property is currently being used by whoever possesses it.
Whether taking the property would shut down or seriously disrupt an operating business, including the nature and size of that business.

If you cannot determine any of these facts after reasonable effort, your declaration must say so and describe the steps you took.³

An ex parte appointment also requires the applicant to post a bond in an amount the court sets, which protects the opposing party from damages if the appointment turns out to have been wrongfully or maliciously obtained.⁴ Judicial Council form RC-200 is the standard ex parte order and includes a field for the bond amount.⁵

Who You Can Nominate

California law does not set minimum qualifications, but it disqualifies certain people from serving: a party to the lawsuit, an attorney for any party, and anyone related to the presiding judge.⁴ Beyond those restrictions, judges strongly favor experienced professionals who have handled similar assets, whether commercial real estate, an operating business, or a complex financial portfolio.

Before starting work, every appointed receiver must be sworn in and post an undertaking payable to the State of California in an amount the court sets. The receiver can recover the cost of that bond as an expense of the receivership.⁶

Know What You Are Setting in Motion

A receiver’s authority comes entirely from the court’s appointment order. Anything not authorized in that order is off-limits. Within those boundaries, the receiver can take possession of the property, collect rents and debts, enter into settlements, and generally act to protect the asset.⁷ Because the order defines the boundaries, spend real time on the proposed order you file with your motion.

Selling property is treated separately. A receiver can sell real or personal property only with a specific court order, following the notice procedures used for judgment enforcement sales, and no sale becomes final until the court confirms it.⁸

Cost is worth weighing before you file. Receiver fees, attorney fees for the receiver’s counsel, bond premiums, and operational costs all draw from the receivership estate, and if the estate is thin the court can order a party to pay directly. When the property generates little income, a receivership can consume what it is meant to preserve.

If You Are Opposing the Motion

If the motion has been filed against you, the opposition should focus on necessity. The strongest arguments generally fall into a few categories:

No statutory ground applies. Challenge the factual declarations and show the property is not actually at risk.
Less drastic alternatives exist. Propose a specific one: a restraining order, a stipulated management arrangement, or agreed accounting procedures. Concrete proposals land better than abstract objections.
The proposed receiver is unsuitable due to conflict, inexperience, or ties to the moving party. You can nominate your own candidate.
Costs will outweigh benefits. Where the receivership would drain the very assets it is supposed to protect, say so plainly.

File the opposition within the timeframe required by the California Rules of Court for noticed motions, and support it with your own declarations.¹

1
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 564
2
Judicial Branch of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026
3
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 3.1175 – Ex Parte Application for Appointment of Receiver
4
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 566
5
Judicial Council of California. RC-200 – Ex Parte Order Appointing Receiver
6
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 567
7
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 568
8
California Public Law. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 568.5