Subject to the provisions of Sections 405.31 and 405.32, at any time after a notice of pendency of action has been recorded, and regardless of whether a motion to expunge has been filed, the court may, upon motion by any person with an interest in the property, require the claimant to give the moving party an undertaking as a condition of maintaining the notice in the record title. However, a person who is not a party to the action shall obtain leave to intervene from the court at or before the time the person moves to require an undertaking. The court may permit evidence to be received in the form of oral testimony and may make any orders it deems just to provide for discovery by any affected party. An undertaking required pursuant to this section shall be of such nature and in such amount as the court may determine to be just. In its order requiring an undertaking, the court shall set a return date for the claimant to show compliance and if the claimant fails to show compliance on the return date, the court shall order the notice of pendency of action expunged without further notice or hearing. Recovery on an undertaking required pursuant to this section may be had in an amount not to exceed the undertaking, pursuant to Section 996.440, upon a showing (a) that the claimant did not prevail on the real property claim and (b) that the person seeking recovery suffered damages as a result of the maintenance of the notice. In assessing these damages, the court shall not consider the claimant's intent or the presence or absence of probable cause.
§ 405.34.Undertaking As Condition of Maintaining Notice In Record Title
Title 4.5. Recording Notice of Certain Actions · Chapter 3. Expungement and Other Relief · Enacted 1992 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 405.34 lets an interested nonmoving person, by motion, require the claimant to post an undertaking to keep a notice of pendency in the record title, independent of any motion to expunge, with automatic expungement if the claimant fails to comply by the court-set return date.
Full Text of § 405.34
Plain-English Summary
Section 405.34 works from the opposite direction of § 405.33. Rather than a claimant defending against expungement, this section lets any person with an interest in the property -- whether or not they have moved to expunge -- ask the court to require the claimant to post an undertaking as a condition of keeping the notice on the record title. A nonparty must first get leave to intervene, just as under § 405.30.
If the court grants the motion, it sets a return date for the claimant to show the undertaking has been posted; missing that date means automatic expungement, without further notice or hearing. Recovery on this kind of undertaking has its own conditions: the person seeking recovery must show that the claimant did not prevail on the real property claim and that they suffered damages from the notice staying in place -- and the court is barred from weighing the claimant's intent or the presence or absence of probable cause in assessing those damages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone force a claimant to post a bond to keep a lis pendens without filing a motion to expunge?
Yes. Section 405.34 lets an interested nonparty or party move to require the claimant to post an undertaking as a condition of keeping the notice in the record title, separate from any expungement motion.
What happens if the claimant does not post the undertaking required under Section 405.34?
The court orders the notice of pendency expunged without further notice or hearing once the claimant misses the return date set for compliance.
What must a person show to recover on an undertaking posted under Section 405.34?
They must show the claimant did not prevail on the real property claim and that they suffered damages as a result of the notice remaining on record; the court may not consider the claimant's intent or probable cause in assessing those damages.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1992, Ch. 883, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1993.
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
Also known as: motion to require undertaking lis pendensbond to maintain lis pendens