How to Fill Out and File California Form EJ-125: Service, Lien, and Hearing

California Form EJ-125, the Application and Order for Appearance and Examination, is what a judgment creditor files to force a judgment debtor — or a third party holding the debtor’s property or owing the debtor more than $250 — into court to answer questions about assets, income, and bank accounts. You complete the two-page form, file it with the court that entered the judgment, pay a $60 filing fee, and the clerk sets a hearing date. The order then has to be personally served on the person you want examined within strict timeframes. Done correctly, the examination gives you the account numbers, employer information, and property details you need to actually collect on your judgment.¹

When You Can File EJ-125

You need a money judgment already in place. Beyond that, a few gates decide whether EJ-125 is the right form and whether the court will grant your order without a fight.

If you haven’t examined the judgment debtor in the past 120 days, the court must grant your application when you file it. No hearing, no special showing. If you have examined the debtor within the past 120 days, you’ll need to attach an affidavit showing good cause for another examination, and the court may require a noticed motion before issuing the order.²

Consumer Debt Judgments Entered On or After January 1, 2025

You cannot use EJ-125 if the underlying judgment is for consumer debt and was entered on or after January 1, 2025. Consumer debt here means money owed for personal or household purchases such as groceries or clothing. It does not include unpaid rent, unpaid wages, or debts arising from fraud or personal injury. For judgments in that restricted category, the correct form is EJ-141 (Application and Order to Appear for Examination — Consumer Debt).³

Geographic Limits

The person you want examined must live or have a place of business in the county where the examination will be held, or within 150 miles of the courthouse. If the debtor lives more than 150 miles from the court that entered your judgment, you’ll need to file in the county where the debtor lives or works. That means first obtaining an Abstract of Judgment (Form EJ-001), then filing EJ-125 in the closer court along with a declaration explaining why the examination needs to happen there.¹

Filling Out the Form

Download the current version of EJ-125 from the California Courts website. It is two pages. You complete the top portion of page 1 and all of page 2; the clerk and judge handle the order section at the bottom of page 1.³

Page 1: Caption

Enter your name and address as the judgment creditor, your attorney’s name and bar number if you have one, and the name and address of the court. Fill in the plaintiff/petitioner and defendant/respondent names exactly as they appear on the original judgment, along with the case number. Leave the order block blank. The court will fill in the hearing date, time, department, and location.

Page 2: The Application

Work through each numbered item:

Item 4: Check whether you are the original judgment creditor, an assignee of record, or a plaintiff with a right to attach order. Then write the full name of the person you want examined.
Item 5: Check box (a) if you’re examining the judgment debtor. Check box (b) if you’re examining a third party who holds the debtor’s property or owes the debtor more than $250, and attach the supporting affidavit required by CCP Section 708.120.⁴
Item 6: Check this box to confirm the application does not involve a consumer debt judgment entered on or after January 1, 2025.
Item 7: Check this box to confirm the person to be examined lives or works in the county, or within 150 miles of the courthouse.
Item 8: Check this only if you’re filing in a different court than the one that entered the judgment. If so, attach a supporting affidavit under CCP Section 708.160.
Item 9: Check this only if the debtor was examined within the past 120 days, and attach an affidavit showing good cause for another examination.

Sign and date the declaration at the bottom under penalty of perjury, and print your name clearly next to the signature.

Filing With the Clerk

Bring the completed original and copies to the clerk at the court where the judgment was entered, or at the appropriate court if you’re filing elsewhere under the 150-mile rule. Pay the $60 filing fee. If you can’t afford it, apply for a fee waiver. The clerk stamps the form, assigns a hearing date, and returns copies to you. When the application doesn’t require a good-cause showing, the order is typically processed the same day.¹

Serving the Order

Service is where debtor examinations most often fall apart, and the rules differ depending on who you’re examining.

Serving the Judgment Debtor

The order must be personally served on the judgment debtor at least 30 days before the examination date. Personal service means handing the papers directly to the debtor; mail will not do. Service must be performed in the manner specified in CCP Section 415.10, meaning by a sheriff, a registered process server, or someone appointed by the court. The sheriff typically charges around $40 unless you have a fee waiver.²

This matters more than it might sound. If a debtor who was properly served by a sheriff, registered process server, or court-appointed person fails to appear, the court can issue a bench warrant. If anyone else served the papers, that remedy is gone. Use a professional server.

