No judgment based on a sister state judgment may be entered pursuant to this chapter in any of the following cases:
§ 1710.55.Entry of Judgment Based On Sister State Judgment Prohibited
Title 11. Money Judgments of Other Jurisdictions · Chapter 1. Sister State Money Judgments · Enacted 1974 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1710.55 bars entry of a registered judgment when the sister state has already stayed enforcement, when a California action on the same judgment is already pending, or when a California judgment based on it has already been entered.
Full Text of § 1710.55
(a) A stay of enforcement of the sister state judgment is currently in effect in the sister state.
(b) An action based on the sister state judgment is currently pending in any court in this state.
(c) A judgment based on the sister state judgment has previously been entered in any proceeding in this state.
Plain-English Summary
Not every application results in an entered judgment, and this section identifies the situations where registration cannot go forward at all. If a stay of enforcement is currently in effect back in the sister state, entering a California judgment would run ahead of that state's own proceedings, so no judgment may be entered here while that stay stands.
The other two bars prevent duplication. If a California action based on the same sister state judgment is already pending, or if a California judgment based on it has already been entered in some earlier proceeding, this chapter's registration process cannot be used to create yet another judgment on the same debt. Together these three bars keep a creditor from obtaining overlapping or premature California judgments on a single sister state claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a judgment be registered while enforcement is stayed in the sister state?
No. Section 1710.55 blocks entry of a California judgment while a sister-state stay of enforcement remains in effect.
What if the creditor already sued on the judgment in California?
Registration is barred if a California action based on the same sister state judgment is already pending.
Can a creditor register the same sister state judgment twice?
No. If a California judgment based on that sister state judgment has already been entered, no second judgment can be entered under this chapter.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1974, Ch. 211.
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: when registration barred sister state judgmentduplicate judgment prohibition california