The writ of attachment shall include the following information:
§ 488.010.Writ Requirements
Title 6.5. Attachment · Chapter 8. Levy Procedures; Lien of Attachment; Management and Disposition of Attached Property · Article 1. General Provisions · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 488.010 lists the five things a writ of attachment must state: its date of issuance, the issuing court and case information, the plaintiff's and defendant's names and addresses, the amount to be secured, and a description of the property to be levied on.
Full Text of § 488.010
(a) The date of issuance of the writ.
(b) The title of the court that issued the writ and the cause and number of the action.
(c) The name and address of the plaintiff and the name and last known address of the defendant.
(d) The amount to be secured by the attachment.
(e) A description of the property to be levied upon to satisfy the attachment.
Plain-English Summary
A writ of attachment is the document that authorizes a levying officer to seize a defendant's property before judgment. Section 488.010 sets the minimum content of that document: the date it issued, the court and case number, the plaintiff's address and the defendant's last known address, the dollar amount the attachment is meant to secure, and a description of the property to be taken.
These five items are not paperwork for its own sake. The date and case number let anyone examining the writ trace it back to the underlying action. The amount to be secured caps how much property the officer may take. The property description tells the officer, and any third person holding the property, exactly what is subject to levy. Later sections in this chapter build directly on this list — the levying officer's instructions under § 488.030 and the notice of attachment under § 488.060 both depend on the writ containing accurate information under this section.
Frequently Asked Questions
What information must a California writ of attachment contain?
Under § 488.010, the writ must state its date of issuance, the issuing court and case number, the plaintiff's and defendant's names and addresses, the amount secured by the attachment, and a description of the property to be levied on.
Does the writ have to describe the exact property being seized?
Yes. Section 488.010(e) requires a description of the property to be levied upon to satisfy the attachment, which is what allows the levying officer to identify and seize the correct property.
Amendment History
Repealed and added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1198, Sec. 50. 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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