If the sheriff sells real estate, under and by virtue of an execution or order of court, the sheriff, or his or her successors in office, shall execute and deliver to the purchaser or purchasers all deeds and conveyances required by law and necessary for the purpose, and those deeds and conveyances shall be valid in law as if they had been executed by the sheriff who made the sale. The deeds and conveyances may be recorded electronically pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 263) if they comply with the Electronic Recording Delivery Act of 2004 (Article 6 (commencing with Section 27390) of Chapter 6 of Part 3 of Division 2 of Title 3 of the Government Code).
§ 262.4.Execution of deeds and conveyances to purchasers of real estate at execution sale; Validity when executed by other than sheriff who made the sale
Title 4. Ministerial Officers of Courts of Justice · Chapter 1. Of Ministerial Officers Generally · Last amended 2011 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentence§ 262.4 lets a sheriff, or a successor sheriff who did not conduct the sale, execute and deliver the deed to a purchaser at an execution sale of real estate, with the deed as valid as if the original selling sheriff had signed it, and allows electronic recording of that deed under the Electronic Recording Delivery Act.
Full Text of § 262.4
Plain-English Summary
An execution sale of real estate does not always finish under the same sheriff who ran it. § 262.4 closes that gap for deeds: the sheriff, or that sheriff’s successors in office, must execute and deliver whatever deeds and conveyances the law requires to complete the transfer to the purchaser, and the resulting deed is valid as though the sheriff who conducted the sale had signed it.
That validity guarantee matters to title. A purchaser or title company should not have to worry that a deed is defective merely because the signing sheriff was not the one who ran the auction — the statute treats the two as legally interchangeable for this purpose.
§ 262.4 also lets these deeds be recorded electronically, provided they comply with the Electronic Recording Delivery Act of 2004 in the Government Code, tying the paper-based execution-sale process into the same electronic infrastructure used for recorded real estate documents generally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a deed from an execution sale invalid if the sheriff who ran the sale has since left office?
No. § 262.4 lets a successor sheriff execute and deliver the deed with the same legal validity as if the original selling sheriff had signed it.
Can an execution-sale deed be recorded electronically?
Yes, if it complies with the Electronic Recording Delivery Act of 2004, referenced in § 262.4.
What documents does § 262.4 cover?
The deeds and conveyances required by law and necessary to complete a sheriff’s sale of real estate under an execution or court order.
Does § 262.4 authorize the sale itself?
No. It addresses only the execution and delivery of the deed after a sale already conducted under an execution or order of court.
Amendment History
Added Stats 1951 ch 655 § 14. Amended Stats 2010 ch 680 § 3 (AB 2394), effective January 1, 2011.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
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