§ 488.030.Instructions Given Levying Officer By Plaintiff
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 488.030 requires the plaintiff to give the levying officer signed written instructions describing the property to be levied on and stating whether it is a dwelling, and lets the officer rely on those instructions and any information in them unless the officer knows it is wrong.
(a)The plaintiff shall give the levying officer instructions in writing. The instructions shall be signed by the plaintiff's attorney of record or, if the plaintiff does not have an attorney of record, by the plaintiff. The instructions shall contain the information needed or requested by the levying officer to comply with the provisions of this title, including but not limited to:
(1)An adequate description of any property to be levied upon.
(2)A statement whether the property is a dwelling.
(3)If the property is a dwelling, whether it is real or personal property.
(b)Subject to subdivision (c), the levying officer shall act in accordance with the written instructions to the extent the actions are taken in conformance with the provisions of this title.
(c)Except to the extent the levying officer has actual knowledge that the information is incorrect, the levying officer may rely on any information contained in the written instructions.
Plain-English Summary
A levying officer cannot act on a writ alone; the plaintiff must supply written instructions, signed by the attorney of record or by the plaintiff if self-represented. Section 488.030 requires those instructions to adequately describe the property to be levied on and to state whether the property is a dwelling — and if so, whether it is real or personal property, since dwellings trigger extra procedural protections elsewhere in this title.
Subdivisions (b) and (c) protect the officer who follows the instructions. The officer acts in accordance with the written instructions to the extent doing so conforms to this title, and may rely on the information they contain unless the officer has actual knowledge that it is incorrect. That standard shields an officer who reasonably follows a plaintiff's direction from later being blamed for the plaintiff's own error.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must a plaintiff's written instructions to the levying officer include?
Under § 488.030, the instructions must be signed by the plaintiff's attorney (or the plaintiff, if unrepresented) and must describe the property to be levied on and state whether it is a dwelling and, if so, whether real or personal property.
Is the levying officer liable if the plaintiff's instructions turn out to be wrong?
No, not unless the officer had actual knowledge the information was incorrect. Section 488.030(c) lets the officer rely on the written instructions absent that actual knowledge.
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
Also known as:plaintiff instructions to levying officer californiawrit of attachment instructions dwellinglevying officer reliance on instructions ccp 488.030