California Writ of Execution: How EJ-130 Is Issued and Levied

In California, the judgment creditor completes Judicial Council form EJ-130 and files it with the court clerk, paying a $40 fee or asking for a fee waiver. The clerk stamps and issues the writ. The creditor then sends the issued writ, with written instructions, to the levying officer in the county where the money or property sits.

The California Courts guide to getting a Writ of Execution and the form itself set out the sequence:

1. Add costs and interest first, if you want them. Collection costs and interest are claimed on form MC-012. The guide says amounts over $100 are easier to add before the writ; $100 or less can be filed with it.
2. Complete EJ-130. Items 11 through 18 build the total due: the judgment (or its most recent renewal), costs after judgment under Code of Civil Procedure 685.040 to 685.090, credits to principal (payments go to interest first under 695.220), accrued interest and the issuance fee. Item 19a gives the daily interest the levying officer adds from the date of the writ.
3. Name the debtor and the judgment. Item 4 lists the debtor and last known address, with other names on an affidavit of identity under 680.135. Item 6 shows any renewal, and item 21 says whether the judgment is for wages owed, support, personal debt or something else.
4. Verify the address in a personal debt case. If item 21 says personal debt, the creditor must give the levying officer a Declaration of Address Verification, form WG-015/EJ-135, and file it with the court within 10 business days. That form, citing 684.130, requires the address to be verified within the 12 months before papers go to the levying officer.
5. Get it issued. The clerk stamps, dates and issues the writ.
6. Deliver it with instructions. The writ goes to the sheriff or marshal with Request for Sheriff to Serve Court Papers (SER-001) and Special Instructions for Writs and Levies (SER-001A), plus the bank or wage forms described below.

The levying officer is the sheriff or marshal named in item 1 of EJ-130, and the county you write there matters. Each levy is served where the target is, and the self-help guides spell out what that means for the 2 most common targets:

Not every sheriff serves bank levies, so the bank levy guide suggests calling first to ask about fees, extra copies and county forms. Where the sheriff does not serve them, a professional server can deliver the papers, and the sheriff still holds and releases the money.

Each person served receives a Notice of Levy, form EJ-150. A bank or other third party holding the debtor's property must turn over what it holds unless it claims a security interest or a right to keep it. It must also return a Memorandum of Garnishee (AT-167/EJ-152) within 10 days. That memorandum describes what was levied, anything withheld and why, and other property or debts owed to the debtor that the writ did not catch. It does not apply to garnishment of earnings.

A California writ is good for 180 days after the clerk issues it, according to the California Courts self-help guide, so the levy must start inside that window or the creditor needs a new EJ-130. The judgment behind the writ lasts 10 years and can be renewed on form EJ-190 before it runs out.

The two clocks run separately. An expired writ costs a new filing fee; an expired judgment ends collection for good. The renewal rules, from the self-help pages on renewing a civil judgment and judgment renewals and interest rates:

An application to renew can be filed once the judgment is 5 years old and must be filed before it turns 10; the guide warns that a single day late is too late. The debtor has 60 days after service of the Notice of Renewal (EJ-195) to move to vacate it. Item 6 of EJ-130 records the renewal and whether it extended the judgment 5 or 10 years. A creditor already collecting through a bank levy or wage garnishment gives the levying officer a certified copy of the renewal application to keep the collection going.

Interest generally runs from entry of the judgment, and partial payments are credited to interest first, then principal, as MC-013-INFO (Rev. January 1, 2026) works through in examples. The information sheet cites Code of Civil Procedure 685.010 and 685.020(a) for these rates.

A writ reaches property the debtor has, controls or holds title to, as Notice of Levy form EJ-150 puts it, unless an exemption applies. Form EJ-155 lists the exemptions and EJ-156 gives current dollar amounts, such as the $2,325 a bank must automatically protect in a deposit account from July 1, 2026.

The figures below come from form EJ-156 (Rev. July 20, 2026). Most are effective April 1, 2025 and are adjusted every 3 years under Code of Civil Procedure 703.150; the deposit account amount is adjusted every July 1.

The automatic deposit account protection does not apply when the levy is for wages owed, child or spousal support, or a liability to the state, according to EJ-150. A debtor claiming any other exemption on personal property files a Claim of Exemption (EJ-160) within 15 days of personal service, or 20 days if the notice was mailed. A creditor who disagrees must act within 15 days of receiving the claim, using forms EJ-170 and EJ-175, or the sheriff returns the money. EJ-155 also lists pensions, public benefits, the homestead and many other categories by code section.

Real property is the slowest target. EJ-150 says notice of an execution sale of real property cannot be given until at least 120 days after the debtor is served with the Notice of Levy, and that execution sales are final with no right of redemption. For a dwelling, the self-help collection overview says the law protects a large amount of the equity in the debtor's home, and the court must be involved whenever the sheriff wants to sell property with a home on it.

