An action to recognize a foreign-country judgment shall be commenced within the earlier of the time during which the foreign-country judgment is effective in the foreign country or 10 years from the date that the foreign-country judgment became effective in the foreign country.
§ 1721.Time For Commencing Action to Recognize Judgment
Title 11. Money Judgments of Other Jurisdictions · Chapter 2. Foreign-Country Money Judgments · Enacted 2007 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1721 requires an action to recognize a foreign-country judgment to be commenced within whichever period ends earlier: the time the judgment remains effective in the foreign country, or ten years from the date it became effective there.
Full Text of § 1721
Plain-English Summary
This section sets the outer time limit for seeking recognition, and it uses a two-part test rather than a single fixed number. An action to recognize a foreign-country judgment must be commenced within the time the judgment remains effective under the law of the country that rendered it, since a judgment that has already expired abroad has little claim to being enforced here.
That foreign-law-based limit is capped, though, by an absolute outer boundary: ten years from the date the judgment became effective in the foreign country. Whichever of the two periods ends first controls, so a judgment that would remain effective abroad for twenty years still must be brought here within ten, while a judgment that expires abroad after only five years cannot be revived here just because the ten-year period has not yet run.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does someone have to bring an action recognizing a foreign-country judgment?
Whichever period ends first: the time the judgment remains effective under the foreign country's own law, or ten years from when it became effective there.
What if the judgment remains valid abroad for longer than ten years?
The ten-year outer limit still controls; the action must be brought within ten years even if the judgment would otherwise remain effective longer in the foreign country.
Can a judgment be recognized here after it has already expired in the foreign country?
No. Once the judgment is no longer effective under the foreign country's law, the shorter of the two periods has run and recognition is no longer available.
Amendment History
Added by Stats 2007 ch 212 (SB 639),s 2, eff. 1/1/2008.
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: statute of limitations foreign judgment recognitionten year limit foreign country judgment