Upon the filing of the complaint or at any time thereafter, the plaintiff may apply pursuant to this article for a right to attach order and a writ of attachment by filing an application for the order and writ with the court in which the action is brought.
§ 484.010.Generally
Title 6.5. Attachment · Chapter 4. Noticed Hearing Procedure for Obtaining Writ of Attachment · Article 1. Right to Attach Order; Issuance of Writ of Attachment · Enacted 1974 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 484.010 opens the ordinary noticed procedure for attachment, letting a plaintiff apply for a right to attach order and a writ of attachment at any time after filing the complaint by filing an application with the court where the action is pending.
Full Text of § 484.010
Plain-English Summary
This section is the doorway into Chapter 4's noticed attachment procedure. A plaintiff can file the application the same day as the complaint or wait until later in the case — the statute sets no waiting period and no outer deadline. What it does set is the forum: the application goes to the court where the underlying action is already filed.
Filing the application only starts the process. Nothing about attachment happens automatically. The sections that follow spell out what the application must say (§ 484.020), what affidavit must support it (§ 484.030), and why no order or writ can issue until the defendant has been served and given a hearing (§ 484.040).
That hearing requirement is what separates this chapter from Chapter 5's ex parte procedure. Under the noticed track that begins here, the defendant learns about the application and gets a chance to contest it before a right to attach order ever issues. A plaintiff who instead needs to move before the defendant finds out — because delay would cause great or irreparable injury — has to qualify for Chapter 5's separate showing under § 485.010.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can a plaintiff apply for a writ of attachment under the ordinary California procedure?
At any time from the moment the complaint is filed onward. Section 484.010 sets no waiting period, though no order or writ can issue until the defendant gets notice and a hearing under § 484.040.
Where does the plaintiff file the attachment application?
With the court in which the underlying civil action is brought, the same court that will hear the case.
Does filing an application under § 484.010 attach property right away?
How is this different from the emergency attachment procedure?
This chapter requires the defendant be given notice and a hearing before any order issues. Chapter 5 lets a plaintiff skip that notice only on a showing of great or irreparable injury under § 485.010.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1974, Ch. 1516.
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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