(a) The plaintiff may apply ex parte in writing to the court in which the action was brought for an endorsement on the writ directing the levying officer to seize the property at a private place not specified in the writ.
§ 512.090.Endorsement Directing Seizure At Private Place Not Specified In Writ
Title 7. Other Provisional Remedies In Civil Actions · Chapter 2. Claim and Delivery of Personal Property · Article 2. Writ of Possession · Enacted 1973 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 512.090 lets the plaintiff apply ex parte for an endorsement authorizing the levying officer to seize property at a private place not named in the writ, which the court must grant on an affidavit showing probable cause the property may be found there.
Full Text of § 512.090
(b) The court shall make the endorsement if the plaintiff establishes by affidavit that there is probable cause to believe that the property or some part of it may be found at that place.
Plain-English Summary
Sometimes a plaintiff learns, after the writ already issued, that the property might be at a private place the writ never specified. Rather than starting over, subdivision (a) lets the plaintiff apply ex parte, in writing, to the court that issued the writ for an endorsement authorizing entry into that additional place.
Subdivision (b) sets the standard: the court has to make the endorsement if the plaintiff establishes, by affidavit, probable cause to believe the property or some part of it may be found at that place. That's the same probable-cause showing § 512.060(b) and § 512.080(c) require for a private place named in the original writ — this section only lets the showing happen later and ex parte, for a place discovered after the fact.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if the plaintiff learns of a new private place to search after the writ already issued?
Section 512.090 lets the plaintiff apply ex parte for an endorsement on the writ authorizing the levying officer to seize the property there.
What must the plaintiff show to get that endorsement?
Probable cause, established by affidavit, to believe the property or part of it may be found at that private place.
Does this require a new hearing?
No. The application and the endorsement it seeks are both handled ex parte, in writing.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1973, Ch. 526.
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: endorsement writ of possession private place california