If an award is confirmed, judgment shall be entered in conformity therewith. The judgment so entered has the same force and effect as, and is subject to all the provisions of law relating to, a judgment in a civil action of the same jurisdictional classification; and it may be enforced like any other judgment of the court in which it is entered, in an action of the same jurisdictional classification.
§ 1287.4.Judgment Confirming Award
Title 9. Arbitration · Chapter 4. Enforcement of the Award · Article 1. Confirmation, Correction or Vacation of the Award · Last amended 1998 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1287.4 provides that once an award is confirmed, the court enters judgment in conformity with it, and that judgment carries the same force, legal effect, and enforceability as any other judgment of the same jurisdictional classification entered in a civil action.
Full Text of § 1287.4
Plain-English Summary
Confirmation is the pivotal moment in this chapter, and this section spells out exactly what it accomplishes: once the court confirms the award, judgment is entered in conformity with it. That judgment is not some special, limited category of court order -- it has the same force and effect as, and is subject to all the same provisions of law governing, a judgment in a civil action of the same jurisdictional classification.
That means the party who obtained confirmation gets access to the ordinary tools for enforcing a civil judgment -- the judgment can be enforced like any other judgment of the court in which it was entered, in an action of the same jurisdictional classification. A private arbitration award, once confirmed, becomes just as enforceable as if a court had decided the case itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens once the court confirms an arbitration award?
Judgment is entered in conformity with the award.
Is a judgment on a confirmed arbitration award different from any other civil judgment?
No -- it has the same force, effect, and enforceability as a judgment in a civil action of the same jurisdictional classification.
Can the winning party use ordinary judgment-enforcement tools after confirmation?
Yes -- the judgment may be enforced like any other judgment of the court in which it is entered.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 931, Sec. 124. Effective September 28, 1998.
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: judgment on confirmed arbitration award californiaenforce arbitration award as judgment