§ 1268.030.Final Order If Full Amount Paid

Title 7. Eminent Domain Law · Chapter 11. Postjudgment Procedure · Article 1. Payment of Judgment; Final Order of Condemnation · Enacted 1975 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026

In one sentenceSection 1268.030 requires the court, once the judgment has been paid or satisfied, to enter a final order of condemnation describing the property and the judgment, and provides that recording a certified copy of that order vests title in the plaintiff.

Full Text of § 1268.030

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(a) Upon application of any party, the court shall make a final order of condemnation if the full amount of the judgment has been paid as required by Section 1268.010 or satisfied pursuant to Section 1268.020.

(b) The final order of condemnation shall describe the property taken and identify the judgment authorizing the taking.

(c) The party upon whose application the order was made shall serve notice of the making of the order on all other parties affected thereby. Any party affected by the order may thereafter record a certified copy of the order in the office of the recorder of the county in which the property is located and shall serve notice of recordation upon all other parties affected thereby. Title to the property vests in the plaintiff upon the date of recordation.

Plain-English Summary

Payment alone doesn't transfer ownership. This section supplies the last formal step: once the full judgment amount has been paid under § 1268.010 or otherwise satisfied under § 1268.020, any party can ask the court for a final order of condemnation, and the court must issue one.

That order has to do two things: describe the property being taken and identify the judgment that authorized the taking. From there, the party who requested the order serves notice of it on everyone else affected. Any affected party can then record a certified copy with the county recorder where the property sits, and once that recording happens, the notice of recordation goes out to the other parties.

Title itself doesn't pass at judgment, and it doesn't pass when the order issues. It passes on the date the certified copy is recorded. That recording date is the hinge point for everything that depends on ownership, including the tax-liability rules in Article 5.

Frequently Asked Questions

When must the court issue a final order of condemnation?

Upon application of any party, once the full judgment amount has been paid or otherwise satisfied.

What must the final order of condemnation contain?

A description of the property taken and identification of the judgment that authorized the taking.

When does title to the property pass to the condemning agency?

On the date a certified copy of the final order of condemnation is recorded with the county recorder, not on the date of judgment or the date the order is signed.

Amendment History

Added by Stats. 1975, Ch. 1275.

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: final order of condemnation californiawhen title passes eminent domain