It is not necessary for a party to set forth in a pleading the items of an account therein alleged, but he must deliver to the adverse party, within ten days after a demand thereof in writing, a copy of the account, or be precluded from giving evidence thereof. The court or judge thereof may order a further account when the one delivered is too general, or is defective in any particular. If the pleading is verified the account must be verified by the affidavit of the party to the effect that he believes it to be true; or if the facts are within the personal knowledge of the agent or attorney for the party, or the party is not within the county where the attorney has his office or from some cause unable to make the affidavit, by the affidavit of the agent or attorney.
§ 454.Items of Account
Title 6. Of the Pleadings In Civil Actions · Chapter 7. General Rules of Pleading · Last amended 1939 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 454 lets a party plead an account without listing every item in it, but requires the party to hand over an itemized copy within ten days of a written demand or lose the right to put the account into evidence.
Full Text of § 454
Plain-English Summary
Suing or defending on an account — a running tab of charges, payments, or credits between two parties — does not require spelling out every line item inside the pleading itself. Section 454 lets the pleading allege the account and its balance.
The shortcut comes with a string attached. Once the adverse party makes a written demand, the pleading party has ten days to deliver a full, itemized copy of the account. Miss that window, and the section bars the pleading party from offering evidence of the account at trial. A court may also order a more detailed accounting if the one delivered is too general or defective.
If the underlying pleading is verified, the account itself needs its own verification — normally an affidavit from the party attesting to its truth. Where the facts live in an agent’s or attorney’s personal knowledge, or the party cannot make the affidavit (for example, because the party is outside the county where the attorney’s office sits), the agent or attorney may verify it instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to itemize every charge in a pleading based on an account?
No. Section 454 lets you allege the account generally in the pleading; you only have to deliver an itemized copy after the other side makes a written demand.
What happens if I ignore a written demand for an itemized account?
Section 454 precludes you from giving evidence of the account at trial if you fail to deliver a copy within ten days of the demand.
Who can verify an account attached to a verified pleading?
Ordinarily the party verifies it, but the section allows the party’s agent or attorney to verify it instead when the facts are within that agent’s or attorney’s personal knowledge or the party is unable to make the affidavit.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1939, Ch. 63.
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: pleading an account californiaitemized account demand ten days