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§ 487.010.Generally

Title 6.5. Attachment · Chapter 7. Property Subject to Attachment · Last amended 1983 · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 487.010 defines what property is subject to attachment: nearly all corporate or partnership property for entity defendants, but for a natural person only an enumerated list of largely business-related assets, plus reachable community property.

Full Text of § 487.010

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d)

The following property of the defendant is subject to attachment:
(a) Where the defendant is a corporation, all corporate property for which a method of levy is provided by Article 2 (commencing with Section 488.300) of Chapter 8.
(b) Where the defendant is a partnership or other unincorporated association, all partnership or association property for which a method of levy is provided by Article 2 (commencing with Section 488.300) of Chapter 8.
(c) Where the defendant is a natural person, all of the following property:
(1) Interests in real property except leasehold estates with unexpired terms of less than one year.
(2) Accounts receivable, chattel paper, and general intangibles arising out of the conduct by the defendant of a trade, business, or profession, except any such individual claim with a principal balance of less than one hundred fifty dollars ($150).
(3) Equipment.
(4) Farm products.
(5) Inventory.
(6) Final money judgments arising out of the conduct by the defendant of a trade, business, or profession.
(7) Money on the premises where a trade, business, or profession is conducted by the defendant and, except for the first one thousand dollars ($1,000), money located elsewhere than on such premises and deposit accounts, but, if the defendant has more than one deposit account or has at least one deposit account and money located elsewhere than on the premises where a trade, business, or profession is conducted by the defendant, the court, upon application of the plaintiff, may order that the writ of attachment be levied so that an aggregate amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) in the form of such money and in such accounts remains free of levy.
(8) Negotiable documents of title.
(9) Instruments.
(10) Securities.
(11) Minerals or the like (including oil and gas) to be extracted.
(d) In the case of a defendant described in subdivision (c), community property of a type described in subdivision (c) is subject to attachment if the community property would be subject to enforcement of the judgment obtained in the action in which the attachment is sought. Unless the provision or context otherwise requires, if community property that is subject to attachment is sought to be attached:
(1) Any provision of this title that applies to the property of the defendant or to obligations owed to the defendant also applies to the community property interest of the spouse of the defendant and to obligations owed to either spouse that are community property.
(2) Any provision of this title that applies to property in the possession or under the control of the defendant also applies to community property in the possession or under the control of the spouse of the defendant.

Plain-English Summary

Section 487.010 draws a sharp line based on who the defendant is. If the defendant is a corporation, all corporate property for which Chapter 8's Article 2 (§ 488.300 and following) provides a method of levy is subject to attachment. If the defendant is a partnership or other unincorporated association, the same rule applies to all partnership or association property. Entity defendants, in short, face a broad reach.

A natural-person defendant faces something narrower: a closed, eleven-item list in subdivision (c). It covers interests in real property (except leaseholds with less than a year left to run); accounts receivable, chattel paper, and general intangibles arising from the defendant's trade, business, or profession (except any individual claim under a hundred fifty dollars); equipment; farm products; inventory; final money judgments arising from the defendant's trade, business, or profession; money on the business premises and, apart from the first thousand dollars, money held elsewhere and deposit accounts (with the court able to order, on the plaintiff's application, that an aggregate thousand dollars across such money and accounts stay free of levy when the defendant has more than one account or holds money both on and off the business premises); negotiable documents of title; instruments; securities; and minerals or the like awaiting extraction.

Subdivision (d) extends the same reach to community property of the types listed in (c), but only if that community property would be subject to enforcement of the judgment sought in the action. Where that condition is met, the title's provisions about the defendant's property and obligations owed to the defendant apply equally to the defendant's spouse's community interest and to obligations owed to either spouse that are community property, and provisions about property in the defendant's possession or control apply equally to community property in the spouse's possession or control.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is all of a natural person's property subject to attachment in California?

No. § 487.010(c) lists specific categories only, most of them tied to a trade, business, or profession, along with real property interests, certain money, and financial instruments.

Is a corporation's property treated the same way as an individual's?

No. A corporation's or partnership's property is reachable far more broadly — all property for which Chapter 8 provides a method of levy, not a limited list.

Can a plaintiff attach an individual defendant's personal bank account or paycheck under this section?

Subdivision (c) reaches money and deposit accounts subject to a thousand-dollar floor, but personal earnings are addressed separately, and § 487.020 exempts earnings and property necessary for support outright.

Can a plaintiff reach a defendant's spouse's community property?

Yes, under subdivision (d), if that community property would be subject to enforcement of the judgment sought in the action — and the title's rules for the defendant's own property then extend to it.

Amendment History

Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1198, Sec. 46. Operative July 1, 1983, by Sec. 70 of Ch. 1198.

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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