(a) If the levying officer is required by any provision of this title to serve any writ, order, notice, or other paper on any person, the plaintiff shall include in the instructions to the levying officer the correct name and address of the person. The plaintiff shall use reasonable diligence to ascertain the correct name and address of the person.
§ 488.040.Correct Name and Address of Person Required to Be Served Included In Instructions
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 488.040 requires the plaintiff to supply the levying officer with the correct name and address of anyone the officer must serve under this title, obtained through reasonable diligence, and lets the officer rely on that information absent actual knowledge it is wrong.
Full Text of § 488.040
(b) Unless the levying officer has actual knowledge that the name or address included in the instructions is incorrect, the levying officer shall rely on the instructions in serving the writ, order, notice, or other paper on the person.
Plain-English Summary
Many steps in the levy process require the officer to serve a writ, order, notice, or other paper on a person — a third-party account holder, a bailee, an account debtor. Section 488.040 places the burden of getting that name and address right on the plaintiff, who must use reasonable diligence to find it, and who must include it in the written instructions.
As with § 488.030, the officer is entitled to rely on what the plaintiff supplies. Unless the officer has actual knowledge that a name or address in the instructions is wrong, the officer may serve the person named there and is protected from liability for having done so.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for finding the correct address of a person the levying officer must serve?
The plaintiff is. Section 488.040 requires the plaintiff to use reasonable diligence to ascertain the correct name and address and to include it in the instructions to the levying officer.
Can the levying officer be sued for serving the wrong person if the plaintiff gave a bad address?
Generally no. Under § 488.040(b), the officer may rely on the name and address in the instructions unless the officer knew the information was incorrect.
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Repealed and added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1198, Sec. 50.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 must find correct address levying officerlevying officer service reliance addressccp 488.040 instructions name and address