(a) Upon the levy under a writ of attachment or execution not founded upon a claim for labor, any miner, mechanic, salesman, servant, clerk, laborer or other person who has performed work or rendered personal services for the defendant within 90 days prior to the levy may file a verified statement of the claim with the officer executing the writ, file a copy with the court that issued the writ, and give copies, containing his or her address, to the plaintiff and the defendant, or any attorney, clerk or agent representing them, or mail copies to them by registered mail at their last known address, return of which by the post office undelivered shall be deemed a sufficient service if no better address is available, and that claim, not exceeding nine hundred dollars ($900), unless disputed, shall be paid by the officer, immediately upon the expiration of the time for dispute of the claim as prescribed in Section 1207, from the proceeds of the levy remaining in the officer's hands at the time of the filing of the statement or collectible by the officer on the basis of the writ.
§ 1206.Statement of Claim Filed By Persons Performing Work Or Rendering Services Upon Levy Under Writ of Attachment Or Execution
Title 4. Of the Enforcement of Liens · Chapter 3. Certain Liens and Priorities for Salaries, Wages and Consumer Debts · Last amended 2003 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1206 lets a worker owed wages for work performed within 90 days before a levy under a writ of attachment or execution unrelated to a labor claim file a verified statement claiming up to $900 in priority from the levy proceeds, ahead of the underlying judgment or attachment debt.
Full Text of § 1206
(b) The court issuing the writ shall make a notation in the register of actions of every preferred labor claim of which it receives a copy and shall endorse on any writ of execution or abstract of judgment issued subsequently in the case that it is issued subject to the rights of a preferred labor claimant or claimants and giving the names and amounts of all preferred labor claims of which it has notice. In levying under any writ of execution the officer making the levy shall include in the amount due under the execution all preferred labor claims that have been filed in the action and of which the officer has notice, except any claims that may have been finally disallowed by the court under this procedure and of which disallowance the officer has actual notice. The amount due on preferred labor claims that have not been finally disallowed by the court shall be considered a part of the sum due under any writ of attachment or execution in augmentation of that amount and any person, firm, association, or corporation on whom a writ of attachment or execution is levied shall immediately pay to the levying officer the amount of the preferred labor claims, out of any money belonging to the defendant in the action, before paying the principal sum called for in the writ.
(c) If any claim is disputed within the time, and in the manner prescribed in Section 1207, and a copy of the dispute is mailed by registered mail to the claimant or the claimant's attorney at the address given in the statement of claim and the registry receipt is attached to the original of the dispute when it is filed with the levying officer, or is handed to the claimant or the claimant's attorney, the claimant, or the claimant's assignee, must within 10 days after the copy is deposited in the mail or is handed to the claimant or the claimant's attorney, petition the court having jurisdiction of the action on which the writ is based, for a hearing before it to determine the claim for priority, or the claim to priority is barred. If more than one attachment or execution is involved, the petition shall be filed in the court having jurisdiction over the senior attachment or execution. The hearing shall be held within 20 days from the filing of the petition, unless the court continues it for good cause. Ten days' notice of the hearing shall be given by the petitioner to the plaintiff, the defendant, and all parties claiming an interest in the property, or their attorneys. The notice may be informal and need specify only the name of the court, the names of the principal parties to the senior attachment or execution, and the name of the wage claimant or claimants on whose behalf it is filed but shall specify that the hearing is for the purpose of determining the claim for priority. The plaintiff, the defendant, or any other party claiming an interest may contest the amount or validity of the claim in spite of any confession of judgment or failure to appear or to contest the claim on the part of any other person.
(d) There shall be no cost for filing or hearing the petition. The hearing on the petition shall be informal but all parties testifying shall be sworn. Any claimant may appear on the claimant's own behalf at the hearing and may call and examine witnesses to substantiate his or her claim. An appeal may be taken from a judgment in a proceeding under this section in the manner provided for appeals from judgments of the court where the proceeding occurred, in an action of the same jurisdictional classification.
(e) The officer shall keep, until the determination of the claim for priority, any amount of the proceeds of the writ necessary to satisfy the claim. If the claim for priority is allowed, the officer shall pay the amount due, including the claimant's cost of suit, from those proceeds, immediately after the order allowing the claim becomes final.
Plain-English Summary
Sometimes a creditor levies on a defendant's assets for a debt that has nothing to do with wages, but employees or other workers who did work for that same defendant recently haven't been paid. This section gives them a fast lane to get paid from the levy proceeds before the underlying creditor collects.
Subdivision (a) lets a miner, mechanic, salesman, servant, clerk, laborer, or other worker who performed work or rendered personal services for the defendant within the 90 days before the levy file a verified claim statement with the levying officer, file a copy with the court, and serve copies on the plaintiff and defendant. If undisputed, the officer pays that claim — up to $900 — once the time to dispute it under § 1207 has passed, out of the levy proceeds on hand or collectible.
Subdivision (b) requires the court to log every preferred labor claim it receives notice of, and requires later writs and abstracts of judgment in the case to note that they're subject to those claims. The levying officer has to fold undisputed preferred claims into the amount collected under the writ, ahead of the principal sum. Subdivisions (c) and (d) lay out what happens if a claim is disputed under § 1207 — the claimant must petition the court with jurisdiction over the senior attachment or execution for a hearing within ten days of being served the dispute, or lose the claim; that hearing must happen within twenty days, is informal but under oath, and either side may appeal. Subdivision (e) requires the officer to hold back enough proceeds to cover the claim until it's resolved, then pay it, plus the claimant's costs, once the order allowing it becomes final.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can file a preferred labor claim under this section?
Any miner, mechanic, salesman, servant, clerk, laborer, or other person who performed work or rendered personal services for the defendant within the 90 days before the levy, on a writ not itself founded on a labor claim.
How much can be claimed this way?
Up to $900, paid by the officer from the levy proceeds once the time to dispute the claim under § 1207 has passed, if the claim isn't disputed.
What happens if the claim is disputed?
The claimant must petition the court with jurisdiction over the senior attachment or execution for a hearing within 10 days of being served the dispute, or the claim to priority is barred.
Does the officer have to hold back money while a dispute is pending?
Yes. Section 1206(e) requires the officer to keep enough of the levy proceeds to satisfy the claim until it's determined.
Is there a cost to file or contest one of these claims?
No. Subdivision (d) makes clear there's no cost for filing or hearing the petition.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2002 ch 664 (AB 3034),s 51, eff. 1/1/2003. Amended by Stats 2001 ch 44 (SB 562), s 7, eff. 1/1/2002.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: preferred labor claim writ of attachment californiawage claim against levy proceeds california