Division 8. Alternative Dispute Resolution · Chapter 2. Judicial Arbitration · Last amended 2016 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceThis rule has the clerk automatically enter the arbitration award as a final, enforceable judgment sixty days after it is filed if no party requested a trial or filed a dismissal, and that judgment can only be challenged through the narrow vacation procedure in rule 3.828.
(a)Entry of award as judgment by clerk The clerk must enter the award as a judgment immediately upon the expiration of 60 days after the award is filed if no party has, during that period, served and filed either:
(1)A request for trial as provided in these rules; or
(2)A Request for Dismissal (form CIV-110) of the entire case or as to all parties to the arbitration. The Request for Dismissal must be fully completed. If the request is for dismissal of the entire case, it must include the signatures of all parties. If the request is for dismissal as to all parties to the arbitration, it must include the signatures of all those parties. (Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2013; previously amended effective January 1, 2012.)
(b)Notice of entry of judgment Promptly upon entry of the award as a judgment, the clerk must serve notice of entry of judgment on all parties who have appeared in the case and must execute a certificate of service and place it in the court’s file in the case. (Subd (b) amended effective January 1, 2016.)
(c)Effect of judgment The judgment so entered has the same force and effect in all respects as, and is subject to all provisions of law relating to, a judgment in a civil case or proceeding, except that it is not subject to appeal and it may not be attacked or set aside except as provided in rule 3.828. The judgment so entered may be enforced as if it had been rendered by the court in which it is entered.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 3.827 is the payoff for an award no one contests. If sixty days pass after the award is filed and no party has requested a trial or filed a completed Request for Dismissal covering the case or the arbitration parties, the clerk enters the award as a judgment automatically — no motion or court hearing is needed to trigger it. Once entered, the clerk promptly notifies everyone who has appeared in the case and places a certificate of that service in the file.
The judgment that results is a real judgment. It carries the same force and effect, and follows the same rules of enforcement, as any other civil judgment, and it can be enforced exactly as if the court itself had rendered it after a trial. The one meaningful difference is finality: this judgment cannot be appealed, and the only way to challenge it is through the specific motion to vacate described in rule 3.828, not through an ordinary appeal or a general motion to set aside a judgment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does someone have to ask the court to enter the arbitration award as a judgment?
No. The clerk enters the award as a judgment automatically once sixty days pass after the award is filed, as long as no party requested a trial or filed a Request for Dismissal in that window.
What stops the award from becoming a judgment?
A timely request for trial under rule 3.826, or a properly completed Request for Dismissal of the entire case or of all parties to the arbitration, filed within the sixty-day period.
Can I appeal a judgment entered on an arbitration award?
No. The judgment is not subject to appeal. It can only be attacked or set aside through the motion to vacate procedure in rule 3.828.
Is a judgment entered this way as enforceable as an ordinary court judgment?
Yes. It has the same force and effect as, and is enforceable exactly like, a judgment the court renders itself in a civil case.
Amendment History
Rule 3.827 amended effective January 1, 2016; adopted effective January 1, 2007; previously amended effective January 1, 2012, and January 1, 2013.
Source & verification. Rule text is reproduced verbatim from
the Judicial Council of California. Adopted by the Judicial Council of California.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
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