A lien created under this article continues on property subject to the lien notwithstanding the transfer or encumbrance of the property subject to the lien unless the transfer or encumbrance is made to a person listed in Section 697.740.
§ 491.200.Continuance of Lien
Title 6.5. Attachment · Chapter 11. Attaching Plaintiff's Miscellaneous Remedies · Article 1. Examination of Third Person · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 491.200 keeps a lien created under this article attached to the property even if the property is transferred or encumbered, except when the transfer or encumbrance goes to a person listed in § 697.740.
Full Text of § 491.200
Plain-English Summary
A lien is only as useful as its ability to survive a transfer of the underlying property, and § 491.200 makes sure it does. The lien continues to bind the property notwithstanding any transfer or encumbrance, so a defendant or third person cannot sell or mortgage the property to defeat the plaintiff's lien.
The one exception is a transfer or encumbrance made to a person listed in § 697.740 -- a category of purchasers or lienholders that the code protects even against an existing attachment lien.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a defendant defeat an examination-proceeding lien by selling the property?
Generally no. Section 491.200 keeps the lien attached to the property notwithstanding a transfer or encumbrance, with a narrow exception for transfers to a person listed in § 697.740.
Who is protected from this lien despite taking a transfer of the property?
Section 491.200 exempts a transfer or encumbrance made to a person listed in § 697.740 from the lien's ordinary survival rule.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1198, Sec. 57. 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: attachment lien survives transfer california491.200 lien priority