As used in this chapter, the following terms have the following definitions:
§ 263.1.Definitions
Title 4. Ministerial Officers of Courts of Justice · Chapter 2. Levying Officer Electronic Transactions Act · Enacted 2010 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentence§ 263.1 defines the terms used throughout the Levying Officer Electronic Transactions Act, including electronic mail, electronic record, electronic signature, fax and fax transmission, information processing system, levying officer instructions, legal entity, levying officer, record, and transmission record.
Full Text of § 263.1
(a) “Electronic mail” or “e-mail” means an electronic message that is sent to an e-mail address and transmitted between two or more telecommunications devices, computers, or electronic devices capable of receiving electronic messages through a local, regional, or global computer network, whether or not the message is converted to hard copy format after receipt, viewed upon transmission, or stored for later retrieval.
(b) “Electronic record” means a document or record created, generated, sent, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means.
(c) “Electronic signature” means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to, or logically associated with, an electronic record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the electronic record.
(d) “Fax” is an abbreviation for “facsimile” and refers, as indicated by the context, to a facsimile transmission or to a document so transmitted.
(e) “Fax machine” means a machine that can send and receive a facsimile transmission using industry standards and includes a fax modem connected to a computer.
(f) “Fax transmission” means the electronic transmission and reconstruction of a document that prints a duplicate of the original document at the receiving end. “Fax transmission” includes, but is not limited to, the use of a facsimile machine or the process of integrating an electronic fax software application to automate the sending and receiving of a faxed document as an electronic record, in portable data format, by e-mail or similar electronic means.
(g) “Information processing system” means an electronic system for creating, generating, sending, receiving, storing, displaying, retrieving, or processing information, but does not include a fax machine.
(h) “Instructions” and “levying officer instructions” mean a written request to a levying officer to serve process, perform a levy, execute an arrest warrant, or perform some other act.
(i) “Legal entity” means the legal form of an artificial person and includes a corporation, defunct corporation, unincorporated association, partnership, public agency, limited liability company, joint stock company or association, and limited liability partnership.
(j) “Levying officer” means the sheriff or marshal acting as a ministerial officer pursuant to Section 26608 of the Government Code.
(k) “Record” means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium, or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
(l) “Transmission record” means the electronic record or document printed by the sending fax machine, stating the telephone number of the receiving fax machine, the number of pages sent, the transmission time and date, and an indication of any errors in transmission.
Plain-English Summary
Chapter 2 runs on a set of precisely defined terms, and § 263.1 gathers them in one place. Some cover electronic messaging and records generally — electronic mail, electronic record, electronic signature, and information processing system. Others are specific to fax transmissions — fax, fax machine, fax transmission, and transmission record, the printed record a sending fax machine generates showing the receiving number, page count, time, date, and any errors.
Two definitions carry particular weight for who this chapter reaches. “Levying officer” means the sheriff or marshal acting as a ministerial officer under Government Code § 26608, and “legal entity” covers the range of artificial persons — corporations, unincorporated associations, partnerships, public agencies, limited liability companies, joint stock companies, and limited liability partnerships — that might send or receive instructions under the chapter.
“Instructions” and “levying officer instructions” mean a written request to a levying officer to serve process, perform a levy, execute an arrest warrant, or perform some other act — the everyday paperwork this chapter’s electronic-transmission rules are built to accommodate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who counts as a “levying officer” under this chapter?
§ 263.1(j) defines a levying officer as the sheriff or marshal acting as a ministerial officer under Government Code § 26608.
Does “fax transmission” only mean sending a document through a traditional fax machine?
No. § 263.1(f) also includes integrating an electronic fax software application to send and receive a faxed document as an electronic record, including by e-mail or similar means.
What is an “electronic signature” for purposes of this chapter?
§ 263.1(c) defines it as an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with an electronic record and executed or adopted with intent to sign it.
What is a “transmission record”?
§ 263.1(l) defines it as the record a sending fax machine prints, showing the receiving fax number, the number of pages sent, the transmission time and date, and any transmission errors.
Amendment History
Added Stats 2010 ch 680 § 4 (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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