Serving a Third Party

Third-party service runs on a shorter clock and has an extra requirement. The third party must be personally served at least 10 days before the examination. You must also serve the judgment debtor, by personal service or mail, at least 10 days before the hearing. On top of that, the person serving the order must tender mileage fees to the third party at the time of service, calculated the same way as witness fees for civil proceedings. Skip the mileage tender and the order is not effective.⁴

Proof of Service

After service, file a Proof of Service with the court before the hearing. Form POS-040 documents who was served, when, where, and how.⁵ Without it, the court has no record that the debtor received notice, and you’ll lose the ability to enforce the order if they don’t show.

Add a Subpoena for Financial Records

The order to appear doesn’t require the debtor to bring documents. If you want pay stubs, bank statements, or tax returns in hand at the hearing, you need a separate subpoena. Use Civil Subpoena (Form SUBP-002) for general civil cases, or Small Claims Subpoena and Declaration (Form SC-107) for small claims. The clerk must issue (sign or stamp) the subpoena before you fill it out, so bring it along when you file EJ-125.⁶

On page 2 of the subpoena, list the specific records you want: pay stubs, bank account statements, tax returns, vehicle registration documents, deeds, investment account records, and invoices or accounts receivable if the debtor is self-employed. Be specific. A request for “all financial records” is likely to produce nothing useful or invite an objection.

The Lien Service Creates

Serving the order has an effect that creditors sometimes overlook. When you serve a judgment debtor, a lien attaches to the debtor’s personal property for one year from the date of the order, unless the court extends or terminates it sooner.²

When you serve a third party, the lien attaches to the debtor’s interest in the property that third party holds, or to the debt the third party owes the debtor, for one year, provided your affidavit described the property or debt clearly enough to identify it. The court can also order the third party not to transfer the property or pay the debt while the examination is pending.⁴

At the Hearing

The examination takes place in the courtroom or before a court-appointed referee. You ask questions, under oath, and the debtor answers. Plan the questions in advance. The California Courts Self-Help Guide publishes a detailed list of suggested questions organized by category, covering employment and income, bank accounts, real estate, vehicles and valuables, and personal identifying details.⁷ Ask about wage deductions for child support, back taxes, or bankruptcy repayments, since those affect what’s left to levy. The debtor is not required to give you a Social Security number.

The examination itself doesn’t collect any money. It gives you the information to go after specific assets through a Writ of Execution (Form EJ-130), a wage garnishment, or an Abstract of Judgment recorded against real property.⁸ If what you learn points to a third party holding significant assets, you can file another EJ-125 to examine that third party. Take detailed notes; the information can go stale fast if the debtor starts moving money after the hearing.

If the Debtor Doesn’t Appear

A debtor who was properly served by a sheriff, registered process server, or court-appointed individual and fails to show up faces real consequences. The court can issue a bench warrant and hold the debtor in contempt. If the failure to appear was without good cause, the court must award the creditor reasonable attorney’s fees for the examination proceeding, and those fees are added to the principal of the judgment, earning the same 10% annual interest as the original amount.⁹ The same consequences apply to a third party who fails to appear after proper service.

Two cautions. If someone other than a sheriff, process server, or court-appointed person served the order, the court cannot issue a warrant for nonappearance. And anyone who willfully makes improper service that leads to an arrest is guilty of a misdemeanor. Professional service is not optional if you want enforcement teeth.

Exemptions the Debtor Can Claim

In a third-party examination, the judgment debtor can claim that some or all of the property or debt is exempt from collection. The claim has to be filed with the court and personally served on the creditor no later than three days before the examination date, and the court decides the exemption claim at the hearing.⁴ Common exemptions include portions of wages, certain bank account funds, and tools of the debtor’s trade. Knowing in advance what is likely exempt helps you focus questions on assets you can actually reach.

1
California Courts | Self Help Guide. How to Get a Debtor’s Examination
2
California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 708.110
3
Judicial Council of California. AT-138/EJ-125 Application and Order for Appearance and Examination
4
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 708.120
5
Judicial Council of California. Proof of Service — Civil (Form POS-040)
6
California Courts | Self Help Guide. How to Get a Debtor’s Examination
7
California Courts | Self Help Guide. Questions to Ask in a Debtor’s Examination
8
California Courts | Self Help Guide. How to Get a Writ of Execution
9
California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 685.010