Bank levy. The bank levy guide calls it a one-time action: the bank freezes the account, checks for exempt money, and reports back on the Memorandum of Garnishee. To try again later, the creditor must do another levy. The guide covers 3 special cases:

• Spouse or registered domestic partner. An account in that person's name may be levied with a sworn declaration (form MC-030) stating the relationship.
• Fictitious business name. An account under a DBA registered to the debtor or the debtor's spouse can be reached with a certified, unexpired copy of the Fictitious Business Name Statement.
• Joint accounts. The bank and sheriff decide what can be taken and what is protected.

If the debtor has accounts at more than one bank, either side may ask the court how to apply the deposit account exemption under 704.220(e) using form EJ-157; without an order, EJ-150 says the bank chooses.

Wage garnishment. The writ goes to the sheriff in the employer's county with an Application for Earnings Withholding Order (WG-001), the Earnings Withholding Order (WG-002) and the Employer's Return (WG-005). The sheriff serves the employer, who returns WG-005 within 15 days and then withholds from each paycheck. WG-002, citing Code of Civil Procedure 706.050, caps the withholding at the lesser of 20 percent of disposable earnings or 40 percent of the amount by which disposable earnings exceed the applicable minimum wage. The employer pays the levying officer by the 15th of the following month.

The order does not follow the debtor to a new job; the wage garnishment guide says a new employer means starting the process again. A debtor may file a Claim of Exemption (WG-006) with a Financial Statement (EJ-165), and a creditor who opposes it has 10 days from the WG-008 notice to send the sheriff a Notice of Hearing (WG-010).

Business debtors. The collection overview lists a till tap, where the sheriff takes cash from the register; a keeper, who stays at the business and collects from customers; and a levy on rent or other money owed to the business.

Every form above asks the creditor to name something: the bank office on the sheriff's special instructions, the employer on WG-001, the property in item 1 of the Notice of Levy. The court system's own overview starts with the same need. Before choosing a method, it says, learn what income or property the debtor has, and it points to a debtor examination where the debtor answers questions about employers, accounts, property and businesses.

Recorded and registered assets can be found from public records before that exam. That is the job of the $295 Creditor-Status Profile: a nationwide asset search for judgment creditors with a permissible purpose. It covers real estate with mortgage positions, equity estimates and deed history; vehicle, watercraft and aircraft registrations; business entities and officer positions; UCC filings; tax and judgment liens; litigation and bankruptcy; and property transfer analysis. It is delivered in 1 to 5 days, depending on complexity and county.

How California creditors use the findings:

• Real estate and equity show whether a parcel is worth the 120-day real property process, and in which county to record. For a single parcel, the $595 Title Search & Asset Equity Analysis lists every lien in priority order and the equity left.
• Vehicle and vessel registrations are the starting point for checking whether equity exceeds the $8,625 motor vehicle exemption before a sheriff is sent out.
• Business entities and officer positions point to the business debtor remedies above, or to an entity a California debtor controls.
• UCC filings and liens show who already claims the property and ranks ahead of a new levy.
• Property transfer analysis flags suspicious conveyances.

For the statewide picture of California records, see the California asset search page. For how the writ works outside California, see the general writ of execution guide.

• It does not prepare, file or serve EJ-130 or any levy papers. The creditor or its attorney, the clerk and the levying officer do that.
• It does not give legal advice. Which exemption applies, whether a judgment is for personal debt, and which rate or renewal term governs are questions for your attorney or the court.
• It does not sell bank account information. Account records are reached through court process, such as the debtor examination, and the bank account asset search page explains that route.
• It does not promise a recovery. A report shows what the records show on the date of the search; whether a levy pays depends on exemptions, prior liens and the debtor.
• It is not title insurance. It is a records examination.

Every legal statement above comes from a Judicial Council form or a California Courts self-help page opened on October 23, 2026:

• Judicial Council forms EJ-130 (Rev. July 1, 2026), EJ-150 (Rev. July 1, 2026), AT-167/EJ-152, EJ-155, EJ-156 (Rev. July 20, 2026), EJ-190, MC-012, MC-013-INFO (Rev. January 1, 2026), WG-001, WG-002 (Rev. January 1, 2026) and WG-015/EJ-135 (Rev. July 1, 2026).
• California Courts self-help guides: How to get a Writ of Execution, bank levy, wage garnishment, How to collect a judgment, Renew a civil judgment and Judgment renewals and interest rates.

Code sections are cited as the forms cite them. Read the current code and your county's levying officer instructions before relying on any amount or deadline. More on the firm is on the about U.S. Asset Records page.

Published October 23, 2026 by U.S. Asset Records. Prices, delivery times and exemption amounts on this page are current as of that date. This page explains public court forms; it is not legal advice.

California Writ Questions

Name the Assets Before the Sheriff Goes Out

Real estate, vehicles, vessels, aircraft, business interests and recorded liens, searched across all 50 states for judgment creditors. The $295 Creditor-Status Profile, delivered in 1 to 5 days.