(a) At any time prior to the entry of judgment in the action, the defendant may claim any exemption provided by subdivision (a) of Section 487.020 with respect to real property by following the procedure set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 703.510) of Chapter 4 of Division 2 of Title 9. A claim of exemption under this subdivision shall be denied if the claim has been denied earlier in the action.
§ 487.030.Claim of Exemption
Title 6.5. Attachment · Chapter 7. Property Subject to Attachment · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 487.030 lets a defendant claim the property or support-based exemptions of § 487.020 for real property any time before judgment through the enforcement-of-judgment claim procedure, without losing a later homestead claim if no exemption request was denied first.
Full Text of § 487.030
(b) At any time prior to the entry of judgment in the action, the defendant may claim the exemption provided by subdivision (b) of Section 487.020 with respect to real property either (1) by following the procedure set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 703.510) of Chapter 4 of Division 2 of Title 9 or (2) by following the procedure set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 482.100 except that the requirement of showing changed circumstances under subdivision (a) of Section 482.100 does not apply. A claim of exemption under this subdivision shall be denied if the claim has been denied earlier in the action and there is no change in circumstances affecting the claim.
(d) Nothing in this section limits the right to claim after the entry of judgment a homestead exemption for real property under Article 4 (commencing with Section 704.710) of Chapter 4 of Division 2 of Title 9 unless prior to entry of judgment the defendant has claimed the exemption provided by subdivision (a) of Section 487.020 with respect to such property and the claim has been denied.
Plain-English Summary
§ 487.030 borrows the exemption-claim machinery already built for enforcing judgments and applies it here, before judgment even exists. Under (a), a defendant may claim the § 487.020(a) exemption for real property any time before entry of judgment by following the procedure in Article 2 (§ 703.510 and following) of Chapter 4 of Division 2 of Title 9 — but a claim already denied earlier in the action cannot be relitigated.
The § 487.020(b) support-based exemption gets two routes under (b): the same Article 2 procedure, or the procedure in § 482.100(c), with one difference — the changed-circumstances showing § 482.100(a) otherwise requires does not apply here. Again, a claim already denied earlier in the action fails unless circumstances have since changed.
Subdivision (c) is a translation rule: wherever Article 2 refers to the 'judgment debtor' or 'judgment creditor,' read those terms here as the defendant and the plaintiff. And (d) protects a later homestead claim — nothing in this section limits a defendant's right to claim a homestead exemption for real property after judgment under Article 4 (§ 704.710 and following), unless the defendant already claimed the § 487.020(a) exemption for that same property before judgment and lost.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can a defendant claim these exemptions for real property in an attachment case?
Any time before entry of judgment in the action.
What procedure does a defendant use to make the claim?
Can a defendant still claim a homestead exemption after judgment is entered?
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1198, Sec. 48. 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
Also known as: claim exemption real property attachment californiaCCP 487.030 exemption procedure