(a) Notice of entry of judgment shall be served promptly by the judgment creditor upon the judgment debtor in the manner provided for service of summons by Article 3 (commencing with Section 415.10) of Chapter 4 of Title 5 of Part 2. Notice shall be in a form prescribed by the Judicial Council and shall inform the judgment debtor that the judgment debtor has 30 days within which to make a motion to vacate the judgment.
§ 1710.30.Service of Notice of Entry of Judgment
Title 11. Money Judgments of Other Jurisdictions · Chapter 1. Sister State Money Judgments · Last amended 1983 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1710.30 requires prompt service of notice of entry on the judgment debtor in the manner used for summons, using a Judicial Council form warning of a 30-day window to move to vacate, with the service fee recoverable as costs capped at the public-officer rate.
Full Text of § 1710.30
(b) The fee for service of the notice of entry of judgment under this section is an item of costs recoverable in the same manner as statutory fees for service of a writ as provided in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 685.010) of Division 1 of Title 9 of Part 2, but such fee may not exceed the amount allowed to a public officer or employee in this state for such service.
Plain-English Summary
A debtor has no way to challenge a registered judgment without knowing it exists, so this section requires the creditor to serve notice promptly after entry. Service follows the same rules used for serving an original summons, and the notice itself must use a form the Judicial Council prescribes, one that tells the debtor plainly that a motion to vacate the judgment must be made within 30 days.
The section also addresses who pays for that service. The cost of serving the notice is recoverable from the debtor as an item of costs, the same way statutory fees for serving a writ are recoverable elsewhere in this code, but the amount cannot exceed what a public officer or employee in California would charge for equivalent service. That cap keeps the cost of notifying an out-of-state or otherwise hard-to-locate debtor from becoming a windfall for the creditor.
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon must the judgment debtor be notified after the judgment is entered?
Promptly. The judgment creditor must serve notice of entry on the debtor without unreasonable delay after the clerk enters judgment.
What does the notice have to tell the debtor?
Using a Judicial Council form, it must inform the debtor that there are 30 days from service to move to vacate the judgment.
Can the creditor recover the cost of serving this notice?
Yes, as an item of recoverable costs, though the fee cannot exceed what a public officer or employee would charge for comparable service.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 497, Sec. 79. Operative July 1, 1983, by Sec. 185 of Ch. 497.
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: notice of entry sister state judgment30 day motion to vacate deadline